Arraigo: residence on exceptional grounds

The steps

1. 1

   What arraigo is and which types exist, Step 1

   +

   Arraigo ("rootedness") is a temporary residence authorisation on exceptional grounds for foreign nationals who are already in Spain without an authorisation and have ties to the place where they live. No visa is needed. It is governed by the immigration regulation (Royal Decree 1155/2024), in force since 20 May 2025 and amended by Royal Decree 316/2026, in force since 16 April 2026.

   There are five types (art. 127):

   • Socio-labour (sociolaboral): you have one or more job contracts.
   • Social: you have family with legal residence in Spain, or a social integration report.
   • Socio-educational (socioformativo): you are enrolled in training (or commit to a Public Employment Service course).
   • Family (familiar): you are the parent or guardian of a child from another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, or you support a disabled person from those countries.
   • Second chance (segunda oportunidad): you held a residence authorisation in the last two years and it was not renewed.

   Requirements common to all (art. 126): being in Spain, not being an international protection applicant, having lived in Spain continuously for at least two years (family arraigo needs no minimum), no criminal record in Spain or in the countries where you lived in the five years before you entered Spain, not being listed as inadmissible or within a no-return commitment, paying the fee and, since RD 316/2026, not holding another stay or residence authorisation nor having another such application in progress.

   The authorisation lasts one year (family arraigo, five) and lets you work as an employee and self-employed (socio-educational: at most 30 hours a week as an employee).

2. 2

   Choose your type of arraigo, Step 2

   +

   Only in some situations

   You have not told us yet which type of arraigo fits you. Read the five types in the previous step and choose in your profile the one that best describes your case; we will then show its requirements and documents and tick the right box on the EX-10.

   Some questions that help: do you have a job offer or contract of at least 20 hours a week? (socio-labour) Do you have a spouse, registered partner, parents or children with legal residence? (social) Are you going to enrol in training? (socio-educational) Do you care for a child or disabled person from another EU country? (family) Did you have legal residence in the last two years? (second chance)

   We do not decide for you whether you meet the requirements: if in doubt, ask the Foreigners' Office or a migrant support organisation.

3. 3

   The 2026 extraordinary regularisation is closed, Step 3

   +

   RD 316/2026 created an extraordinary arraigo (additional provision 21 of the regulation) for people who were in Spain before 1 January 2026, with its own form (EX-32) and its own requirements. According to the BOE text, applications could be filed until 30 June 2026, so that window has closed. The consolidated text of the regulation (last updated 22 September 2026) has not extended it.

   If you applied in time, your file continues: do not also file an EX-10, because ordinary arraigo requires that you have no other residence application in progress (art. 126.h). If you did not apply, this guide is for ordinary arraigo.

4. 4

   Socio-labour arraigo requirements, Step 4

   +

   Only in some situations

   Besides the common requirements (two years of continuous stay, no criminal record…), you need one or more job contracts signed by you and the employer that guarantee at least the national minimum wage (or the collective agreement wage) in proportion to the hours, and that add up to at least 20 hours a week. Several contracts are accepted for consecutive seasonal jobs with different employers, or for part-time work for several employers at once.

   Each employer must be up to date with the Tax Agency and Social Security and have enough means for the business and to pay the contract.

   Once your application is admitted for processing you are provisionally allowed to live and work as an employee until the decision. If granted, it only takes effect once you are registered with Social Security within one month of the notification.

5. 5

   Social arraigo requirements, Step 5

   +

   Only in some situations

   Besides the common requirements (two years of continuous stay, no criminal record…), there are two routes:

   • With family ties: your spouse or registered partner, or a first-degree relative in the direct line (parents or children), is a foreign national with a residence authorisation. You must show financial means available in Spain of at least 100% of the IPREM (art. 127.c, amended by RD 316/2026); information sheet 28 specifies 100% of the IPREM for the resident relative plus another 100% for you (200% in total). The means may come from those relatives or from self-employment.
   • Without family ties: your integration effort is assessed through a social integration report from your autonomous community (or the town hall, if the community has delegated it). It must be issued within one month; if it is late, you can prove integration by any other means.
6. 6

   Socio-educational arraigo requirements, Step 6

   +

   Only in some situations

   Besides the common requirements (two years of continuous stay, no criminal record…), you must be enrolled in or taking one of these: post-compulsory secondary education, a professional certificate (levels 1 to 3), in-person compulsory adult education, or commit to a Public Employment Service course for hard-to-fill occupations. You also need a social integration report from your autonomous community or town hall.

   If enrolment has an official window, file the application in the two months before that window opens. You have three months from notification of the grant to show the enrolment at the Foreigners' Office; otherwise the authorisation ends.

   This authorisation lets you work as an employee for at most 30 hours a week.

7. 7

   Family arraigo requirements, Step 7

   +

   Only in some situations

   Family arraigo requires no minimum time in Spain. Besides the other common requirements, you must be in one of these cases (art. 127.e):

   • Being the parent or guardian of a child who is a national of another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, living in Spain, having the child in your care and living with them, or being up to date with your parental obligations.
   • Being the relative who supports a disabled person who is a national of another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, having them in your care and living with them.

   The authorisation lasts five years.

8. 8

   Second-chance arraigo requirements, Step 8

   +

   Only in some situations

   Besides the common requirements (two years of continuous stay, no criminal record…), you must have held a residence authorisation (not one on exceptional grounds) in the two years immediately before applying, which was not renewed for reasons other than public order, security or public health. If there were criminal proceedings, you can still apply if they ended in acquittal or dismissal.

9. 9

   Gather your documents, Step 9

   +

   Bring copies of every document and show the originals when filing. Documents from other countries must be translated into Spanish (or the co-official language of the region) by a sworn translator and legalised by the Spanish consulate or carry a Hague apostille, unless a treaty exempts them.

   Documents

   • ☐Form EX-10 completed and signedWe generate it from your profile in the “EX-10 form” step. Sign it by hand.
   • ☐Full copy of your passport (every page), travel document or registration card
   • ☐Criminal record certificate from the countries where you lived in the five years before entering SpainLegalised or apostilled, and translated. Not needed if you have lived in Spain for five years in a row, or if you filed it with another application in the last five years and have not left Spain since. The Foreigners' Office checks Spanish records itself.
   • ☐Proof of at least two years of continuous stay in SpainOnly in some situationsShowing your identity and, ideally, issued or registered by a Spanish authority: padrón certificate or history, public health care visits, hospital stays or other municipal, regional or national documents.
   • ☐Job contract or contracts signed by the employer and by youOnly in some situations
   • ☐Employer documents: tax ID, deeds or articles, and solvencyOnly in some situationsCopy of the tax ID and, for a company, the articles or deeds showing the signatory may sign. Solvency is shown with the income tax, VAT or corporate tax return, or the company's employment record report (VILE).
   • ☐Qualifications or certificates, if the job requires themOnly in some situationsWith recognition if the profession is regulated in Spain.
   • ☐Proof of family ties, or the social integration reportOnly in some situationsUp-to-date marriage or partnership registration certificate, birth certificate or other documents; or the integration report from your autonomous community or town hall.
   • ☐Proof of financial means available in SpainOnly in some situationsIf they come from self-employment, add the activity's declaration or licences, your qualifications and the planned investment (art. 84 of the regulation).
   • ☐Social integration report from your autonomous community or town hallOnly in some situations
   • ☐Enrolment, admission or proof you are taking the trainingOnly in some situationsFor a Public Employment Service course, your commitment to take it (on the EX-10 itself or in writing). Fill in section 6 of the EX-10 by hand with the centre's details.
   • ☐Proof of the link: the child's birth certificate or guardianship document; or of the disability and supportOnly in some situationsThe birth certificate must show the link and the child's nationality. If you support a disabled person: the disability or need for support, that they are in your care and that you live together. Fill in section 2 of the EX-10 by hand with their details.
   • ☐Identity document of the EU, EEA or Swiss citizenOnly in some situations
10. 10

    Pay fee 790 code 052, Step 10

    +

    Fee answer sheetIncluded in the pack · €89

11. 11

    EX-10 form, Step 11

    +

    Filled-in official PDFIncluded in the pack · €89

12. 12

    File the application, Step 12

    +

    You file the application in person yourself (or through your legal representative if you are a minor or have a disability that requires it) in one of these ways:

    • In person at the Foreigners' Office (Oficina de Extranjería) of the province where you live, with an appointment. Each office decides how appointments are requested (some by email): follow the instructions on the immigration page of your province's Delegación or Subdelegación del Gobierno. The appointment is free: never pay anyone to get one.
    • Online on the Mercurio platform of the electronic office, with an electronic signature, or through a representative with a notarial power of attorney or an *apud acta* authorisation, or an organisation registered as an immigration collaborator.

    If something is missing, you will be asked to complete it within up to fifteen days; otherwise the application is filed away.

13. 13

    Afterwards: decision, Social Security and TIE, Step 13

    +

    The authorities have at most three months to decide from the date the application enters their register; there is no minimum. In practice, many applications take longer. If nothing is notified in that time, it is deemed refused by administrative silence (negative silence). If you cannot be notified, the decision is published in the Single Edictal Board (Tablón Edictal Único).

    If it is granted:

    • For socio-labour arraigo, the authorisation only takes effect once you are registered with Social Security within one month of the notification.
    • Within one month of the notification you must apply in person for your TIE (Foreigner Identity Card) at the Police. It is the next process in your plan.
    • The authorisation lasts one year (five for family arraigo). To extend it you will have to be actively seeking work and registered with the public employment service, unless there is a justified reason; you can also move to a residence and work authorisation.