Story
A non-EU student’s year in Girona, visa to TIE
Daniela is Colombian and has a place on a one-year master’s programme in Girona. She is imaginary, but the order of her steps is the one a student from outside the EU follows, and getting that order right spared her a good deal of worry.
It began in Bogotá. With the admission letter, proof of means, health insurance and the other papers the consulate listed, she applied at the Spanish consulate for a student visa. The visa came with a NIE, so she never had to request the number on its own.
In Girona she found a room in a shared flat and booked a cita prèvia at an OAMR, one of the Ajuntament’s registry offices, to register on the padró, the empadronament in Catalan. She brought the full padronal, signed, her passport and the rental contract with the last receipt; a temporary or tourist contract would not have been accepted.
Next came the card. Her course lasted more than six months, so she needed a TIE. On the booking pages she chose Girona as the province and the fingerprint procedure, then read the confirmation closely, since policia.es lists the issue of the TIE at C/ Santa Eugènia 145 in the city and the street on the confirmation is the one to follow. She brought the EX-17, her passport with the visa, a photograph, the paid 790-012 and a padró volant, and left with a resguardo, the receipt to keep until the card was ready.
Some weeks later she collected the card. Its expiry date followed her course, which raised the next question: what if she wanted a second year?
An extension is requested before the authorisation runs out, with proof of continued enrolment, means and health cover. It is an application to the immigration authorities, and policia.es names students among the procedures at C/ Cristobal Grober 12, so she checked the trámite before booking anything.
Her advice to the next student from outside the EU is short: keep a copy of everything the consulate saw, register on the padró as soon as you have a room, and read the street on every confirmation. In Girona, the street tells you more than the date.