Check regularization status in Spain 2026

Mercurio vs «Cómo va lo mío»: which to trust and when each updates

The two services read the same file but not at the same rhythm. Mercurio shows the state of the file where it was submitted and usually reflects a change first. ¿Cómo va lo mío? is the Ministry's public window: it can lag several days behind, and a very fresh filing may not appear at all for a week or two — the resguardo (filing receipt) is your legal proof of the date, not the website.

Practical routine: check once a week, same day, and write down the literal status text with the date. If the two services disagree, the more advanced status is almost always the real one — decisions propagate outward from the resolving office.

Requerimiento: the 10 working days that decide the file (Ley 39/2015, art. 68)

A requerimiento de subsanación is not a rejection — it is the administration exercising art. 68 of Ley 39/2015: you get 10 working days (the notice itself states the exact window) to complete or correct the file. Three rules keep the file alive:

• Answer completely. A partial reply has the same legal effect as no reply: desistimiento — the file is archived as abandoned.
• Answer through the same channel (electronic registry if the requerimiento arrived electronically) and keep the justificante de presentación — the stamped receipt is your only proof.
• Count days correctly: working days exclude Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays (art. 30.2). Day one is the day after notification.

If a requested document physically cannot arrive in time (a foreign criminal-record certificate is the classic case), file what you have plus proof you requested the missing document — the administration can lawfully suspend the clock while it arrives.

The 3-month clock and what silence really means (arts. 21, 24-25)

The administration has 3 months from the day after registration to resolve. After that, administrative silence is negative for these procedures — but negative silence is a legal fiction that opens the door to appeal; it does not archive the file, and it does not cancel the provisional right to work attached to an admitted application.

Files keep resolving favourably months past the deadline. The mistakes to avoid: abandoning a live file, or missing a real resolution because notifications went to an unwatched inbox. Check the electronic notification address you gave — including spam — weekly.

Favourable resolution: the card does not arrive by itself

A resuelto favorable starts a second procedure with its own queues — begin it the same day:

1. Pay the TIE fee (modelo 790 código 012) online or at a bank.
2. Book the huellas (fingerprints) appointment at the police station for your province — slots are the bottleneck, check daily at different hours.
3. Bring: passport, resolución, tasa receipt, a recent photo and the empadronamiento certificate.
4. The physical card is ready roughly 30–40 days after fingerprints; collection is in person.

Denial: reposición vs contencioso, and the deadlines that matter

A desfavorable resolution can be attacked two ways (arts. 123–124, Ley 39/2015): recurso de reposición before the same body within 1 month, or directly recurso contencioso-administrativo before the courts within 2 months. Reposición is free and keeps the administrative door open; contencioso needs procurador/abogado. The count starts the day after notification of the denial — not the day you read it. A denial based on a fixable defect (wrong document, missed requerimiento) is often worth reposición; a substantive denial usually needs professional review before choosing the route.

FAQ

My file shows «en trámite» for months. Is that bad?
No — with over a million files in the pipeline it is the statistical norm. Keep the weekly check routine; act only on requerido or resuelto.

Can I work while waiting?
An admitted application under the regularisation carries a provisional work authorisation; it survives the 3-month mark and negative silence. Keep your resguardo with you.

I moved province. Where is my file?
It stays with the Oficina de Extranjería of the province where it was filed. Update your notification address through the electronic registry immediately.

The status jumped to «archivado». Is it over?
Archivo for a missed requerimiento can sometimes be reversed if you prove the notification was defective — that argument has a deadline, so act the week you see it.