The autorización de regreso (return authorisation, filed on form EX-13) is official permission to leave Spain and return when you do not hold a valid residence card. It is a Spanish procedure and not the same thing as the US re-entry permit for green card holders. Some older lists and lawyer pages call this service “Return Authorization for Visa Holders”.
It comes up in three common situations. The first is a person whose residence permit is being renewed or extended, whose old card expires while a trip abroad is planned and whose new card is not ready. The second is a person whose card has been lost or stolen. The third is a person who has been granted a first visa or permit but has to leave in an emergency before the card is issued. The renewal normally has to have been started in time.
The EX-13 form is filed with proof of the fee payment at the foreigners' office or police station responsible for the case. The authorisation is limited in time, so travel dates matter. Whether a trip to another EU country needs it depends on the documents held, so ask before booking. For the card itself, see the TIE card application page for replacement and renewal.
English-speaking registered lawyers can assess the situation, fill in the form, file it and follow the decision. If a permit is refused, see visa refusal appeals. Fees and timing depend on the case and change.
If you want to leave Spain and return before the new card is issued, it is the document normally used.
At the foreigners' office or police station that handles your case. Some provinces may take it online, so ask the office.
It is limited and tied to your situation. The office sets the period.
The loss is usually reported first, and a replacement is requested. The return authorisation can cover a trip in the meantime.
No. It lets a person who already has a right to stay come back. It is not an entry visa.
Count your days in the Schengen area or Turkey under the 90-in-180 rule: days used, days left and how long your next trip can be.
The figures update as you type: the days used and left on that day, any overstay in your trips, the last day you could stay on the next trip, and the earliest date a stay of the length you want fits.
Visitors who do not need a visa for the Schengen area — British, American, Canadian and Australian citizens among them — may stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period. The period is rolling: for every day of your stay, look back over that day and the 179 days before it. The days you were present in any Schengen country within that window may not add up to more than 90.
Turkey is not part of the Schengen area. Its law limits a stay on a visa or visa exemption to 90 days within 180 days, for all foreigners and across all their passports, and to stay longer you need a residence permit. The days are counted separately from Schengen; choose Turkey above — the calculator counts them the same rolling way. Some nationalities have shorter stays (Russian citizens 60 days) or a window counted from the first entry; check the rule for your passport.
To stay longer you need a long-stay (national) visa or a residence permit of the country — a non-lucrative or retirement visa, a digital nomad visa, a golden visa or a work permit, depending on the country and your situation. A lawyer can tell you which route fits and prepare the application.
This calculator gives an estimate for planning. It does not cover the bilateral agreements some Schengen countries keep with individual nationalities (New Zealand, for example), the different rule for Brazilian passports (three months within six from the first entry) or limits printed on a short-stay visa; the border authorities decide on entry.
1Your details
Your trips (entry and exit days both count)
2Your result
On 8 Nov 2026, in the Schengen area
35 days left
55 of 90 days used since 13 May 2026
Entering on 8 Dec 2026, you can stay until 10 Feb 2027 (65 days).
A stay of 30 days fits from 8 Dec 2026.
An estimate for planning, not legal or tax advice. Figures checked 26 Oct 2026. Sources: Schengen Borders Code, Regulation (EU) 2016/399, art. 6, European Commission — short-stay calculator manual, EU — Entry/Exit System, Türkiye — Law 6458 on Foreigners, art. 11, Türkiye, Ministry of Foreign Affairs — visa information.
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