Spain TIE photo: 32 × 26 mm card photo requirements
The TIE — Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero — is the physical identity card Spain issues to foreign residents, and the card is what needs a photo. The NIE is not a document at all: it is your foreigner number, and no photo is ever attached to it. The card photo is the size Spain uses for its own national ID: tamaño carné — "32 por 26 milímetros" in the official wording, a 26 mm wide × 32 mm tall print. And the official checklist asks for exactly one photograph, not the three that outdated summaries still repeat.
Quick answer
32 × 26 mm, plain white background, one photo
A TIE photo is a recent colour photograph in carné size — 26 × 32 mm (26 mm wide, 32 mm tall) — "32 por 26 mm" in official wording — on a uniform, plain white background, taken from the front with the head fully uncovered and no dark glasses. The official checklist asks for one photograph. The same photo rule covers first cards, renewals and duplicates. Last reviewed .
Spain TIE photo requirements
| Size | 26 × 32 mm (26 mm wide, 32 mm tall) — "32 por 26 mm" in official wording [3] |
|---|---|
| Photographs needed | One — "Una fotografía reciente, en color, en fondo blanco, tamaño carné" [1] |
| Colour & recency | Recent and in colour, so it reflects your current appearance [1] |
| Background | Uniform, plain white ("fondo uniforme blanco y liso") [3] |
| Pose | Taken from the front, head straight, face fully visible [3] |
| Head covering | Head fully uncovered ("con la cabeza totalmente descubierta"); nothing may prevent or hinder identification — religious head coverings are treated under the same general carné-photo rules [3] |
| Glasses | No dark or tinted lenses ("sin gafas de cristales oscuros") [3] See full rules → |
| Printed or digital | A printed photo, handed in at the fingerprint appointment together with the rest of your file [1] |
Spanish official texts stop there. No dpi figure, no pixel dimensions and no head-height millimetre band are published for the TIE photo — numbers like "600 dpi" or a "23.5 mm head" that circulate on photo-service sites are not in the official sources, so this page does not repeat them. What the sources do fix is the carné format itself, the single-photo requirement and the background, pose and glasses rules in the table above.
TIE, NIE and "tarjeta de residencia" — which one needs the photo?
These three names get mixed up constantly, including by photo services, so it is worth being precise. The TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) is the physical card: it carries your photo and your fingerprints, and it is issued at a Policía Nacional station. The NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is a number: it is assigned once, appears on your paperwork and on the TIE itself, and never needs a photograph — there is no such thing as an "NIE photo". "Tarjeta de residencia" is simply the everyday name people use for the TIE: when a checklist asks for a photo "para la tarjeta de residencia", it means the TIE card photo, under the same carné rule described on this page.
So if a service or an office asks you for an NIE photo, they mean the TIE photo. The only photograph in the whole procedure is the one that goes on the card.
32 por 26 or 26 × 32 — which is right?
Both. Spanish official texts cite the carné photo height-first: Royal Decree 1553/2005, art. 5.1.b — the regulation behind the phrase "tamaño carné" — defines it as "tamaño 32 por 26 milímetros, con fondo uniforme blanco y liso, tomada de frente con la cabeza totalmente descubierta y sin gafas de cristales oscuros" [3]. Photo services usually write the same size width-first, as 26 × 32 mm. It is one rectangle written in two orders: 26 mm wide, 32 mm tall, always taller than it is wide. If a print shop offers "26 × 32" and the checklist says "32 por 26", nothing is wrong — you are looking at the same format.
What to bring to the fingerprint appointment
The card is issued in person. Once your residence application is approved and you have the resolución, you book a cita previa for "Toma de huellas (expedición de tarjeta)" at the Policía Nacional station (comisaría) handling your province, and hand in your file at the appointment [2]. Bring:
- Your passport.
- The resolución granting or renewing your stay.
- One recent colour photo, carné size (26 × 32 mm), on a plain white background [1].
- Form EX-17 (Solicitud de Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero), filled in — the form is listed on the Interior Ministry's TIE page [1].
- Proof of payment of the fee: tasa 790, código 012. The payment form can be filled in online at the Policía Nacional's tasa 790-012 page ↗, then paid at a bank before the appointment.
Fingerprints are taken at the appointment, and the finished card is collected at the comisaría later — the photo you hand in is the one that appears on it.
Renewal and duplicate cards: same photo rule
Renewing the card (renovación) or replacing a lost or stolen one (duplicado) does not change the photo requirement. Policía Nacional's checklists for initial, renewal, duplicate and data-change cards all include the same recent colour photo on a white background policia.es ↗ — one photograph, carné size, and the card is again issued through a fingerprint appointment at the comisaría. If a photo worked for your first TIE, a new print to the same spec works for the renewal; just make sure it is recent, so it reflects how you look now [1].
Official sources
- [1] Ministerio del Interior, Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero — the TIE documentation checklist, including the single-photo line ("Una fotografía reciente, en color, en fondo blanco, tamaño carné") and form EX-17. interior.gob.es ↗
- [2] Policía Nacional (sede electrónica), tarjeta de residencia de larga duración — the photo requirement and the fingerprint (toma de huellas) procedure at the comisaría. sede.policia.gob.es ↗
- [3] Royal Decree 1553/2005, art. 5.1.b (BOE-A-2005-21163) — the carné photo definition: 32 × 26 mm, uniform plain white background, taken from the front, head fully uncovered, no dark glasses. boe.es ↗
Verified . We monitor interior.gob.es and the Policía Nacional sede for changes.
Frequently asked questions
How many photos does the TIE application need?
One. The Interior Ministry's TIE checklist asks for "Una fotografía reciente, en color, en fondo blanco, tamaño carné" — a single recent colour photograph on a white background, in carné size. Older summaries circulating online still say three photos; the current official checklist says one. A spare print cut from the same sheet is a cheap safety margin, but the requirement is one photograph.
Does the NIE need a photo?
No — the NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is a number, not a document. It is assigned once and printed on your paperwork; no photograph is ever attached to it. When a checklist or an office asks for an "NIE photo", what they actually mean is the photo for the TIE — the physical card that carries the NIE number.
Is 26 × 32 mm the same size as 32 × 26 mm?
Yes — it is one size written in two different orders. Spanish official texts cite the carné photo height-first ("32 por 26 milímetros"), while photo services usually write width-first (26 × 32 mm). Either way it is the same portrait rectangle: 26 mm wide and 32 mm tall, taller than it is wide.
Can I wear glasses in the TIE photo?
Not dark ones. The carné photo rule (RD 1553/2005, art. 5.1.b) requires the photo to be taken from the front with the head fully uncovered and "sin gafas de cristales oscuros" — without dark-lensed glasses — and bans anything that could prevent or hinder identification. Tinted lenses, and any frame or glare that hides the eyes, risk the photo being refused at the counter.
Can I make the TIE photo online?
Yes. The requirement is a printed recent colour photo in carné size (26 × 32 mm) on a plain white background — nothing about it requires a photo studio. Anfas.Pro generates a TIE-ready photo in Spain's exact carné format, checked against the same Policía Nacional sources this guide cites, and gives you a print sheet to take to the fingerprint appointment.
Related guides
Get a TIE photo that matches the official spec
Upload a portrait and Anfas.Pro produces Spain's 26 × 32 mm carné format — plain white background, front-facing crop — checked against the same Policía Nacional sources this guide cites, with a print-ready sheet for the fingerprint appointment.