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Spain PaperworkSpanish administrative procedures · English reference edition

Araba/Álava · Carta de invitación

Invitation letter offices in Álava

One office in Álava handles Carta de invitación, in Vitoria-Gasteiz. It is the only one in the province, so there is no closer alternative to try.

Checked at source ·

The Immigration Office in Álava

Carta de invitación is an authorisation, so it is decided at an Oficina de Extranjería under the Government Delegation — not at a police station. They are separate networks with separate appointment systems, and going to the wrong one is the most common wasted journey in Spanish immigration.

The ministry's page for Álava does not name this procedure among the services it itemises for these offices. They are the province's Immigration Offices, which is where authorisations of this kind are decided, but ring ahead before travelling rather than relying on that.

  • Sede 1. Oficina de Extranjería en Vitoria - Gasteiz

    Vitoria-Gasteiz

    Address
    Calle Olaguibel, 1, 01071 Vitoria-Gasteiz
    Phone
    945759480 (Atención al Público y Cita previa)
    Opening hours
    Lunes a viernes de 9:00h a 15:00h. Cita Previa: Web: http://run.gob.es/cita_alava 945759480 - Horario oficina.
    Also decides
    Employed work and residence permits, self-employed work and residence permits, posted worker permits, residence and work for research, work authorisations for existing residents, exemptions from the work permit requirement, non-lucrative residence, family reunification, arraigo, other exceptional-circumstances permits, long-term residence, EU long-term residence, student stay permits, changing from one permit type to another, residence permits for minors, reports on temporary travel by minors, adoption visas, repatriation of unaccompanied minors, EU family member residence cards, expulsion and return proceedings, appeals, short-stay extensions, information on procedures

Source: Ministerio de Política Territorial — Extranjería en las Delegaciones del Gobierno. Checked .

The offices, and what each one handles

  • Brigada Provincial de Extranjería y Fronteras de Vitoria/Gasteiz

    Vitoria-Gasteiz

    Address
    C/ Oñate s/n, 01013 - Vitoria-Gasteiz (Araba/Álava)
    Beyond the shared list
    EU registration certificates, NIE numbers and certificates, asylum and international protection, letters of invitation, nationality reports, non-lucrative residence, registration certificates (cédula de inscripción), return authorisations, stay extensions, student permits
    As the police word it, in Spanish

    Autorizaciones de Regreso · Cartas de Invitación · Certificados y asignación de NIE · Estudiantes · Expedición de TIE · Informes de Nacionalidad · Prórrogas de estancia · Régimen Comunitario · Residencias No Lucrativas · Solicitudes de Asilo y Refugio · Títulos de viaje y Cédulas de inscripción

    Find Vitoria-Gasteiz on a map

Source: Dirección General de la Policía — Unidades de Extranjería — Dependencias policiales. Checked .

What to take with you

Official fee
€81.59 in total
Form 790-012
Proof of payment of both fees
  • Your own identificationSpanish nationals: national identity document or passport. Everyone else: passport, foreigner identity card, or NIE. Plus your full home address.
  • Proof that the accommodation is available to youPublic deed or title of ownership, a rental contract, or an equivalent document under current civil law. If you are hosting them at a second property rather than your main home, the proof has to cover that property.
  • The visitor's detailsFull name, place and date of birth, nationality, exact place of residence, and passport number — for each person if the invitation covers more than one.
  • The dates of the stayThe approximate first and last day of the visit.

The conditions, deadlines and what happens if you miss them

Other procedures handled in Álava

Before you travel to one of these

Almost all of these offices work by appointment only, booked through the electronic office of the public administration. Turning up without one generally means being turned away, however short the queue looks. Office assignments also change, so if what is here does not match what you are told on the phone, believe the phone and tell us.

The full Invitation letter guide — documents, fees and deadlines