Important: the document we are talking about in this section is not issued to European Union citizens who must apply for the Certificado de Registro de Ciudadanos de la Unión Europea.
The TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad para Extranjeros) is an identification document issued to non-EU foreigners.
It is important not to confuse the NIE with the TIE: the NIE is simply the number that is assigned to each foreign citizen, the TIE is the identification document with a photo which, among the various identification data shown, also includes the NIE itself.
Any non-Spanish and non-EU citizen can therefore apply for the TIE, provided that they meet the specific requirements, after having obtained the assignment of their NIE, as clearly explained by the “Ministerio del Interior” (Ministry of Interior).
The TIE does not imply having received Spanish citizenship, but simply certifies the residence in the territory.
If you are interested to know how to obtain the TIE, Globaris360 will help you throughout the process.