Urgent - trying to get TIE before visa expires

The appointment needs to be at the Oficina de Extranjería in Almeria, not

 a police station 

My solicitor contacted that office in Almeria and she actually got a reply saying they could not make an appointment for the TIE as that had to be done at a competent police station!

May I ask, did you have an appointment for the TIE at that office and if so when?

Could anyone please tell me where they obtained their TIE.

In the province of Almeria, ALL TIE’s are done at the Oficina de Extranjería in Almeria.

Did you sight the response from Extranjería to your solicitor?  I ask because there seems to be a peculiarity with Solicitors in Spain …

A person will use the same solicitor they used for house purchase for migration issues; this is often outside the solicitors field of expertise and instead of saying “I don’t know”, they’ll tell you what they think you want to hear, then spin you a tail when they fail, trying to shift blame.  I’m sure you can find 10 other people at least on this forum who have had similar experiences.

DO NOT USE THE SAME SOLICITOR YOU USED FOR A HOUSE PURCHASE OR SIMILAR TO DO MIGRATION.  They might get it right … but all too often it ends in tears.

Use a gestor or solicitor well versed in migration issues - if you are in Vera Playa, I would recommend Mundi Abogados at Las Buganvillas - migration is one of their specialties.

You most definitely DO NOT go to a “competent police station” because TIE’s are administered by Policia Nacional and your closest CNP station is Almeria - the Oficina de Extranjería 

Everyone in Almeria goes to the office I mentioned. Neighbours went last week, think you need to change your legal advisor. 

No, my solicitor is not the one I used to buy my apartment she was the one who helped me get my visa for residency in Spain. She is not based in Almeria but has had a lot of experience helping clients to get residency in different parts of Spain, including obtaining the TIE.

Maybe her experience has been with other parts of Spain not with Almeria and she was speaking generally about getting an appointment at a police station competent to deal with the TIE application. However she did in fact contact the office in Almeria to ask if I could have an appointment and for some reason the advisor there gave her a negative reply. That is baffling!

Anyway, as you have made very clear that the immigration office in Almeria is the one to apply through I will contact them myself and maybe I will go there even if I can't get an appointment as my solicitor has sent me the application forms almost completed which just require my signature. I will of course take all the other necessary documents they require.

Don’t waste your time going without an appointment - you won’t even get through the front door.  You queue outside and security will turn away anyone without an appointment.

I again suggest contacting Mundi Abogados at the Las Buganvillas roundabout at Vera Playa

Thank you for your advice. I will contact them to see what they can do.

Dario’s advice is spot-on. You will need to make an appointment online at the Oficina Extranjeros in Almeria. The office is at 

C. Marruecos, 1, 04009 Almería

https://maps.google.com/maps/place//data=!4m2!3m1!1s0xd7a9e0fb451fc95:0x8ba8e776e4ef7a99?entry=s&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwit2aGQq-WEAxXm_rsIHUHRAFYQ4kB6BAgUEAA&hl=en-gb

There is parking nearby. You can make the appointment online but it may be as well to go with a gestor (or abogado as Dario suggests) who makes the appointment for you. That is what we did in 2018 for residence purposes but in 2020 we converted to a TIE without needing a gestor. 

You will have to supply biometric data so may need two appointments.

Chris

Will only need one appointment - the first appointment will be the application and fingerprints will be taken; 

@brucexyz when that’s done, they’ll give you a piece of gray paper with a reference number and a date on it - do not lose that paper - that’s what proves your appointment when you return to collect the TIE.  Once you get that appointment - even if it is past expiry of your visa, you can breathe easy because you have to have started the TIE process within a certain amount of time of arriving (I think it’s 30 days) not completed it