Generally speaking, registering your fingerprints is the last step in the process to get your TIE (erroneously called NIE) or residency card.
That is, when you submit your application for residency in Spain (either for your initial residency authorization or for NIE renewal), you will have to visit the immigration office to get your fingerprints registered so that they can finally issue your physical card (associated to those fingerprints), the card that will be your identity document in the country.
But more specifically, when exactly do you start with this final step?
After submitting your application and after the administration has reviewed all your documents, you will receive a notification containing all details with your positive resolution. In other words, your file has been approved.
Then, on the administration’s online platform where you have been reviewing the status of your file, you will see your assigned NIE with the rest of your personal data, as well as the resolution date (this date is important).
Depending on the process you are going through and the autonomous community you are in, this online information will be enough to make an appointment at the immigration office and get fingerprinted (simply presenting a screenshot of that resolution).
But in some cases, this will not be enough: you will have to wait for a letter from the immigration office to arrive at your home address with the confirmation.
When will this letter arrive?
From the resolution date you can see online, you can expect the letter to arrive at your home address within 15-20 days.
If it does not arrive within 15 days after the established date, you will have to request a duplicate of the letter at the immigration office; as we mentioned, certain procedures require it in order to carry out the fingerprinting procedure.
However, others such as the long-run TIE or the community card do not, and the online resolution would be more than enough.
Do you have any doubts? Ask our immigration lawyers or read on for more information: