HOW TO GET CITA FOR YOUR TIE
Have you ever tried booking a CITA online for your TIE?
Can't find the right office in the drop down options?
No Hay Suficientes Citas Disponibles?
(No available appointments)
(No available appointments)
Nowadays everything can be done faster and much easier - thanks to modern technology! We can do almost everything from everywhere, even at the comfort of our home. But what would you do if the same technology that should make our life easier is what also gives you pain in the ass?
When you arrived in Spain as a student, one of the first things you should do within a month of your arrival is to apply for your TIE (Tarjeta Identidad Extranjero) or a student resident ID card. To do this, you have to book for appointment online or most commonly known 'cita' in Spanish. But booking a cita online in Spain can test your patience! The reliability of their online system that people have to depend on in getting a cita has been questionable. But how does it really work?
If you arrived in Spain during the peak season of booking a cita - around the beginning of a school semester, then you probably would encounter difficulty in getting a schedule. After more than 3 days of trying and failing to get a cita, I finally seek help from an expert who was once in the same situation as me. It cost me €25 to get that help. It is much cheaper than the €95 that others offer but still a lot, for a simple effort. Many do it as a business now and I guess they make a lot of money from it.
I spent time figuring how to do it so I can share it with others to help. I realized, there is really no secret way of booking it. It is simply a matter of trying over and over again until you succeed. According to this site, it is best to book it when they add more schedules on Monday at 08:00am and it is actually works!
Below are some information that I figured out while I was doing it for myself. I hope you get something helpful from it.
Here are the step-by-step procedure on how to get a CITA online.
When you arrived in Spain as a student, one of the first things you should do within a month of your arrival is to apply for your TIE (Tarjeta Identidad Extranjero) or a student resident ID card. To do this, you have to book for appointment online or most commonly known 'cita' in Spanish. But booking a cita online in Spain can test your patience! The reliability of their online system that people have to depend on in getting a cita has been questionable. But how does it really work?
If you arrived in Spain during the peak season of booking a cita - around the beginning of a school semester, then you probably would encounter difficulty in getting a schedule. After more than 3 days of trying and failing to get a cita, I finally seek help from an expert who was once in the same situation as me. It cost me €25 to get that help. It is much cheaper than the €95 that others offer but still a lot, for a simple effort. Many do it as a business now and I guess they make a lot of money from it.
I spent time figuring how to do it so I can share it with others to help. I realized, there is really no secret way of booking it. It is simply a matter of trying over and over again until you succeed. According to this site, it is best to book it when they add more schedules on Monday at 08:00am and it is actually works!
Below are some information that I figured out while I was doing it for myself. I hope you get something helpful from it.
Here are the step-by-step procedure on how to get a CITA online.
Step 2: From the options, choose the area your prefer to apply.
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Step 3: Select Expedication de Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero.
Step 3: Select Expedication de Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero.
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Step 4: Choose Toma de Huellas
Step 4: Choose Toma de Huellas
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Step 5: You can use your NIE or Passport number. Most of those who are on student visa are not aware that they already have a NIE number. Check the visa stamp on your passport and look for a 9-character NIE number. It starts with a letter followed by 7 numbers and a letter again. You can leave blank the Fecha de Caduciadad de su tarjeta actual or Expiry Date. Click Aceptar to proceed.
Step 5: You can use your NIE or Passport number. Most of those who are on student visa are not aware that they already have a NIE number. Check the visa stamp on your passport and look for a 9-character NIE number. It starts with a letter followed by 7 numbers and a letter again. You can leave blank the Fecha de Caduciadad de su tarjeta actual or Expiry Date. Click Aceptar to proceed.
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Step 6: Just write the Captcha code and select Solicitar Cita
(Solicitar Cita - to get a cita; Consultar Citas Confirmadas - to check your confirmed cita; Anular Cita - to cancel your cita)
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Step 7: The nearest or central office in your area may not always be in the options. For example in Barcelona, the nearest is Rambla Guipuscoa which doesn't always show in the dropdown list. If it happens, just choose any location and select Siguente.
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Step 8: If you did not find your preferred location in the previous step then you can simply go back by selecting Salir. This will lead you to the page on Step 6. Do the Captcha code and look for the right office again.
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Step 9: Keep repeating the Steps 6-8 until you find your preferred office. In my case, I was applying for Barcelona so I didn't stop until I found Rambla Guipuscoa. It may take forever before it appears in the options but when it does, it normally appears on the top of the dropdown list. Keep calm and don't give up! Remember this is the only way to get a cita so we're stuck to deal with it whether we don't like it or we hate it!;)
Step 9: Keep repeating the Steps 6-8 until you find your preferred office. In my case, I was applying for Barcelona so I didn't stop until I found Rambla Guipuscoa. It may take forever before it appears in the options but when it does, it normally appears on the top of the dropdown list. Keep calm and don't give up! Remember this is the only way to get a cita so we're stuck to deal with it whether we don't like it or we hate it!;)
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Step 10: There can be two possible results.
(a) When you're unlucky, you'll end up with the below statement telling you that there is no available cita. I know it feels like wanting to break your computer now, but don't do it yet...not yet! You got to finish your cita first. I know it doesn't make sense that after finally finding the right office that rarely appears in the drop down list, it would tell you that there is no available appointment for that office in the end. Well, all you have to do this time is to accept that you just wasted some of your time and you will have to repeat it again and again from Step 6. It may seem like doing it forever but all time and effort will eventually pay off at the end.
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(b) Go celebrate when you find the following page. This means that these are the available citas for the office you have chosen. You can choose the date and time according to your preference and click Siguente to proceed.
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GOOD LUCK!
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1. You can make 2 appointments by using separately your NIE and Passport number. But please remember to cancel your appointment after using the other one so that it will be available for others again. The reason for booking 2 appointments is to have a back-up schedule if you failed to come on the first booking.
2. If you feel that the available citas are too late for you, still book it to secure yourself an appointment. Try to get 2 appointments first. Then you can always search for better dates later. You can cancel the latter appointment in exchange of booking the better one. eg. If today is Dec5 and you managed to get 2 citas on Dec20 and Dec22 respectively, but then you found another better date on Dec15, you can cancel the Dec22 and use the details in that ID to book for Dec15 so you will end up with Dec15 and Dec20. The schedule keeps on changing every now and then. You just have to be patient in trying it again and again. 3. If you still don't get it, you can always leave a message in the Contact page and I will try to help you. We can work together to get one for you! |
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