How the booking works
Appointments for foreigners’ procedures are booked on the Cita Previa Extranjería pages of the administration’s e-office, sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es. You choose the province, then the procedure, then you enter your passport or NIE details and pick from the offices and slots on offer. The confirmation carries a reference, the address, the date and the time: print it or keep it on your phone, because the counter will ask for it.
Pick the procedure with more care than the office. A bare number, an EU registration certificate and the toma de huellas for a TIE are separate procedures in the system, and an appointment booked under the wrong one can be refused at the door.
The province trap
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the name of the capital and of the province, and the province also covers La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. The booking runs by province, so before you confirm a slot, check that the address is on Tenerife and on the side of the island you meant.
North or south: deciding before you book
- Santa Cruz, on Calle Ramón Pérez de Ayala, lists the widest range: NIE, EU registration, TIE issue, return authorisations, students, extensions of stay and non-lucrative residence
- Adeje, in Las Terrazas, lists NIE, EU registration, extensions of stay, cédulas de inscripción, invitation letters and nationality reports
- TIE issue is in the Santa Cruz list and not in the Adeje one: for the card, a non-EU resident should expect to travel north
- From Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas or Costa Adeje, Adeje is the natural first choice when it handles your procedure
- From La Laguna, Candelaria or Puerto de la Cruz, Santa Cruz is usually the shorter trip
On Tenerife
For Tenerife the choice is between the two ends of the motorway, and the distance between Santa Cruz and Adeje makes it a real decision rather than a detail. Before you accept a slot, check three things on the screen: the procedure, the address, and that the office lists your request — Santa Cruz for TIE issue, either Santa Cruz or the Comisaría Sur in Adeje for a NIE or an EU registration.
Questions on this topic
Can someone else book the appointment for me?
Yes, as long as it is booked in your name: the system asks for the applicant’s own details, and it is the applicant who attends. The searching and the clicking can be done by anyone, and that is a part we take off your hands.
The screen shows no slots. Does that mean there are none?
Not necessarily. Offices open their diaries in batches and the slots go quickly, so an empty screen in the morning can look different later on.
Is the appointment itself free?
Yes: booking costs nothing on the official site. The state fee for the procedure is paid separately with the Modelo 790, código 012. Be wary of anyone who presents a paid booking as an official one.
What do I bring on the day?
The confirmation, your passport (or national ID card if you are an EU citizen) with a copy, the completed form, the paid 790-012 and the documents that justify the request. We send you the list for your own case before the date.