Legal deadlines after you arrive on a residence visa

You have the visa and you have landed. Most countries still need you to do one more thing, at a set office and by a set date, before you are fully legal. The deadlines for Spain, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, France, Ireland and Germany, what to bring, the fees, and what happens if you miss them.

A residence visa gets you through the border. In most countries it does not finish the job. You still have to register in person, online or at a post office, and the clock starts the day you enter. Deadlines run from 8 working days in Italy to 90 days in Ireland. Miss one and you can lose your legal status or face a fine.

The deadlines at a glance

Spain: the TIE card

If your visa is for a stay of more than six months, you must get a Foreigner Identity Card (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, or TIE). For stays of 180 days or less, the visa covers the whole stay and you do not need a TIE.

• Deadline: apply in person within one month of entering Spain.
• Where: the Policía Nacional documentation unit at the Oficina de Extranjeros or police station in the province where you live. Book through the government’s cita previa (appointment) system. Spain’s embassy in Ottawa warns that appointments can be several weeks away, so book early.
• What to bring: the EX-17 application form, signed; your passport with its entry stamp; one recent colour photo on a white background; your visa; and proof that you paid the fee. Bring originals. Staff check them and give them back.
• Fee: €16.08 for a first TIE for temporary residence or a stay. You pay with form 790, code 012, at a bank.
• No entry stamp? If you entered Spain from another Schengen country, your passport may not have a Spanish stamp. Then you need an entry declaration, made in person at a police station or Oficina de Extranjeros within 72 hours of entering Spain.

Once you hold the card, you have one month to tell the police about a change of address or nationality. See Moving to Spain.

Italy: the permesso di soggiorno

Italy has the shortest deadline here.

• Deadline: apply within 8 working days of entering Italy.
• Where: many permit types, including study, work, self-employment and family, go through a postal kit. You collect it from a post office with the “Sportello Amico” sign, fill it in, and hand it over with the envelope still open. Other types go straight to the Questura (police immigration office) by appointment.
• What to bring: the application form, your passport with your visa, a photocopy of the passport, four identical recent passport photos, and the documents for your permit type. The kit takes copies. Bring the originals to the Questura.
• Fees: the Polizia di Stato lists a contribution of €40 for a permit of three months to one year, and €50 for one to two years. The government’s integration portal also lists €16 for a revenue stamp (marca da bollo), €30.46 for the electronic card and €30 for the post office’s registered mail.
• Receipt: the post office gives you a receipt and a printed Questura appointment. The receipt has legal value. With your passport, it lets you stay in Italy while you wait for the permit. At the Questura, staff take your photo and fingerprints.
• If you are late: the integration portal says a late application is justified only by force majeure.

See Moving to Italy.

Mexico: exchange the visa for a resident card

A Mexican resident visa in your passport is not the final document. You exchange it at the INM for a resident card.

• Deadline: within 30 calendar days of entering Mexico.
• Where: an INM office.
• What to bring: your valid passport and a copy; the resident visa and a copy; your original Forma Migratoria Múltiple (FMM), the entry form; the application form; and proof of payment. INM takes your photos at the office.
• Fee: MXN 11,141 for a one-year temporary resident card, per the federal Ventanilla Única. Some cases pay half, MXN 5,570, for example a stay to keep a family together or a job offer from a registered employer. You can pay by card at INM offices.

See Moving to Mexico.

Portugal: the AIMA residence permit

AIMA (the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum) took over the immigration work of SEF, the old border and immigration service, on 29 October 2023. Older guides that say “SEF” now mean AIMA.

• Deadline: a residence visa is valid for two entries and four months. You must apply to AIMA for your residence permit within those four months.
• Where: in person at AIMA, by appointment. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can book that appointment automatically when it issues your visa.
• No appointment on your visa? If AIMA had no slots when your visa was printed, it carries no appointment details. Once in Portugal, request one through AIMA’s contact form. Use your own email address, not a relative’s or an agent’s.

See Moving to Portugal.

France: validate the VLS-TS online

A long-stay visa that serves as a residence permit (VLS-TS) only works once you validate it.

• Deadline: within three months of arriving in France.
• Where: online, at administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr.
• What you need: your visa details, your date of entry, your address in France, and a bank card or an electronic tax stamp (sold at newsagents).
• Fee: €150 for a student VLS-TS. €300 for an employee or temporary worker VLS-TS.
• If you miss it: France-Visas says you are no longer legally present in France and cannot re-enter the Schengen Area.

See France.

Ireland: register for an IRP

If you are not an EU, UK or Swiss citizen and you stay more than 90 days, you must register with Immigration Service Delivery. UK citizens do not register.

• Deadline: your landing stamp tells you to register within 90 days.
• Where: the Burgh Quay Registration Office in Dublin, which handles all first-time registrations. Create an account on the Customer Service Portal and book as soon as you arrive. You cannot book before you land.
• If no slot fits: a booking made within your 90 days lets you stay until the appointment date.
• What to bring: original documents for your permission type, proof of address, your passport with its landing stamp, and private medical insurance where your permission requires it. Staff take your photo and fingerprints.
• Fee: €300 for most permissions, by card.

Your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card arrives by post in about 15 business days. See Moving to Ireland.

Germany: register your address, then get the permit

Germany has two steps.

1. Register your address (Anmeldung). Do it within 2 weeks of moving in, at the local registration office (Meldebehörde). Bring your passport and the landlord’s move-in confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung). A rental contract does not replace it. In Berlin the registration is free. Registering late, or not at all, can bring a fine of up to €1,000 under federal law.
2. Apply for the residence permit at the local foreigners authority (Ausländerbehörde). US, Canadian and UK citizens may enter without a visa and apply after arriving: do it within your first 90 days. If you came on a German national visa, apply before that visa ends. The federal fee to issue a residence permit is €100.

See Moving to Germany.

Your first two weeks, anywhere

1. Check your entry stamp the day you land. Spain and Ireland both need proof of your entry date.
2. Book the appointment before anything else. Slots in Spain, Portugal and Ireland can be weeks away. A booking can matter as much as the appointment itself.
3. Register your address where the country requires it. Ask your landlord for any confirmation the office needs.
4. Get your tax number if your new country uses one and you do not have it yet.
5. Keep every receipt, form and stamp. Italy’s post office receipt is your proof of legal stay until the card arrives.
6. Note the next date. Write down when your card or visa expires and when you can renew.

Not sure which steps apply to you? See Do I need an immigration lawyer?.

This is general information, not immigration advice. Deadlines change: confirm with the immigration office in your new country, and the consulate that issued your visa, before you travel.