TIE Card Holders and the EES: What to Do at Passport Control

If you’ve flown into Spain recently, you’ve probably felt it: long queues, uncertain signage, and airport staff repeating the same explanation over and over. The new EES system has caused real confusion this summer — and if you’re a foreign resident with a TIE card, it’s worse, because most official guidance is written for tourists, not for you.

We asked our community directly.* In an informal survey of expats living in Spain, a third told us they hadn’t been given enough information about how EES applies to them, and 35% wanted clarity on whether it even applies to TIE holders at all. Passport control was just as unclear: 42% thought e-gates were fine for them to use, 40% thought they weren’t — almost a coin flip.

So let’s settle the part we can answer clearly.

Do TIE holders need to register in the EES? No. Holders of a valid Spanish residence permit, including a valid TIE, are exempt from the EES.

What should TIE holders do at passport control? Carry your passport and valid TIE, follow the airport signage and present both documents to the border authorities. Eligibility for automated gates and the lanes available may vary by airport, so use a staffed border-control desk if you’re unsure.

The EU’s own Entry/Exit System guidance is clear that the system doesn’t apply to holders of residence permits or long-stay visas — and that includes anyone with a valid TIE. The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office confirms the same for long-term residents of any Schengen country.

As Caroline Lips, Head of Marketing at Staysure Expat, explains: “Foreign residents in Spain with a valid TIE card are exempt from registering under the EES.”

E-gates are built to scan a passport. Because they’re not designed to read a TIE, the safest approach if you want your residency status properly recognised is to use a staffed desk and present your passport and TIE together, rather than relying on an automated gate. Whether e-gates are available or suitable for TIE holders can depend on the specific airport, your nationality and the border-control arrangements in place at the time — so if signage isn’t clear, ask a border official or head for a staffed desk.

1. Carry your passport and valid TIE together.
2. Follow the signage at that airport for residents or non-EES arrivals — lane markings and layouts vary by airport, so ask a border official if it isn’t obvious.
3. Present both documents to the border officer, who will process your entry manually.;

A number of the expats we surveyed told us clearer airport signage would help, and several wanted a simple guide like this one. Confusion around EES isn’t going away on its own, so we’ll keep publishing practical updates whenever the rules — or the guidance — change.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for practical, expat-specific travel updates — we post these as soon as something changes.

^{*Informal survey conducted among 82 members of the Staysure Expat community in June 2026. The results are indicative and are not intended to be representative of all foreign residents in Spain.}

^{Staysure Expat is a trading name of Avanti Group Solutions. Products are administered by Howserv Europe, S.L., acting as an exclusive agent of ERGO Seguros de Viaje Europäische Reiseversicherung AG, Sucursal en España}