Arraigo: residence in Spain through ties to the country

Official fee

Set by the processing fee for the authorisation

Official name

Autorización de residencia por razones de arraigo

Forms

—

Steps

9

Documents required

7

Source: Boletín Oficial del Estado — Real Decreto 1155/2024, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento de la Ley Orgánica 4/2000 (texto consolidado). Checked 26 August 2026.

Every immigration fee, with the official Spanish wording

Step by step

1. 1

   Work out which of the five routes is yours

   Since the 2024 Regulation there are five, not three: arraigo de segunda oportunidad, for people who previously held a residence permit; arraigo sociolaboral, based on a job offer; arraigo social, based on family ties or demonstrated integration; arraigo socioformativo, based on training; and arraigo familiar, for parents and carers of EU nationals. They share a set of general requirements and then diverge sharply.

2. 2

   Note which one lasts longest

   All of these authorisations run for one year — except arraigo familiar, which runs for five. If more than one route is genuinely open to you, that difference is worth more than the relative ease of applying.

3. 3

   Check the two years, and the exception to them

   The general rule is continuous presence in Spain for at least the two years before you apply. Arraigo familiar requires no minimum period at all. And if you have been an applicant for international protection, the time spent while that application was pending does not count towards the two years — up to the point it was finally resolved.

4. 4

   Check the disqualification added in April 2026

   Royal Decree 316/2026, in force from 16 April 2026, added a condition that catches people out because it is new: you cannot hold a stay or residence authorisation, and you cannot be an interested party in any proceedings for granting, extending, renewing or modifying one. Arraigo is a route for people outside the system, and it is now explicit that you cannot run it in parallel with another application.

5. 5

   Clear the rest of the general conditions

   You must be in Spain and not be an applicant for international protection when you apply or while it is processed. You must not be a threat to public order, public security or public health. You must have no criminal record in Spain, nor in any country you lived in during the five years before entering Spain, for offences recognised under Spanish law. You must not be flagged as inadmissible in a country Spain has an agreement with, nor be inside a no-return commitment period. And the fee must be paid.

6. 6

   For sociolaboral: twenty hours a week, across as many contracts as it takes

   One or more employment contracts guaranteeing at least the minimum wage, or the wage set by the applicable collective agreement, in proportion to the hours worked — and adding up to at least twenty hours a week overall. More than one contract is allowed where the work is seasonal, with different employers back to back, or where you work part-time for several employers at once.

7. 7

   For social: family ties, or a report proving integration

   Either family ties to other foreign nationals who hold a residence permit — a spouse, registered partner, or first-degree direct-line relative — plus economic means of at least 100% of the IPREM, available in Spain and possibly coming from those relatives. Or, where no such ties exist, an assessment of your integration effort, evidenced by a favourable social integration report from your autonomous community, or from your local council where the community has arranged it that way. The report must be issued within one month of your request.

   Where: Autonomous community or local council of your habitual residence

8. 8

   For socioformativo: mind two separate deadlines

   You must be enrolled on, or taking, one of the qualifying courses. If enrolment has an official window, the application must be filed in the two months before that window opens. Then, once the authorisation is granted, you have three months from notification to prove your enrolment — and failing to do so extinguishes the authorisation you have just been given. A social integration report is required for this route as well.

9. 9

   For familiar: the shortest route, if it applies

   Two situations qualify. Being the parent or guardian of a minor who is a national of an EU or EEA state or Switzerland, where you reside in Spain, have the child in your care and live with them, or are up to date with your parental obligations. Or providing support to a person with a disability who is an EU, EEA or Swiss national, for the exercise of their legal capacity, where you are their relative, have them in your care and live with them. No minimum period in Spain, and the permit lasts five years.

Common questions

Which office, in your province

Not every police station handles every procedure, and the assignment differs from province to province — in Alicante the residence card is issued at one address and the NIE at another. Pick your province to see the offices that actually do this one, with addresses and phone numbers.

• Valencia