In English

Twenty questions, answered straight

ApnaSpain helps the Pakistani community in Spain — and their families in Pakistan — with the appointments and the paperwork. Below are the questions people actually ask us on WhatsApp, with the answers we would give on the phone. Where the answer is a legal one, it is quoted from the government's own published sheet, and the source is listed at the bottom of this page.

Same questions in Urdu: اردو میں پڑھیں · Spanish: en español

1. 1. Do I need to speak Spanish to get an appointment?

   No. Send us a WhatsApp message or a voice note in Urdu, Punjabi, English or Spanish — whichever is easiest. We read the official system for you. You will need to attend the appointment yourself, and we tell you in advance exactly what happens there and what you must carry.

2. 2. What is the huellas appointment?

   It is the fingerprint appointment at the police station, after your residence file has been approved. It is not the same as collecting the card: you give fingerprints first, and the TIE card is ready to collect some weeks later, which is a second appointment.

3. 3. My TIE card is ready. Do I need another appointment?

   Yes. Collecting the card is its own appointment at the police station, and in most provinces it is a separate booking from the fingerprint one. If your card has been waiting a long time, deal with it sooner rather than later.

4. 4. What is the NIE and how is it different from the TIE?

   The NIE is your foreigner identity number — a number, needed for work, a bank account and contracts. The TIE is the physical residence card that carries it. You can have a NIE without holding a TIE card.

5. 5. How much do you charge, and when do I pay?

   Fingerprints €59 (Barcelona €99), TIE collection €49, NIE and certificates €69, nationality €99. You pay only once the appointment is confirmed and you can check it yourself on the government's own site. The one exception is asylum, which is reserved with a €30 deposit, taken off the total and returned in full if we do not get the appointment.

6. 6. What do the Pakistan-side services cost?

   We do not publish a number for them yet, and we would rather say that than invent one. Documents from Pakistan, NADRA and passport help, family reunification and visa document preparation are all quoted on WhatsApp once we know which document and which city — because the real cost differs by both.

7. 7. Who can bring their family to Spain?

   The official sheet is explicit: an application for family reunification may be made when the sponsor has resided in Spain for at least one year and has applied for authorisation to reside for at least one more year. Both conditions, not either one.

8. 8. How much income do I need to bring my family?

   For a household of two — the sponsor and the reunited family member — the sheet requires a monthly amount of 150% of the IPREM. For each additional member you add 50% of the IPREM. It can be lower for minors and represented persons: a stable income at or above the minimum wage may be accepted even if it does not reach that figure.

9. 9. Do I need to prove my housing?

   Yes. The sheet requires documentation proving the availability of adequate housing. If the regional or local authority has not issued and notified its housing report within one month of the request, you may provide the documentation yourself: the title allowing you to occupy the home, the number of rooms, the use of each room, how many people live there, and the habitability and equipment conditions.

10. 10. How long does the family reunification decision take?

    The sheet gives a resolution period of two months. If that period passes without the administration notifying you, the application may be understood to have been rejected by administrative silence. That is why we track the file rather than wait quietly.

11. 11. The reunification was granted. What must my family do in Pakistan?

    The sheet sets a chain of one-month and two-month steps, and missing one restarts the problem. Your family has two months from notification of the grant to apply for the visa in person at the consular office for the area where they live. The consulate notifies its decision within a maximum of one month. Once notified, the visa must be collected in person within one month. After that they must enter Spain within a maximum of one month, and within one month of entering must apply in person for the foreigner identity card.

12. 12. Do my Pakistani documents need an apostille or consular legalisation?

    For Spain, an apostille. Pakistan joined the Hague Apostille Convention with effect from 9 March 2023, and Spain did not object to that accession, so the Convention applies between the two countries. The route is: your document apostilled by MOFA in Pakistan, then translated by a sworn translator — the official sheet requires that sworn translation separately, and a document without it will not be accepted however official the seal on it looks. Consular legalisation is still required only by the eight States that did object to Pakistan's accession: Greece, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. If your document is going to one of those countries rather than to Spain, tell us, because the route is different.

13. 13. Do documents have to be translated?

    Yes. The sheet is explicit: when documents from other countries are submitted, they must be translated into Spanish — or the co-official language of the territory where the application is filed — by a sworn translator.

14. 14. Can you get my police certificate from Pakistan?

    Yes — that is one of the reasons ApnaSpain exists. We request the certificate in Pakistan, take it through the attestation route it needs, have it translated by a sworn translator and courier it to you in Spain. Tell us which city issued your record, because that changes the route and the time.

15. 15. Can you help with NADRA — NICOP, POC or FRC?

    Yes, as guided self-service. NADRA's Pak-ID system is applied for online in your own name, so we walk you through it in Urdu, check your documents and photographs before you submit, and tell you what usually causes a rejection. We do not hold your identity documents.

16. 16. My Pakistani passport is expiring. Can you help?

    Yes. Passport renewal goes through DGIP's online system, and for many people it is now done without travelling. We guide you in Urdu and check the application before you submit it. Where an in-person step is unavoidable, we help you get the embassy or consulate appointment.

17. 17. Where is the Pakistani embassy and consulate in Spain?

    The embassy is in Madrid and the consulate is in Barcelona. Which one you need depends on the document and on where you live. We tell you which one, and help you get the appointment, before you spend money on travel.

18. 18. Can you submit my application for me?

    No, and be careful with anyone who says they can. We are not a law firm and not a gestoría. We find and book appointments, prepare and check documents, and explain the steps in your language. The application itself is made by you, or by a properly appointed legal representative.

19. 19. Are you selling me a government appointment?

    No. The official appointment is free, personal and non-transferable, and you can request it yourself at no cost on the government's own site. What you pay us for is the work of finding a free slot and booking it in your name. If you would rather try yourself first, we will tell you where to look.

20. 20. Can you guarantee me a visa, or a job in Spain?

    No. Nobody can, and an offer of either should be treated as a warning sign. We prepare and check documents and we coach you for the interview. The decision belongs to the consulate alone, and we have no influence over it. We do not offer employment, we do not recruit for employers, and we do not sell jobs.