The foreigners office and residence permits in Spain

For work: residence and work for an employee through an employer who submits the application after proving the difficulty of finding a local worker or in in-demand professions (list of hard-to-fill occupations), self-employment residence, the permit for qualified professionals and the EU Blue Card, and residence for digital nomads.

• For study student residence.
• For family reunion for the spouse and children through a legal resident under income and housing conditions.
• For residence without work you must show sufficient income and health insurance.
• And for residence by roots (arraigo) there are routes: social (after three years of actual residence with a contract or integration plan), labour, family, for training, and exceptional for humanitarian reasons.
• For international protection asylum procedures apply.
• Check the suitable route and ask a specialised organisation.

Book an appointment (cita previa) via the government sede electrónica for the foreigners office or police in your province, and it may be hard to obtain, so follow new slots in the morning and avoid intermediaries who sell appointments.

• You usually need a valid passport, ID-sized photos, the suitable application form (EX-…), the fee receipt (modelo 790), proof of purpose such as a work contract or university admission, proof of housing and registration (padrón), proof of health insurance or income, a certificate of no criminal record from your country legalised and translated, and sometimes a medical certificate.
• Foreign documents need an apostille and sworn translation.
• Check the official list for your application type precisely.

After submitting the application you are given a receipt proving submission, and the legal processing period begins (often three months or more), and completion of documents may be requested.

• Administrative silence (silencio administrativo) applies, meaning that expiry of the period without reply counts as refusal or approval depending on the type of procedure, so check.
• On approval you are notified electronically or by post, then you apply for the TIE card within thirty days by appointment at the police to take fingerprints and pay a fee.
• The card contains the NIE, the type of residence and its validity.
• Do not travel outside Spain while your application is pending without checking that it does not harm it. Keep all receipts and correspondence of your application, and register your address with the town hall and update it when moving.

Submit the renewal application within the sixty days before your permit expires or the following ninety at most, and you are in a legal position throughout processing.

• Review your renewal conditions (continued work or income and contributions).
• After five years of continuous legal residence you can apply for long-term residence (residencia de larga duración) which gives more stability and rights close to citizens.
• For Spanish nationality by residence ten years is generally required, two years for citizens of Spanish-speaking countries (Latin America, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Andorra and Portugal) and for Sephardim, five for refugees, and one year for those married to a Spaniard.
• Passing the DELE A2 (language) and CCSE (constitutional and sociocultural knowledge) tests is required unless exempt.

If your application is refused you will receive a written decision with the reasons and a deadline for appeal, often one month for an administrative appeal (recurso de reposición) or two months for an appeal before the administrative court, so do not ignore it and seek legal help at once.

• There is also a free legal aid system (justicia gratuita) for those with limited income.
• Organisations such as CEAR, ACCEM, Cruz Roja, Cáritas, Médicos del Mundo and unions offer free advice to migrants, as do bar associations (Colegio de Abogados) through the Servicio de Orientación Jurídica.
• Avoid unlicensed intermediaries who sell appointments or promise acceptance for money.
• And if your circumstances change (work, marriage, housing) inform the foreigners office in time.

What is the TIE?