If you already hold a residence or work permit and its expiry date is approaching, or you’ve changed jobs and aren’t sure whether you need to file anything, this is your area. A renewal submitted late or with incorrect documentation can cost you the regular status you already had.

• Initial temporary residence authorisation (Art. 31 LO 4/2000 and Arts. 62 et seq. Immigration Regulations).
• Employed residence and work authorisation (Arts. 36 and 39 LO 4/2000).
• Self-employed residence and work authorisation (Art. 37 LO 4/2000).
• Renewing authorisations before they expire, to avoid falling into an irregular situation.

If you’ve been living in Spain without papers for a while, have a job offer but no residence permit, or have children in school here and want to regularise your situation this way, “arraigo” (settlement based on ties to Spain) is probably your route. Several types exist depending on each person’s personal, family or employment situation.

• Social settlement (arraigo social) (Art. 124.1 Immigration Regulations): requires, among other things, 3 years of continuous residence, a social integration report and a job contract.
• Employment settlement (arraigo laboral) (Art. 124.2 Immigration Regulations): for those who can prove a prior employment relationship, even if it was undeclared.
• Family settlement (arraigo familiar) (Art. 124.3 Immigration Regulations): for parents of Spanish minors or people with certain family ties.
• Training-based settlement (Art. 124 bis Immigration Regulations).

If you’ve been legally resident in Spain for years and want to obtain a Spanish passport, vote, or stop depending on permit renewals, you may be eligible for nationality. The required residence period varies considerably depending on your country of origin and personal situation (marriage, refugee status, etc.).

• Nationality by residence (Art. 22 Civil Code): 10 years generally, 5 years for refugees, 2 years for nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal or Sephardic Jews, and 1 year in special cases (marriage to a Spanish national, birth in Spain, etc.).
• Preparation and support for the DELE A2 exam and the CCSE test where required.
• Filing and following up the application with the Directorate-General for Registries and Notaries.
• Appeal if the application is refused.

If you already hold legal residence in Spain and want to bring your partner, children or parents to live with you, family reunification is the procedure that makes it possible. You must prove sufficient financial means and suitable housing, among other requirements.

• Reunification of a spouse or registered partner (Arts. 17 and 18 LO 4/2000).
• Reunification of minor or incapacitated children (Art. 17 LO 4/2000).
• Reunification of ascendants (parents or grandparents, in certain cases) (Art. 17.2 LO 4/2000).
• Proof of financial means and suitable housing (Art. 54 Immigration Regulations).

If you are a foreign national and your spouse, registered partner, or a direct relative of yours holds Spanish nationality, you may qualify for a residence regime different from the general one, which is quicker in many respects.

• Family member card for an EU citizen, applicable to family members of a Spanish national in certain cases (RD 240/2007).
• Requirements: cohabitation, proven family ties and means of support.
• Filing with the relevant police station or immigration office.

If your spouse or partner is a citizen of another EU country, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, and you want to live with them in Spain, your application is governed by a specific EU-citizen regime, different from the general immigration regime.

• EU citizen family member residence card (RD 240/2007): for spouses, registered partners, children under 21 and dependent ascendants.
• Proof of the family relationship and of the EU citizen’s registration/residence in Spain.
• Valid for 5 years, with the possibility of permanent residence afterwards.

Note: this section belongs to insolvency / personal debt law, not immigration law — please confirm whether you want to keep it here or move it to another section. If you are over-indebted and cannot keep up with your payments, the Spanish “Second Chance” Law allows, under certain conditions, outstanding debts to be discharged so you can start afresh.

• Discharge of unsatisfied liabilities (EPI) (Law 16/2022, reforming the recast Insolvency Act): debt discharge for individuals acting in good faith.
• Good faith requirement and, where applicable, a prior payment plan.
• Filing with the competent commercial court.

If you are not yet in Spain and need to enter to work, study, join family already there, or look for a job, you will most likely need to obtain a visa from the Spanish consulate in your country before travelling.

• Residence and work visa for those who already hold an authorisation granted in Spain.
• Study visa for students enrolling in accredited courses in Spain.
• Job-seeker visa (Art. 20 bis LO 4/2000), for certain qualified profiles or children/grandchildren of Spaniards by origin.
• Family reunification visa, to enter Spain once reunification has been granted.

If you have had to flee your country due to persecution, war or a threat to your life or freedom, and cannot or do not want to return, you can apply for international protection in Spain. This is a separate procedure, independent of the ordinary immigration process.

• Asylum application (Law 12/2009, on the right of asylum and subsidiary protection).
• Subsidiary protection for those who do not meet the asylum requirements but face a real risk if they return to their country.
• Support during the interview before the Asylum and Refugee Office (OAR).
• Appeal if the application is refused or not admitted for processing.

If you’ve been refused a permit, received a deportation order, or been fined for being in an irregular situation, it isn’t necessarily final: there are ways to appeal before the decision becomes definitive. Acting quickly is essential, as appeal deadlines are usually very short.

• Administrative appeal and judicial review against refusals of authorisations or visas.
• Appeal against deportation orders (Arts. 53 and 57 LO 4/2000), with the possibility of requesting a precautionary stay of execution.
• Objections and appeal against fines for irregular stay (Art. 53.1.a LO 4/2000).
• Urgent advice in cases of detention for deportation or placement in an immigration detention centre (CIE).

If you got married abroad or want to marry a foreign partner in Spain, the marriage must be registered with the Civil Registry for it to be fully legally valid in Spain, including its effects on your residence status or family reunification.

• Registration of marriages performed abroad with the Central Civil Registry.
• Prior marriage capacity file to marry in Spain when one of the parties is a foreign national.
• Advice regarding possible verification proceedings for marriages of convenience.