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Gipuzkoa · Carta de invitación

Invitation letter offices in Gipuzkoa

2 offices in Gipuzkoa handle Carta de invitación, in San Sebastián and Irun. Not every police station in the province does — going to one that does not costs you the appointment, and the appointment is the part that takes weeks.

Checked at source ·

The Immigration Office in Gipuzkoa

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 Gipuzkoa 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 Donostia - San Sebastián

    Donostia/San Sebastián

    Address
    Plaza Pío XII, 6 (Entrada independiente por Javier de Barcaiztegui), 20010 Donostia/San Sebastián
    Phone
    943989110 (Información)
    Opening hours
    lunes a viernes de 9h a 17,30h Horario estival (16 jun. a 15 sept.): Lunes a viernes de 8h a 15h
    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, return authorisations, short-stay extensions, 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

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

Which of them to choose

Gipuzkoa has 2 offices dealing with immigration matters, of which 2 handle Carta de invitación. The widest range is at Brigada Provincial de Extranjería y Fronteras de Donostia/San Sebastián, in San Sebastián, which lists 10 services.

All 2 of them handle the same core set, so for these you can simply go to whichever is nearest:

  • EU registration certificates
  • NIE numbers and certificates
  • Letters of invitation
  • Nationality reports
  • Return authorisations

Anything outside that list is where the offices differ, and each entry below says what its own office adds.

Towns with an office

The offices, and what each one handles

  • Brigada Provincial de Extranjería y Fronteras de Donostia/San Sebastián

    San Sebastián

    Address
    Calle José María Salaberría s/n, 20010 - Donostia/San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa)
    Beyond the shared list
    Also asylum and international protection, non-lucrative residence, registration certificates (cédula de inscripción), 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 San Sebastián on a map

  • Comisaría de Irún

    Irun

    Address
    Pl. del Ensanche, 1, 20302 - Irun (Gipuzkoa)
    Beyond the shared list
    Nothing beyond the list above
    As the police word it, in Spanish

    Autorizaciones de Regreso · Cartas de Invitación · Certificados y asignación de NIE · Expedición de TIE · Informes de Nacionalidad · Régimen Comunitario

    Find Irun 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 Gipuzkoa

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