Residence card for a family member of an EU citizen (Familiar Comunitario)

What to have ready

1. Cl@ve or certificado digital if you're filing online.
2. EX-19 filled and signed.
3. Passport of the non‑EU family member.
4. DNI or certificado de registro of the EU citizen in Spain.
5. Proof of relationship (marriage/registered partnership/child/ascendant) apostilled and translated if not in Spanish.
6. Proof of cohabitation (joint empadronamiento, rental contract, bills).
7. Means of the EU citizen: contract and payslips, vida laboral; if not working, proof of sufficient means and health insurance covering Spain.
8. Paid 790-052 fee receipt.

Documentation

• EX-19: the main form for familiares de comunitarios.
• Passport valid (bring original and a copy).
• DNI/certificado de registro del comunitario (if they don't have it yet, get it first; without it they can reject the application).
• Full certificate of marriage/registered partnership or birth certificate for children/ascendants. Apostille and sworn translation if issued abroad and not in Spanish.
• Joint empadronamiento or real proofs of cohabitation (contract, bills in both names).
• Financial means of the EU citizen: contract, payslips/vida laboral; if unemployed, sufficient means and health insurance that covers in Spain.
• Proof of payment of the 790-052 fee.

Step by step

1. Fill in the EX-19 and prepare everything above. If a document needs apostille or translation, don't try without it — they'll ask for subsanación and you'll lose weeks.
2. Pay the 790-052 at the Ministry's site (choose the concept for familiar de comunitario). Keep the NRC or the bank's stamped PDF.
3. Submit the application:
   • Online: use the Registro Electrónico Común (https://rec.redsara.es/registro), ID with Cl@ve/certificado, address it to the Oficina de Extranjería of your province and attach clear PDFs.
   • In person: book a cita at https://icp.administracionelectronica.gob.es/icpplus/ for Extranjería and hand in your folder.
4. Respond to requests: if they ask for subsanación, upload it the same way within the deadline (normally 10 business days). Don't leave it to the last day.
5. If granted: pay the 790-012 at https://sede.policia.gob.es/Tasa790_012/ for the TIE.
6. Fingerprint appointment: go back to https://icp.administracionelectronica.gob.es/icpplus/ and book at your assigned Comisaría. Bring 3 passport photos, passport, resolution, fee receipts and recent empadronamiento.
7. Collection: they'll give you a date or tell you when to return. The TIE usually takes 2–4 weeks.

Time‑saving tricks

• Scan everything in grouped PDFs (identity, relationship, cohabitation, means) with clear filenames. Extranjería hates unclear uploads and will ask for the same thing again.
• Get the joint padrón before applying: many offices treat it as gold.
• Apply online if you can: you avoid queues and get notifications faster.
• On icpplus, try first thing in the morning and use Chrome. If it shows “no appointments”, check again over a few days.
• Bring copies of everything on your fingerprints day. If a photo is missing they'll send you home.

Typical mistakes that will mess up your application

1. Not apostilling/translating foreign documents. Without this, your file stalls.
2. Mixing up fees: paying the 790-012 before the grant. That fee is only for the TIE.
3. Not proving means/insurance when the EU citizen isn't working. Straight refusal.
4. Submitting after the deadline with no good reason. You risk fines and extra checks.
5. Failing to prove cohabitation: without padrón/contract they'll ask for subsanación and you'll lose weeks.
6. Fingerprint appointment without photos or recent empadronamiento: you lose the appointment.