Administrative situation

The "administrative situation" of a foreign person in Spain is the result of the interaction between the physical fact of permanence in the territory and the set of normative provisions that enable or limit such presence. It is configured, in essence, as a mutable legal status in some cases, even ambiguous, which determines the possibility of residing, working, studying, moving or accessing more or less fundamental rights.

The classic classification is maintained, although the new Regulation reforms a large part of the enabling elements and evidentiary requirements associated with each category:

1. Stay: is the stay in Spanish territory, without authorization of residence or work, for a period not exceeding 90 days (or for a longer period for, for example, students or volunteers).

2. Residence: Residents are foreign persons who are in Spain and are holders of an authorization to reside.

• TEMPORARY (from 3 months to 5 years)
• LONG DURATION (five years or more)

3. Irregular administrative situation: do not have a residence permit or a residence permit of any kind.

Migrants whose country of origin does belong to the European Union or the European Economic Area (foreign population community) have the right to free movement and residence in Spain, with limitations.  

1.- European Union Registration Certificate (Green Card)

2.- Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen. (TFC)

Non-EU foreign population (General Regime)

Stay situation.

It is in this situation the foreign person who has entered Spain for purposes that are not of work or residence (e.g. holiday, study or family visit); that is, they are temporary situations of stay, with the intention of returning to the country of origin.

It implies the obligation to leave once the period has expired, unless it is extended or modified to another type of stay or residence within the legal assumptions.

Derogation: when the foreign person is in possession of a job-search visa or when he/she is on a study stay.

Within the stay situation, we can find several types:

Short stay:

Authorizes to remain in Spain for an uninterrupted period of 90 days maximum (visit, vacation...). It can be extended once, for another three months, but does not allow the change to a residence permit.

Stay for studies, student mobility, non-work placements or volunteering services:

This type of stay is granted to foreign persons who have been authorized to stay in Spain by a period exceeding 90 days in order to carry out activities of a non-working nature (the Study Stay does include a permit to work up to 30 hours per week, without the need for express authorisation from the Aliens Office):

• Completion or extension of studies in an authorized educational center in Spain, in a full-time program, leading to the obtaining of a degree or certificate of studies.
• Conducting research or training activities.
• Participation in student mobility programmes.
• Carrying out non-labour practices in a public or private body or entity.
• Provision of a volunteer service.

As these are situations that do not necessarily involve carrying out work activities or, therefore, generating income in Spain, it will be necessary to prove that the foreign person has sufficient financial means for his stay in Spain (in any of the aforementioned modalities).

At the end of the studies, it is allowed to modify to residence and work if it is accredited qualification and labor offer. It also opens the way to entrepreneurial projects through own-account modification.

These types of permits have exceptions and other modalities, so it is best to consult a professional to obtain more information about specific cases.

Residence status

Temporary

The foreigner who is authorized to stay in Spain for a period of time is in the situation of temporary residence more than 90 days and less than five years.

It is necessary that the foreign person who applies for this type of permits for the first time is in their country of origin, since in most cases they cannot be applied for once they are in Spanish territory and can be renewed. It is subdivided according to purpose and access requirements.

Some of the different types of temporary authorisations and their main requirements are:

1. Authorisation for temporary non-profit residence: It is a residence authorization without work purposes, so the foreign person has to prove the availability of sufficient economic resources to survive the duration of the authorization.
2. Temporary residence permit for family reunification: It is an authorization that is granted to relatives who reside in the country of origin of a foreigner who is already in Spain living with a residence permit, so that they come to live in their company. A foreigner who already has his or her residence permit granted may reunite his or her immediate family members (spouse, children or father/mother, as a general rule) provided that he or she has the financial means to meet the needs of his or her family, has adequate housing and has been legally resident in Spain for at least one year. The burden of proof on “economic dependence” is substantially relaxed (relevant for ascendants over the age of 80, who only need to prove that they are dependent, as well as dependent children under the age of 26 if they are not economically independent.
3. Authorization of temporary residence and work as an employee. They are authorizations that allow you to work as an employee and stay in Spain for a period of more than ninety days and less than five years. For the hiring in Spain of foreign people it is required (except for exceptions such as Chilean and Peruvian nationals, for whom the national employment situation will not be taken into account), among other requirements, that the job is offered in an employment portal in Spain, without having filled said job without Spanish labor or foreigners already residing in the country.
4. Authorization of temporary residence and work for research. Law 14/2013, of 27 September, on support for entrepreneurs and their internationalisation. It is a residence and work authorization that enables foreigners residing outside Spain to start a research project within the framework of a reception agreement signed with a research organization.
5. Authorisation for temporary residence and work of highly qualified professionals holding an EU Blue Card. It is an authorization for foreign people who are going to perform work that requires higher education training or high levels of qualification (lawyers, doctors ... etc.).
6. Authorisation for temporary residence and self-employment. Authorization for foreign people, over 18 years old, to open their own business in Spain. It requires the presentation of a viable business project, with sufficient economic investment and compliance with the requirements required by each asset (opening, operation ...). The residence permit shall be valid for one year, renewable.
7. Residence authorization for job search or start of business project: This authorization can be requested by those foreigners who have been holders of a previous authorization of stay for studies and who have completed the studies in an institution of higher education authorized in Spain. Allowed for university or higher VET graduates. Exempts from submitting offer of previous employment and is required to demonstrate economic capacity during the stay (minimum 100% Monthly IPREM). It does not allow you to work until a contract is formalized that activates the work residence. The goal is to attract talent and facilitate a orderly transition residence as an employed person.
8. Residence permit of the reunified family member (the relative who is coming to Spain) will have the same validity as the authorization of the relative who has exercised the right of reunification (the person who already has the residence granted).

Long duration

A foreigner who has been authorized to reside and work in Spain indefinitely under the same conditions as Spaniards is in a situation of long-term residence. Among other requirements, the foreign person has had to reside legally and continuously in Spanish territory for five years. It does not need to renew periodically, but it does need to communicate substantial changes and renew/update the TIE (identity card).

Irregular situation

It is the situation of those people whose stay in Spain does not have a current enabling title, either because:

• They entered without a visa or border control.

• They entered legally, but the visa or permit expired and was not renewed.

• They did not comply with the conditions of their authorisation (work without permission, change of address without notification, etc.).

Irregularity is not a crime, except in cases of clandestine entry or falsification of documents, but it does entail the possibility of administrative sanctions, including expulsion.

This situation can be brought back to legality by means of exceptional regularisation (roots, humanitarian reasons, international protection, etc.).

• Frequent situation: foreign person who enters Spain in a situation of stay with a tourist visa and stays for a period of more than 90 days. 

One of the most common means of regularisation for foreign nationals who remain in an irregular situation is ‘arraigos’. The new Regulation on Foreigners, approved by Royal Decree 1155/2024, introduces a reorganization and extension of the establishment figures, which allow the regularization of foreign persons in an irregular situation.

Until 20/05/2026, an exceptional arraigo permit may be applied for persons who meet the requirements for any of the arraigos except for the temporary one; they must have received a final negative decision on their application for international protection and have been in an irregular situation for at least six months.

The reform establishes five modalities of entrenchment, each with specific requirements and aimed at different profiles of migrants.

• Socio-labour:
  • Requirements:
    • Continued stay in Spain during at least two years.
    • Have an employment contract of at least 20 hours per week.
    • Lack of criminal records in Spain and in the country of origin (as well as in the countries of residence during the five years prior to entry into Spain).
  • What's new:
    • Fusion of the previous social and labor roots in a single figure.
    • In terms of wages, it will be enough for the job offer to cover the proportion of the day proposed.
• Second chance:
  • Requirements:
    • Have been the holder of a residence permit that was lost in the two years prior to the application (and that was not due to exceptional circumstances).
    • Lack of criminal records in Spain and in the country of origin (as well as in the countries of residence during the five years prior to entry into Spain).
  • What's new:
    • Creation of a new figure to facilitate the reintegration of persons who lost their authorization.
• Family:
  • Requirements:
    • Be a parent or guardian of a child who is a national of another Member State of the European Union, of the European Economic Area or of Switzerland, provided that, when applying, he or she proves that he or she resides in national territory, is responsible for the child and lives with the child or is aware of his or her parental obligations.
    • To be the person who supports a person with a disability, who is a national of another Member State of the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, in the exercise of his or her legal capacity, provided that the applicant is his or her family member, is dependent on the person with a disability and lives with him or her.
    • Lack of criminal records in Spain and in the country of origin (as well as in the countries of residence during the five years prior to entry into Spain).
  • What's new:
    • Extension of the assumptions to include carers of persons with disabilities.
    • Flexibility in the accreditation of the family relationship.
• Socio-formative:
  • Requirements:
    • Continued stay in Spain during at least two years.
    • Commitment of studies for trainings assessed in official and registered study centers.
    • Submit a rooting report issued by the autonomous community or the corresponding municipality.
    • Lack of criminal records in Spain and in the country of origin (as well as in the countries of residence during the five years prior to entry into Spain).
  • What's new:
    • Possibility to work until 30 hours per week during the training period.
    • Facilitation of the transition to a residence and work permit at the end of training.
• Social:
  • Requirements:
    • Continued stay in Spain during at least two years.
    • Lack of criminal records in Spain and in the country of origin (as well as in the countries of residence during the five years prior to entry into Spain).
    • Proof of sufficient financial means.
    • Submit a rooting report issued by the Autonomous Community or the corresponding municipality or
    • Accreditation of family ties with legal residents in Spain (not including unregistered stable couples).
  • What's new:
    • Reduction of the required residence time from three to two years.

Other ways of regularisation

1. New Residence Authorization for Family Members of Spanish Citizens. The recent legislation on foreigners introduces a new legal figure: the Residence Authorization for Family of Spanish Citizen. This permit, with a duration of five years, allows to reside and work legally in Spain (as well as to regroup other relatives in turn), and unifies in a single legal framework the different situations of relatives of Spanish citizens, facilitating and expanding the ways of family reunification. The following relatives of Spanish citizens can benefit from this residence:
   • Spouse or registered partner in Spain.
   • Stable couple, with accredited coexistence or children in common.
   • Children under 26 years of age, or older if they are dependent on the Spanish citizen.
   • First-degree ascendants over the age of 80, or under that age if they demonstrate economic dependence and lack of family support.
   • Progenitor or legal guardian of a Spanish minor.
   • Caregiver of a Spanish citizen in a situation of dependency.
   • Children of parents who are or have been Spanish of origin.
   • Extended family with accreditation of economic or social dependence.
2. Authorization of temporary residence for reasons of international protection. Residence permits are granted to irregular aliens who meet the requirements of Law 12/2009 of 30 October 2009 governing the right to asylum and subsidiary protection. In this sense, it is also important to have the Residence for Humanitarian Reasons for Venezuelan Citizens.
3. Authorization of temporary residence for humanitarian reasons. Residence permits are granted to foreigners in an irregular situation who suffer from a serious illness, have been victims of certain criminal offences or are exposed to serious danger if they return to their countries of origin.
4. Authorization of temporary residence for exceptional circumstances of collaboration with authorities, reasons of national security or public interest. Residence permits are granted to foreigners in an irregular situation who cooperate with administrative, police, prosecutorial or judicial authorities in certain circumstances.
5. Temporary residence and work due to exceptional circumstances for foreign women victims of gender-based violence. Residence permits are granted to foreign women who are in an irregular situation and who have suffered in Spain a situation of gender violence (with complaint filed).
6. Temporary residence and work for exceptional circumstances by collaboration against organized networks. Residence permits are granted to foreigners in an irregular situation who have been victims, injured or witnesses of an act of illicit trafficking in human beings, labour exploitation, prostitution, etc.
7. Temporary residence and work for exceptional circumstances of foreign victims of trafficking in human beings. Residence permits are granted to foreigners who are in an irregular situation and who have been victims of trafficking in human beings.

Community foreign population (Community system).

European Union Registration Certificate (Green Card):

It is the document that accredits the registration in the Central Register of Foreigners of citizens of a Member State of the European Union or of the European Economic Area for foreign persons who will reside in Spain for a period exceeding three months:

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

• You must apply for registration at the Aliens Office or Police Station of the city/locality where you intend to register and live.
• Period of three months from entry into Spain.
• Have sufficient financial resources for themselves and their family members.
• The document contains the name, nationality, NIE and domicile of the registered person.
• Five years the initial card.
• Ten years, renewal (Permanent residence card).

Union Citizen Family Residency Card (TFC)

Family members of a Spanish citizen, of another Member State of the European Union, or of another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland, who do not have the nationality of these States (referring to family members, that is, who are non-EU) when accompanying or joining him, may reside in Spain for a period exceeding three months, with the residence card of a family member of a Union citizen.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

• The family member with European nationality must have sufficient income.
• It is for direct relatives (father/mother, children, domestic partner or marriage), as well as for any family member who in the country of origin are dependent or live with the Union citizen. Cohabitation shall be deemed to be established if a continuous coexistence of 24 months in the country of origin is reliably demonstrated.
• Five years the initial card.
• Ten years, renewal (Permanent residence card).
• Documentation on family ties must be provided.