Cards, visas, relatives
Autorización de regreso: leaving the ría and coming back while a card is on its way
If your TIE has run out with a renewal in progress, or went missing and its replacement is still on the way, request an autorización de regreso from the police ahead of the trip: that paper, a return authorisation, is what gets you back in. In the province of Pontevedra, policia.es lists it at four units, booked for the province. It adds no time to your residence; it simply bridges the stretch without a card.
Who it concerns
Residents from outside the EU with an unavoidable trip and a card that is expired, lost or stolen.
The form
Modelo 790 código 012
Where it is done
Named on the cita previa confirmation you receive; policia.es lists it in Pontevedra, Tui, Vilagarcía de Arousa and Salvaterra de Miño
Put these in your folder
- Passport, with a copy
- The expired card or the loss report
- Receipt of the renewal or duplicate request
- Travel dates
- Receipt of the 790-012: bank-stamped copy, or proof of online payment
Cases it covers
- A renewal requested in time, with the old card already expired
- A lost, stolen or damaged card waiting to be replaced
- An urgent journey, for family or work, that cannot wait for the card
When a valid card is enough
If your TIE is in force for the whole trip, travel with it and your passport and leave this page behind. The authorisation exists only for the time when the card cannot show your residence; a renewal itself usually ends with new TIE prints for the next card.
Where to request it in the province
The Delegación del Gobierno puts the return authorisation among the procedures it leaves to police offices, so it is not filed on Rúa Teófilo Llorente. policia.es lists “autorizaciones de regreso” at the Brigada on C/ Joaquín Costa 17 in Pontevedra and at the units in Tui, Vilagarcía de Arousa and Salvaterra de Miño. Book it for Pontevedra as soon as the trip looks likely, then attend wherever the confirmation sends you.
Papers for the request
Settle the police fee on the 790-012 before the day; the form gives the amount.
- Passport and a copy of it
- Your expired TIE, or the denuncia you filed when the card went missing
- Proof that the renewal or replacement was applied for
- Your travel dates, with the tickets if you have them
- Receipt of the 790-012: bank-stamped copy, or proof of online payment
Fitting the trip around it
The authorisation is valid for a period printed on it: leave and return within it. Plan the journey around the appointment you manage to obtain, rather than hoping the appointment will bend around the journey.
In Vigo
In the province of Pontevedra, policia.es lists return authorisations at four units: the Brigada on C/ Joaquín Costa 17, Tui, Vilagarcía de Arousa and Salvaterra de Miño. The Delegación del Gobierno’s page places the procedure with the police, not with the Oficina de Extranjería in Vigo.
Questions people ask about this
Could I simply fly out and sort it out later?
Not safely. The difficulty is the return: an airline or a border officer may refuse to treat an expired card as proof that you live here.
Is it requested at Teófilo Llorente?
No. The Delegación del Gobierno lists it among police procedures, and policia.es shows it in Pontevedra, Tui, Vilagarcía de Arousa and Salvaterra de Miño.
Does the request cost anything?
Yes: a State fee, settled with the Modelo 790 código 012, whose form gives the amount.
Checked against these official pages
Re-read for this guide in October 2026.
- Policía Nacional, policia.es: the units for foreigners in the province of Pontevedra, each with its procedures
- Delegación del Gobierno en Galicia: the Oficina de Extranjería in Vigo and Pontevedra, and what it leaves to the police
- The State’s cita previa service for foreigners’ procedures
- Policía Nacional online office: the Modelo 790 código 012 form
Which raft are you tied to?
A few lines are enough: your nationality, where around the ría you live or will live, and what has to be ready by when. We answer by email with the route that fits.