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

Official fee

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

Official name

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

Forms

—

Steps

15

Documents required

3

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 27 August 2026.

Every immigration fee, with the official Spanish wording

Step by step

1. 1

   Anyone who knows can report it, and the authorities must act at once

   Anyone with knowledge of a possible victim of trafficking must immediately inform the police unit competent to investigate the offence and protect the potential victim, or the Government Delegation or Sub-delegation of the province where they are, or the Labour Inspectorate — and those bodies must activate this procedure without delay. References to victims of trafficking include victims of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

2. 2

   You must be told your rights in writing, in a language you understand

   As soon as the police have reasonable grounds to believe that someone in an irregular situation has been a victim of trafficking, they must inform them reliably and in writing, in a language they can understand and with an interpreter if necessary, of the protections in the immigration statute and this Regulation. They must also make sure the person knows they can be referred to the regional or municipal authorities responsible for social and health assistance. Where the grounds concern trafficking for sexual exploitation, the rights and services under Organic Law 10/2022 must be explained too.

3. 3

   Identification is done by trained officers, away from the exploiters

   Identification is carried out by police with specific training in investigating trafficking and in identifying and protecting its victims, with particular attention to cases of special vulnerability. Where it requires taking a statement, that is done through a personal interview in conditions suited to the person's circumstances, ensuring that nobody from the exploiters' circle is present and, so far as possible, that legal, psychological and welfare support is available. Organisations working on trafficking victims' rights may contribute any information they consider relevant, and that information is confidential.

4. 4

   During identification, any expulsion is immediately suspended

   Throughout the identification phase, any penalty procedure and any expulsion or removal already agreed are immediately suspended, and the competent police authority must, where necessary, ensure the potential victim's safety and protection. This happens during identification — before any decision has been taken about the permit.

5. 5

   The recovery and reflection period: at least ninety days

   Where the identification is made by an immigration unit, it must put the proposal for a recovery and reflection period to the Government Delegation or Sub-delegation within a maximum of forty-eight hours, with the victim's agreement. The proposal is favourable where there are reasonable grounds to believe the person is a potential victim, and it sets the length of the period — at least ninety days, and in any case long enough for the person to recover and to decide whether they wish to cooperate with the investigation and any criminal proceedings.

6. 6

   Five days for the decision, twenty-four hours from a detention centre

   The Government Delegate or Sub-delegate must decide within a maximum of five days, and if that passes the period is deemed granted for the length set out in the proposal. Where the person is being held in an immigration detention centre when the favourable proposal is submitted, the decision must be taken within twenty-four hours. The time runs from when the proposal reaches the Delegation.

7. 7

   What the period does

   A favourable decision must state expressly that any penalty procedure opened, or the execution of any expulsion or removal agreed, is temporarily suspended. It also carries a proposal to the court that the person be released where detention in an immigration centre had been ordered. And it authorises the person to stay in Spain for the length of the period. During it, the police must ensure their safety and protection and make sure they know they can be referred to social assistance services.

8. 8

   You do not have to cooperate to be protected

   The authority the victim is cooperating with may propose exemption from liability for unlawful presence. But the Government Delegate or Sub-delegate may also determine that exemption of their own motion, in view of the victim's personal situation. That is the provision to read twice: the protection is not conditional on giving evidence, and a decision not to take part in the investigation does not by itself end it.

9. 9

   Applying for the permit, and the provisional one that comes with it

   Once exemption from liability is determined, the authority must tell you that you can apply for a residence and work permit for exceptional circumstances — addressed to the Secretary of State for Security where the basis is cooperation, or to the Secretary of State for Migration where it is your personal situation. Where exemption rested on both, you can choose either route. You apply at the Delegation that determined the exemption, in person or through a representative, and it may waive documents whose obtaining would put you at risk.

   Where: Government Delegation or Sub-delegation that determined the exemption

10. 10

    The provisional permit needs no second application

    When the Delegation forwards your application to the competent Secretary of State with a favourable report, that forwarding itself means the Delegate grants a provisional residence and work authorisation — you do not have to apply again. It allows employed and self-employed work in any occupation, sector and territory, and it is effective from the moment its grant is notified until the final decision. Within a month you apply in person for the foreigner identity card, which is renewable annually and states that you may reside and work in Spain — not that the authorisation is provisional, and not that you are a victim of trafficking.

11. 11

    If it is granted: five years, and the waiting counts

    A favourable final decision produces a residence and work permit valid for five years, allowing employed and self-employed work in any occupation, sector and territory. During those five years you may apply for long-term residence, and the time you held the provisional authorisation counts towards it.

12. 12

    If it is refused

    The provisional authorisation loses effect without any express administrative act, and holding it cannot be relied on afterwards to obtain long-term residence or nationality. You may still start an application for residence on exceptional circumstances on a different ground. And none of this affects your right to apply for international protection, which the Regulation states expressly.

13. 13

    Assisted return, if that is what you want

    You may ask to return to your country at any point from the moment there are reasonable grounds to believe you may be a victim, subject to what the authorities decide about your presence being needed for the investigation or the criminal proceedings. Assisted return covers a risk and safety assessment before departure, the transport itself, and assistance at the points of departure, transit and destination. Where you were required to stay, the request is processed as soon as that requirement ends.

14. 14

    Bringing your children who are not in Spain

    Family reunification is facilitated for minor children, minors under guardianship, and adult children with a disability requiring support or who cannot objectively provide for themselves because of their health, where they are not in Spain when the exemption from liability is declared. The ordinary reunification rules apply with three requirements removed: a victim of trafficking does not have to prove sufficient means of subsistence, prior residence, or adequate housing.

15. 15

    Where the victim is a child

    Where the victim is found to be a minor, everything done under this chapter must protect the child's best interests. The public institution holding legal guardianship, or the Public Prosecutor, may propose referral to resources specifically for trafficking victims, for protection or specialised assistance. Those resources must in every case keep minors and adults separate.

Common questions