Autorización de Regreso in Spain: The EX-13 Re-Entry Permit, Explained (2026)
- 🌟 Stuck in Spain without your TIE? This is the document that gets you home for Christmas
- ☎️ What is the autorización de regreso?
- 💻 How long is it valid, and the Schengen trap
- 🌟 Documents you need
- ⛔ How to fill out the EX-13 form
- 🥇 Getting the appointment (Madrid and Barcelona especially)
- ☎️ How long does it take once you have the appointment?
- ⏰ Summary: autorización de regreso at a glance
- 😊 Frequently asked questions About Autorización de Regreso in Spain
- ⛔ Travel plans and a card in renewal? We handle both
Stuck in Spain without your TIE? This is the document that gets you home for Christmas
Every autumn the same phone calls start. A client filed their non-lucrative visa renewal in September, the new card won’t be ready until January, and they have flights to Boston or Manchester booked for December. Can they leave Spain? Yes. Can they get back in? Only with an autorización de regreso (return authorization), a paper permit issued by the Spanish police that lets you re-enter the country while your residence card is out of your hands.
We arrange these constantly for our clients, usually in the same week we file their renewal. Here is how the document works, who qualifies, how to fill out the EX-13 form, and the honest truth about getting an appointment in Madrid or Barcelona.
What is the autorización de regreso?
The autorización de regreso is an official document issued by the Policía Nacional that allows a foreign resident to leave Spain and return legally while their physical residence card is unavailable. In plain terms: your legal status in Spain is fine, but the plastic card that proves it at the border is being renewed, replaced or issued for the first time. The return authorization bridges that gap.
It exists for three situations:
- Your residence permit (or long-duration stay permit) is in its renewal or extension period and you filed the renewal on time.
- Your TIE card was stolen, lost, destroyed or damaged, and you have already applied for a duplicate.
- Your initial residence application was approved but the first TIE has not been issued yet. In this case the police also want to see that the trip responds to a genuine situation of necessity and exceptional reasons.
The legal basis is Real Decreto 1155/2024, of 19 November, the current immigration regulation in force since 20 May 2025, and the procedure is handled entirely by the police. Without this document, a resident who leaves Spain mid-renewal risks being refused boarding on the return flight or turned away at the border. Airlines check for it. So do Spanish border officers.
How long is it valid, and the Schengen trap
The authorization is valid for a maximum of 90 days. If you request it before your residence card expires, the 90 days count from the card’s expiry date. If you request it after the card has already expired, the 90 days count from the date the authorization is granted. During that window there is no limit on the number of exits and re-entries with the same document.
Now the part that catches people out. Under EU law, the autorización de regreso is only valid for entering Spain through Spanish border posts. It is a Spanish national document, not a Schengen visa, and other Schengen countries have no obligation to honour it. That means no connecting through Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt on the way back, and no side trip to Portugal or Italy while you are travelling on it. Book direct flights in and out of Spain. A layover in another Schengen country can end with you denied boarding at the gate, and there is no appeal in that moment.
Documents you need
The police list two mandatory items, and experience adds three more you should always bring:
- Form EX-13 (official PDF), completed and signed (two copies).
- Proof of payment of tasa 790, código 012, the government fee of 10.72 euros (confirm the current amount on the payment form). You generate the payment form on the official tasa 790-012 page, pay at almost any Spanish bank, and bring the stamped receipt.
- Your passport, original plus a full copy of every page. It must be valid for your travel dates.
- The resguardo (receipt slip) proving your pending application: the renewal filing receipt, the duplicate request for a stolen or lost card, or the favourable resolution of your initial permit.
- Travel tickets showing your exact dates. Not always demanded, but officers ask for them often enough that going without is a gamble, and they are essential if you are arguing urgency.
If your card was stolen, bring the police report (denuncia) as well. It supports the duplicate request and answers questions before they are asked.
How to fill out the EX-13 form
The EX-13 is one page and less intimidating than most Spanish immigration forms, but small errors get applications bounced at the counter. Walk through it section by section:
- Section 1, personal data: your NIE, passport number, full name exactly as it appears in your passport, date and place of birth, nationality, parents’ first names, and your address in Spain. Use the address on your padrón registration.
- Section 2, legal representative: only complete this if someone (a lawyer, or a parent for a minor) is acting on your behalf. Most applicants leave it blank.
- Section 3, notification details: where you want official communications sent. Tick the option for electronic notification only if you actually check that inbox.
- Section 4, the request itself: tick the box matching your situation (renewal in process, duplicate requested for theft or loss, or initial permit granted with TIE pending) and write the date you filed that application. This date must match your resguardo.
- Signature: sign and date in blue or black ink, in the city where you will file. Unsigned forms are the most common reason people are sent home to come back another day.
Print two copies. The office keeps one and stamps the other for you.
Getting the appointment (Madrid and Barcelona especially)
You apply in person at a Policía Nacional station that handles immigration paperwork or at an oficina de extranjería (immigration office). Walk-ins are not accepted: you need a cita previa (prior appointment). Note that these appointments are not booked on the police website. They go through the central government appointment portal at icp.administracionelectronica.gob.es (the “Sede electrónica de las Administraciones Públicas”), where you select your province and the procedure “Policía – Autorización de regreso”.
Here is the honest part. In Madrid and Barcelona, these appointments are scarce. Slots are released in small batches, often early in the morning, and can disappear quickly. In our experience, residents in smaller provinces tend to get a date fairly soon, while in the two big cities the wait is commonly a few weeks and can stretch longer in busy periods. Some clients come to us after days of refreshing the portal with nothing to show for it.
Three practical rules from our daily work:
- Book the moment you file your renewal, not the week before you fly. The renewal receipt is all you need to start, and the appointment backlog is the real bottleneck, not the document itself.
- Check the portal at off-hours. New slots tend to appear early morning. Persistence beats luck.
- Try nearby provinces if your travel date is close. The rules let you file at any office, though bring proof of why you are filing away from home in case an officer asks.
This is the single step where most people lose their trip. It is also the step we take off our clients’ hands entirely: when MySpainVisa handles your TIE renewal or long-term permit, we book the return authorization appointment, prepare the EX-13 and file it alongside your renewal so the travel document is never an afterthought. If you are in Catalonia, our immigration lawyers in Barcelona deal with the local police stations every week and know which offices move fastest.
How long does it take once you have the appointment?
The appointment itself is quick. In most offices the authorization is usually issued on the spot, the same day, after the officer checks your documents and the fee receipt. The processing is rarely the problem. Getting the slot is.
If your trip responds to a genuine emergency, Spanish regulations say the application is processed with priority. In practice, offices apply this to serious cases: a medical emergency, the death or grave illness of a close family member, an unavoidable work crisis. Bring documentary proof (a death certificate, a hospital letter, a letter from your employer) and explain the urgency when booking or directly at the office. Priority treatment is real, but it is discretionary, so the stronger your paper trail, the better.
Summary: autorización de regreso at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is it? | Police-issued permit to leave Spain and re-enter without your physical TIE |
| Who needs it? | Residents with a renewal in process, a stolen/lost card, or a first TIE pending |
| Validity | Maximum 90 days, unlimited entries and exits within that window |
| Where is it valid? | Entry through Spanish border posts only, never for other Schengen countries |
| Form | EX-13, two signed copies |
| Cost | Tasa 790 código 012, 10.72 euros (confirm current amount on the form) |
| Where to apply | In person, with cita previa, at Policía Nacional or an oficina de extranjería |
| Processing time | Usually issued the same day; the wait is for the appointment |
Frequently asked questions About Autorización de Regreso in Spain
How long does the autorización de regreso take?
The document itself is normally issued at the appointment, the same day. The real waiting time is the cita previa: often just days in small provinces, but commonly a few weeks in Madrid and Barcelona. Book as soon as you file your renewal or duplicate request.
How do I get an autorización de regreso?
Book an appointment online for “Policía – Autorización de regreso” in your province, pay the tasa 790-012 at a bank, and attend with your EX-13, passport, copy and the receipt of your pending application. The officer issues the authorization once everything checks out.
How long is it valid?
Ninety days at most. Requested before your card expires, the clock runs from the expiry date; requested afterwards, it runs from the day the authorization is granted. You can enter and exit Spain as many times as you need while it is valid.
Can I travel through another Schengen country with it?
No. It is only valid for entering Spain through Spanish border posts. Other Schengen states are not obliged to accept it, so a layover in Paris or Amsterdam can end with you stranded at a departure gate. Fly direct to and from Spain.
Do I need one if I still have my TIE?
If your TIE is physically in your possession and still valid on the date you return to Spain, you travel with it as normal and no return authorization is needed. You need the document when the card is expired and in renewal, handed in, lost, stolen or not yet issued. Family members whose cards depend on a main applicant, for instance under family reunification, each need their own authorization if their own cards are in renewal.
What if my trip is an emergency?
Applications tied to a situation of genuine necessity are processed with priority under Spanish regulations. Bring proof: a medical report, a death certificate, an employer’s letter. Offices do accommodate real emergencies, but they decide case by case, so documentation matters more than urgency claimed at the counter.
Travel plans and a card in renewal? We handle both
The autorización de regreso is a small document with an outsized ability to ruin a trip when it is missing. At MySpainVisa this is routine work: we prepare the EX-13, pay the fee, chase the appointment and file the authorization alongside your renewal, so the only thing you plan around is your flight. If your card is up for renewal and there is travel on the horizon, tell us the dates and we take it from there. The official procedure details are published by the Policía Nacional; the appointment hunting is what we save you from.