Spain immigration and legal glossary
NIE, TIE, residence, arraigo and other terms in plain language. Definitions do not replace individual legal assessment.
- NIE
- Foreigner identification number, not a residence authorisation.
- TIE
- Foreigner identity card; issuing the card is distinct from granting the permit.
- Residencia / estancia
- Residence and stay are different legal regimes; study stay is not residence for citizenship.
- Empadronamiento
- Municipal registration; it does not itself regularise immigration status.
- UGE-CE
- Unit handling certain authorisations under Ley 14/2013.
- PAC / Tarjeta azul-UE
- National highly qualified authorisation and EU Blue Card: separate routes with distinct requirements.
- Por cuenta ajena / por cuenta propia
- Employment / self-employment; initial-procedure requirements must not be conflated.
- Arraigo
- Exceptional-circumstances permits: segunda oportunidad, sociolaboral, social, socioformativo and familiar; each assessed separately.
- Reagrupación familiar
- General-regime reunification differs from Spanish-citizen, EU and Ley 14/2013 family routes.
- Familiar de ciudadano español / régimen UE
- Relatives of Spanish citizens and of other EU/EEA/Swiss citizens do not share one universal procedure.
- Larga duración / larga duración-UE
- Different authorisations; EU long-term status does not confer unconditional residence and work in another member state.
- Renovación / modificación
- Renewing a permit and changing its category are different procedures.
- Requerimiento / subsanación
- Request for documents / correction of defects. The notice governs the deadline; suspension is not an automatic restart.
- Notificación electrónica
- Formal electronic notification differs from a public status lookup; failing to open it may have legal effects.
- Silencio administrativo
- Effects of failure to decide on time depend on the procedure; silence does not always mean approval.
- Apostilla / traducción jurada
- An apostille authenticates origin, not content; it has no general expiry. Document freshness and sworn translation are assessed separately.
- Homologación / equivalencia / convalidación
- Recognition for a specified profession, academic equivalence and transfer of partial studies are not interchangeable.
- Abogada colegiada / gestor administrativo
- A registered lawyer and a gestor administrativo are different professions; an informal helper is not necessarily professionally registered.
- SMI / IPREM
- Different reference indices; amounts, calculation periods and family composition must be checked at filing.