Cases where you need it
- Your residence is being renewed and the old card has expired
- The card went missing, was stolen or broke, and a new one has been requested
- Your first card has been granted but not yet issued
What to prepare
- The application form for the authorisation
- Your passport, with a copy
- Proof of the procedure in progress: the renewal receipt, the resolution, or the police report for a lost or stolen card
- Proof of the reason for the trip, where the office asks for it
- The tasa, on a 790-012 slip
Timing
Ask for it as soon as you know you have to travel: it has its own cita previa, and it does not replace a valid card for the rest of your stay. Read the dates on it before booking flights, because it is valid for a limited period only.
On Tenerife
Among the island’s police offices in the official directory, it is the Santa Cruz Brigada Provincial de Extranjería y Fronteras that lists return authorisations; the Comisaría Sur in Adeje does not. For a resident of the south with a flight to catch, that means a cita previa in the capital and a margin for the drive.
Questions on this topic
Do EU citizens need it?
No. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens travel with their passport or national ID card; the registration certificate is not a travel document.
Can I travel on my visa while the first TIE is being made?
While the visa is still valid, yes: a national visa allows entry. Once it has expired, the return authorisation is the safer document. Check the dates before you book.
Will the airline accept it?
It is an official Spanish document for re-entering Spain. Transit through other countries can raise questions of its own, so check them before you travel.