Spanish immigration forums have lit up with complaints of weeks-long waits for fingerprint enrolment appointments (toma de huellas) needed to obtain the Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE). Specialist site VisasUpdate reports that in Madrid and Barcelona the first available slots are now in late August, while Seville is showing ‘no appointments’ on the national policia portal. Officials blame the surge on Spain’s extraordinary regularisation programme, which opened online on 1 May and has already received more than 520 000 submissions from long-term irregular migrants. Each approved case must attend a police station for fingerprints, adding pressure to a system that was already short-staffed. For foreign employees, the delay means longer gaps between receiving a favourable residence decision and holding the physical card required to open bank accounts or travel within the EU. Some HR departments are issuing internal letters confirming employment status, but airlines are inconsistent in accepting them as ID on domestic flights. The Interior Ministry says it will roll out 120 new auto-booking kiosks inside major police stations by July and is negotiating an overtime package that could add 80 000 appointment slots nationally. Legal practitioners recommend that applicants check the booking website at midnight, when cancelled slots are often released back into the system. Companies expecting new hires this summer should budget for a six- to eight-week TIE issue timeline instead of the usual three weeks and consider postponing EU business travel until the card is in hand.
Source: VisasUpdate
