Sworn translation for your Spanish TIE card

What the TIE is, and why translations come into it

The Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE) is the physical card proving you are a legal resident in Spain. Don't mix it up with the NIE: the NIE is your identification number and it doesn't expire, whereas the TIE is the card that reflects your residence status at a given point — initial authorisation, renewal, long-term residence, or the specific card issued to UK nationals covered by the Withdrawal Agreement after Brexit.

To issue or renew it, the Immigration Office (Oficina de Extranjería) or the National Police station asks you for a set of documents. If one of them was issued abroad in another language, the Spanish administration won't take it as it is: it has to come with a sworn translation into Spanish signed by a translator accredited by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC). That translation is what turns your foreign document into something Extranjería can actually use.

Below we set out which documents usually need a sworn translation and how we hand yours over ready to submit. The exact requirements for your appointment are always Extranjería's call; the translation is on us.

Which documents usually need a sworn translation

It depends on your card type and your particular situation, but these are the ones we see most often in a TIE file:

• Criminal record certificate from your country of origin, especially for initial permits. For UK nationals that's the ACRO Police Certificate; for US nationals, the FBI Identity History Summary; for France, the Bulletin n.º 3 (B3). They nearly always need an apostille.
• Birth certificate, common in family reunification and EU-family-member cards.
• Marriage or registered-partnership certificate, when your residence stems from a tie to a resident or an EU citizen.
• Foreign employment contracts, payslips or employer letters that evidence work activity or financial means.
• Proof of financial means: bank statements, pension certificates or private health insurance certificates, common in non-lucrative residence and under the post-Brexit framework.
• Academic degrees or professional certificates when residence is tied to qualified work.

Not every foreign document needs translating in every case, and a straightforward English document is sometimes accepted as is. If you're not sure what needs translating, message us before you start and we'll take a look at your case, no strings attached.

How it works

The whole thing is online. You upload the scanned document, see the price and turnaround on the spot in the quoter, and pay without opening an account. From there, a MAEC sworn translator translates the document in full — apostille included, if it has one — and signs the translation with their stamp and accreditation number.

By default you get a digitally signed PDF carrying a qualified electronic signature. It's the format we recommend: it holds full validity before Extranjería and the rest of the Spanish administration, so you present it at your appointment or upload it to the electronic portal without printing a thing.

Is your office asking for the translation on paper? We issue it on official State-stamped paper (papel timbrado), with a handwritten signature and stamp, and send it by courier after the digital delivery. That covers any in-person submission requirement with no last-minute surprises.

One thing worth being clear about: a MAEC sworn translation takes effect in Spain. It tells the Spanish administration what your foreign document says, but it doesn't replace the apostille and doesn't validate the document before authorities in other countries. If your criminal record certificate or your civil certificate needs an apostille, get it in the issuing country before sending it our way.

Why Textualia

We handle immigration files every day, so we know what Extranjería asks for and how they like to see it. In practice, that means fewer rejections over points of form.

• Sworn translators accredited by the MAEC, valid throughout Spain.
• Fixed price and guaranteed turnaround shown before you pay, VAT included, no small print.
• Care with names: if your name on the foreign document doesn't match your NIE or passport to the letter, we add a translator's note linking the two identities so you're not rejected over an inconsistency that's only on the surface.
• Quick delivery, with urgent options for when the appointment is bearing down.

Gather your documents, check that the foreign ones are apostilled where needed, and order the sworn translation. You'll have it ready for your TIE appointment within the turnaround you see before you pay.