Spanish administrative procedures, in English

The procedures

• How to get a NIE number in Spain

  Número de Identidad de Extranjero (NIE)

  The NIE is a personal identification number for foreigners dealing with Spain. Many people are given one automatically and never need to apply; those who do apply pay €9.84, not the €12 usually quoted.

  Cost

  €9.84

  Steps

  6

  Documents

  5

  Provinces listed

  51

• TIE: the Spanish foreigner identity card

  Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE)

  The card issued to non-EU nationals authorised to stay in Spain more than six months. You must apply in person within one month, and it proves your legal status — not your identity, which is why you still have to carry your passport.

  Cost

  From €16.08

  Steps

  7

  Documents

  6

  Provinces listed

  51

• EU registration certificate in Spain (form EX-18)

  Certificado de registro de ciudadano de la Unión

  EU, EEA and Swiss citizens staying in Spain more than three months must register in person within three months of arriving. The certificate costs €12 and is issued on the spot.

  Cost

  €12.00

  Steps

  7

  Documents

  7

  Provinces listed

  51

• Empadronamiento: registering with your town hall

  Empadronamiento (Padrón municipal)

  Everyone living in Spain is legally obliged to register at their town hall. It is usually free and quick — but for non-EU residents without long-term residence it expires after two years unless renewed, and nobody reminds you.

  Cost

  Free in almost every municipality

  Steps

  7

  Documents

  4

• Letter of invitation in Spain (carta de invitación)

  Carta de invitación

  The official letter proving where a visitor will stay, applied for by the host at their local police station. It costs €81.59 in total, not the €75 usually quoted, and it can involve a personal interview.

  Cost

  €81.59 in total

  Steps

  7

  Documents

  5

  Provinces listed

  51

• Extending a 90-day stay in Spain (prórroga de estancia)

  Prórroga de estancia

  How to extend a short stay beyond 90 days, on form EX-00, in person. It is capped at three further months, needs exceptional reasons if you are visa-exempt, and requires proof that you are going to leave.

  Cost

  Set by the fee for the stay extension

  Steps

  7

  Documents

  6

  Provinces listed

  48

• Return authorisation in Spain (autorización de regreso)

  Autorización de regreso

  The permit that lets you travel while your residence card is being renewed or replaced. It lasts up to 90 days and allows unlimited trips — but only if you re-enter Spain through a Spanish border post.

  Cost

  €10.72

  Steps

  6

  Documents

  5

  Provinces listed

  49

• Permanent residence in Spain under the EU regime

  Residencia de carácter permanente

  After five years of legal residence, EU citizens get a permanent registration certificate and their non-EU family get a permanent residence card that renews automatically every ten years.

  Cost

  €12.00 for the certificate

  Steps

  7

  Documents

  6

  Provinces listed

  2

• Family reunification in Spain (reagrupación familiar)

  Reagrupación familiar

  Bringing your spouse, partner, children or parents to Spain. You need a year of residence behind you, 150% of IPREM in regular income, and a social services report on your housing.

  Cost

  Set by the processing fee for the authorisation

  Steps

  8

  Documents

  7

  Provinces listed

  1

• Arraigo: residence in Spain through ties to the country

  Autorización de residencia por razones de arraigo

  Five routes to residence based on time and ties in Spain. Most need two years of continuous presence; family arraigo needs none and lasts five years rather than one.

  Cost

  Set by the processing fee for the authorisation

  Steps

  9

  Documents

  7

  Provinces listed

  1

• Non-lucrative residence in Spain (residencia no lucrativa)

  Residencia temporal no lucrativa

  Living in Spain on your own income without working. You need €2,400 a month, plus €600 for each dependant, health insurance — and from the first renewal, more than 183 days a year in the country.

  Cost

  €2,400 a month in means

  Steps

  10

  Documents

  7

• Spain's digital nomad visa (teletrabajo internacional)

  Visado y autorización de teletrabajo de carácter internacional

  Living in Spain while working remotely for companies abroad. Employees may only work for foreign companies; freelancers may bill a Spanish client, but for no more than 20% of their work.

  Cost

  Sufficient resources — the law fixes no figure

  Steps

  10

  Documents

  7

• Student stay authorisation in Spain (estancia por estudios)

  Autorización de estancia de larga duración por estudios

  The permit for studying in Spain for more than 90 days. Higher-education students may now work without any separate permit, and the authorisation lasts as long as the course rather than one year.

  Cost

  Set by the processing fee for the authorisation

  Steps

  10

  Documents

  6

• Employed work and residence permit in Spain (cuenta ajena)

  Autorización de residencia temporal y trabajo por cuenta ajena

  The permit for coming to Spain to work for an employer. The employer applies, the first permit is capped at a year and tied to one occupation, and the renewal is four years with no restrictions at all.

  Cost

  Set by the processing fee for the authorisation, paid before filing

  Steps

  12

  Documents

  8

• Self-employed work and residence permit in Spain (cuenta propia)

  Autorización de residencia temporal y trabajo por cuenta propia

  The permit for coming to Spain to work as autónomo. One year to start, tied to one region and one sector; the renewal is four years and unrestricted, and three months of silence on a renewal means granted.

  Cost

  Set by the processing fee for the authorisation, paid before filing

  Steps

  13

  Documents

  8

• Changing from one Spanish permit to another (modificación de situación)

  Modificación de las situaciones de las personas extranjeras en España

  How to move from a student stay, or from a residence permit that does not allow work, to a work permit — without a visa, without leaving Spain, and without the labour-market test.

  Cost

  Processing fee for the permit being applied for. Where a student moves to an employed work permit, the employer pays it

  Steps

  12

  Documents

  6

• Residence exempt from a work permit in Spain (excepción a la autorización de trabajo)

  Residencia temporal con excepción de la autorización de trabajo

  Nine categories — researchers, visiting academics, correspondents, religious ministers, posted EU workers and others — may work anywhere in Spain with no work permit. They still need residence if the stay passes ninety days.

  Cost

  Set by the processing fee for the authorisation, paid before the decision

  Steps

  13

  Documents

  6

• Seasonal work permit in Spain (residencia y trabajo de temporada)

  Autorización de residencia y trabajo para actividades de temporada

  A four-year permit allowing up to nine months of seasonal work each calendar year, with the employer obliged to provide housing, pay both journeys and insure the worker. The rent chargeable for that housing is capped by law.

  Cost

  Set by the processing fee for the seasonal residence and work authorisation

  Steps

  12

  Documents

  9

• Residence on humanitarian grounds in Spain (circunstancias excepcionales)

  Residencia temporal por razones humanitarias, colaboración con autoridades, seguridad nacional o interés público

  Residence for serious illness, victims of certain crimes, danger in returning home, and collaboration with the authorities — including workers who report an employer they worked for without papers. No visa, and it carries the right to work anywhere in Spain.

  Cost

  No visa is required; the processing fee for the authorisation applies

  Steps

  12

  Documents

  6

• Residence for victims of gender-based or sexual violence in Spain

  Residencia temporal y trabajo por circunstancias excepcionales de víctimas de violencia de género o violencia sexual

  Reporting does not expose you to expulsion: the immigration penalty procedure is suspended, a provisional permit to live and work is granted automatically when you apply, and your identity card does not record that you are a victim.

  Cost

  No visa is required, and the provisional authorisation is granted by the administration of its own motion once the application is filed

  Steps

  13

  Documents

  5

• Residence for victims of human trafficking in Spain (víctimas de trata)

  Residencia temporal y trabajo por circunstancias excepcionales de víctimas de trata de seres humanos

  A recovery and reflection period of at least ninety days that suspends any expulsion, followed by a residence and work permit that does not require you to cooperate with the investigation.

  Cost

  No visa is required. The Government Delegation may waive documents whose obtaining would put the victim at risk

  Steps

  15

  Documents

  3

• Residence for the children of foreign residents in Spain

  Residencia temporal del menor extranjero acompañado, nacido o no nacido en España

  A five-year residence permit for the children of foreign residents — with no visa. For a child born in Spain there is a six-month deadline from the birth; for a child born elsewhere, two years of continuous presence in Spain.

  Cost

  No visa is required. The processing fee applies to the permit for a child not born in Spain

  Steps

  10

  Documents

  8

• Cross-border worker permit in Spain (trabajadores transfronterizos)

  Autorización de trabajo para trabajadores transfronterizos

  A work permit without residence, for people living in the border area of a neighbouring state who return home each day. It never turns into residence, however long it is renewed.

  Cost

  Set by the processing fee for the work authorisation

  Steps

  9

  Documents

  5

• Long-term residence in Spain (residencia de larga duración)

  Autorización de residencia de larga duración nacional

  Indefinite residence and work in Spain on the same terms as a Spaniard, after five years of legal continuous residence — with precise limits on how much time abroad breaks the count, and seven routes that skip the five years entirely.

  Cost

  Set by the processing fee for the authorisation

  Steps

  12

  Documents

  6

• Recovering long-term residence in Spain after losing it

  Recuperación de la titularidad de una residencia de larga duración

  If your long-term residence lapsed or you spent years abroad, there is a procedure to get it back — startable from a consulate, decided in three months, and granted by silence if nobody answers.

  Cost

  Set by the processing fee for the recovery procedure

  Steps

  11

  Documents

  5

• Unaccompanied foreign minors in Spain (menores extranjeros no acompañados)

  Menores extranjeros no acompañados: determinación de la edad, residencia y mayoría de edad

  Age determination, the residence permit that starts automatically after ninety days and backdates to the day of placement, and the two routes open on turning eighteen — with or without a permit already in hand.

  Cost

  The residence procedure is started by the Immigration Office of its own motion, without an application from the minor

  Steps

  14

  Documents

  6

• Temporary stays for foreign minors under humanitarian programmes in Spain

  Desplazamiento temporal de menores extranjeros en el marco de programas de carácter humanitario

  The rules behind host-family holidays, medical treatment stays and school placements for foreign children — including the safeguarding checks, the deadlines, and the requirement that host families confirm in writing the stay is not for adoption.

  Cost

  The promoter must commit in writing that the child's return costs the public purse nothing, unless a competent body has expressly assumed that cost beforehand

  Steps

  13

  Documents

  8

• How a Spanish residence permit is lost (extinción de la autorización)

  Extinción de las autorizaciones de estancia y de residencia

  The grounds that actually end a permit, the absence limits that end long-term residence, and the two protections most people do not know they have: a six-month limit on the procedure and a proportionality test.

  Cost

  No fee. The procedure is opened by the administration of its own motion, not applied for

  Steps

  12

  Documents

  3

• Cédula de inscripción in Spain: papers when your country will not issue them

  Documentación de personas extranjeras indocumentadas: cédula de inscripción

  The Spanish identity document for people whose own consulate will not document them — including the two cases where you do not need the notarial act, and the provisional three-month document issued while it is processed.

  Cost

  The legally applicable fees must be paid before the cédula is issued

  Steps

  13

  Documents

  6

• Job-seeker visa for Spain (visado de búsqueda de empleo)

  Visado para la búsqueda de empleo

  Twelve months of residence in Spain to look for work, with no job offer needed to enter. Once you find one, the employer's permit application is decided in ten days.

  Cost

  Consular visa fee. The quota and the selection system are set each year by ministerial order, not by the Regulation

  Steps

  10

  Documents

  4

• Collective hiring at origin in Spain (contratación en origen)

  Gestión colectiva de contrataciones en origen

  How Spanish employers recruit workers abroad in bulk, and the rules that protect the workers selected — starting with the one that says the whole selection must be free to them.

  Cost

  Free for the worker. Neither the authorities nor any intermediary may demand payment for taking part in the selection

  Steps

  15

  Documents

  6

• EU Blue Card and the highly qualified professional permit in Spain

  Autorización de residencia para profesionales altamente cualificados

  Decided in twenty days by a central unit, with silence granting rather than refusing. A degree is not required if you have the experience — three years of it for ICT roles.

  Cost

  Processing fee for the authorisation. The salary threshold is set by regulation within a band the statute fixes, not by a figure in the law

  Steps

  14

  Documents

  5

• Research and training permit in Spain (autorización para investigación)

  Autorización de residencia para formación o investigación

  For researchers, company R&D staff and university teaching contracts. A hosting agreement can replace an employment contract, and twelve months are available to stay on afterwards.

  Cost

  Processing fee for the authorisation. Registered research entities are exempt from evidencing some requirements at the time of applying

  Steps

  13

  Documents

  5

• Intra-company transfer permit in Spain (traslado intraempresarial)

  Autorización de residencia por traslado intraempresarial

  For staff moved into Spain within a company or group. Needs three months of prior continuous employment with the group, and is decided in twenty days with silence granting.

  Cost

  Processing fee for the authorisation. Companies registered with the Unit are exempt from evidencing three of the requirements when they apply

  Steps

  11

  Documents

  5

• Entrepreneur residence permit in Spain (residencia para emprendedores)

  Autorización de residencia para actividad empresarial

  Three years to start or run a business in Spain. The gate is not an investment figure but a favourable ENISA report saying the activity is innovative or of special economic interest.

  Cost

  Processing fee for the authorisation. No investment amount is fixed: the test is the ENISA report, not a sum of money

  Steps

  9

  Documents

  5

• Spain's golden visa: abolished in April 2025

  Visado de residencia para inversores (derogado)

  There is no longer an investor visa in Spanish law. Articles 63 to 67 were emptied with effect from 3 April 2025 — but existing permits keep their validity and renew under the old rules.

  Cost

  Not applicable: the permit no longer exists. No investment of any amount now produces a Spanish investor visa

  Steps

  8

  Documents

  3

• EU family member residence card in Spain (tarjeta de familiar de ciudadano de la Unión)

  Tarjeta de residencia de familiar de ciudadano de la Unión

  The five-year card for non-EU family of an EU or EEA citizen. Apply within three months of entry; the receipt alone proves lawful stay, and the decision backdates to the day you arrived.

  Cost

  Card issue fee. The card runs five years from issue

  Steps

  14

  Documents

  7

• Refused entry at a Spanish border (denegación de entrada)

  Denegación de entrada en frontera

  What must happen if you are turned back at a Spanish border: a reasoned decision naming the ground, a lawyer and an interpreter free of charge, and a hard seventy-two hour limit.

  Cost

  Legal assistance and an interpreter are free where you lack sufficient means. The carrier bears the cost of your maintenance and return

  Steps

  12

  Documents

  4

• Expulsion orders and the sanctioning procedure in Spain

  Procedimiento sancionador y expulsión del territorio

  The deadlines, the forty-eight hours that decide a preferential file, and the rule that means leaving Spain during the procedure avoids the entry ban altogether.

  Cost

  Legal assistance is provided of its own motion, and legal aid and an interpreter are free where you lack economic means

  Steps

  13

  Documents

  4

• EU long-term residence in Spain (residencia de larga duración-UE)

  Autorización de residencia de larga duración-UE

  The status that lets you move to another member state. Study years count at half, protection years count in full, and it asks for resources and insurance that the national version does not.

  Cost

  Processing fee for the authorisation

  Steps

  11

  Documents

  6