Spain regularization 2026: what to do in October
Applications closed on 30 June. Check your case, provisional work rights, document requests and TIE steps. Updated 7 October 2026.
Applications closed on 30 June 2026. If you applied, check your case and notifications: silence is neither approval nor an express refusal. If you did not apply, check other residence routes.
The full guide is free to read. If you already applied and want status tracking, or need to explore another residence route — choose a paid option below.
What to do now that the window is closed?
My application is pending
The maximum period to decide and notify is three months from the day after receipt in the competent authority's register. It may be suspended under article 22 of Law 39/2015. Expiry of the applicable period without notification gives negative administrative silence for appeal purposes; the authority still has to decide. Do not simply count three calendar months from sending the application.
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I did not file before June 30
The official sources checked do not reopen this application window. Arraigo and other permits have their own requirements: they do not mean automatic approval or depend on a repeat of this campaign.
See the types of arraigo →NAVISort out my residence case — the right path for me
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Get the Action Plan for €59 →What we know as of 7 October 2026
Applications are in; cases are being processed
The Migration Ministry published its closing figures on 2 July: 1,174,978 applications were received during the campaign from 16 April to 30 June. By then, 609,737 cases were already being processed, just over half the total. Most applications used the extraordinary arraigo route; around one in five used the route for people who had previously sought asylum.
For an applicant, the important next step is the notice confirming that processing has begun. It gives temporary permission to live and work in Spain while the case is decided, so you can take a job before the final residence permit arrives. Check whether you or your representative has received that notice: it is the document stating your provisional work permission. La Moncloa · 02.07.2026 · RD 316/2026 · BOE.
October figures: 421,306 participants registered with Social Security
On 2 October, the government released its September employment figures. At 30 September, 421,306 participants in the programme had active Social Security registration as employees or self-employed workers. That was 83,389 more than at the end of August.
Most were registered under the general Social Security scheme, which covers employees. Another 22,681 were registered as autónomos. These figures show the programme reaching everyday working life: employment and self-employment are being formally registered, with contributions recorded in Spain’s social protection system. La Moncloa · 02.10.2026.
Court challenge: the programme has not been suspended
The Valencian and Aragon regional governments, led by the Popular Party (PP), challenged the regularization decree before Spain’s Supreme Court. They sought a temporary suspension. The court refused to suspend the decree. On 8 July, it also announced that it would not refer a question to the Court of Justice of the EU at that stage.
If you have already applied, the practical point is that this court dispute did not cancel regularization or halt application processing. Keep following your case and responding to requests from the immigration office. The court treated the final decision on the decree’s legality separately from the request for an urgent suspension; the announcement of 8 July concerns that preliminary stage. CGPJ · 08.07.2026 · Gobierno de Aragón.
September judgments changed some general immigration rules
On 22 September, the official gazette BOE published two further Supreme Court judgments following challenges by rights organisations to the 2024 immigration regulation. The court struck down the rule requiring electronic submission for specified categories of immigration applications. It also removed some restrictions affecting children: for example, a justified temporary trip abroad should not by itself shut a child born in Spain out of that residence route.
These changes may matter when a family applies for a child’s ordinary residence permit or chooses how to submit documents. The child must still maintain their actual habitual residence in Spain and meet the other requirements of that procedure. The judgments concern the general rules; the extraordinary campaign’s deadline remains 30 June. For a new application, check which currently available residence route fits your circumstances. BOE-A-2026-19632 · BOE-A-2026-19633.
Already applied: deadlines, work and your card
The maximum period to decide and notify is three months from the day after receipt in the competent authority's register. It may be suspended under article 22 of Law 39/2015. Expiry of the applicable period without notification gives negative administrative silence for appeal purposes; the authority still has to decide. Do not simply count three calendar months from sending the application.
A filing receipt alone does not activate provisional work rights under this procedure. They start with the communication that processing has begun (comunicación de inicio). Under the DGGM guidance signed on 22 July, negative silence does not end this existing provisional right to reside and work: it lasts until an express decision is notified. An express refusal ends it.
Answer a request to correct or complete documents (requerimiento de subsanación) within the period stated in the notice, which cannot exceed fifteen days, and keep the receipt. Failure to remedy the defects can lead to the application being treated as withdrawn and the file being closed. Check notifications to your representative too: the online status does not replace them.
After the permit is granted, apply for the TIE during the immediately following month; the permit gives rights from the grant itself. Under the international-protection route (EX-31), after a favourable decision you must withdraw the asylum application or pending appeal and show proof of that withdrawal request when applying for the TIE. Do not give up asylum early to try to speed up your case.
Official sources: RD 316/2026 · BOE · DGGM · 22.07.2026 · Ministerio de Inclusión
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📚 Want to read what the rules were? — who could apply, forms (EX-31/EX-32), documents and deadlines
Historical reference for the procedure that was in force until 30 June 2026. Useful if your case is already in progress.
📖 Terms used in this guide — click to expand
- EX-31
- The form for people who applied for asylum / international protection in Spain before 1 January 2026. Even if the asylum case was refused, withdrawn, or is under appeal — this group uses EX-31.
- EX-32
- The form for everyone else applying through this regularization — those in Spain before 1 January 2026 who qualify through employment, family, or vulnerability. This is the arraigo extraordinario route.
- EX-25
- The form for children's residence permits. In this regularization, it is relevant when a parent applies and wants to include their minor children.
- Arraigo
- A Spanish residence permit for people already rooted in Spain through residence, work, or family. This regularization creates a new type called arraigo extraordinario.
- Desistimiento
- Withdrawing a previously filed application. Do not do this automatically — it can harm your situation; check first.
- Recurso
- An appeal against a refusal. For example, if someone's asylum application was refused and they challenged it in court, they have a recurso pending.
- TIE
- The physical residence card (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero). First you receive the permit approval, then you collect the physical card — two separate steps.
- Expediente
- Your case file and reference number in the immigration system.
- RECEX
- The official registry of organisations authorised to assist with immigration procedures. Only RECEX-registered organisations can issue vulnerability certificates.
What is the Extraordinary Regularisation?
It is an exceptional one-off process regulated by Royal Decree 316/2026 of 14 April, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on 15 April 2026 and in force since 16 April 2026. The measure originates from the Popular Legislative Initiative (ILP) "Regularización Ya" — backed by over 700,000 signatures and 900 civil-society organizations, and approved in Parliament with 310 votes in favour. It is the broadest immigration regularization in Spain since 2005.
Key figures
Who could apply? (reference — the window is closed)
This section stays as a reference, useful if your case is already pending or if you want to understand whether your situation would have qualified. There were two main routes depending on your situation:
Undocumented people (arraigo extraordinario)
- Were in Spain before January 1, 2026
- Continuous stay of at least 5 months
- No criminal record in Spain or country of origin
- Not a risk to public security or order
- Must qualify through: employment, family, or vulnerability
- Form: EX-32
EX-32
Extraordinary arraigo. Print only if submitting in person. Via Mercurio the form is completed online — no printing required.
Current and former asylum applicants
- Requested international protection (asylum) in Spain before January 1, 2026
- This includes cases that are: still pending, withdrawn, refused, under administrative appeal, or under court appeal
- Proof of presence in Spain before that date
- No criminal record
- ID document (may be expired)
- No need to abandon asylum before applying.
- Form: EX-31
EX-31
Former / current asylum applicants. Print only if submitting in person. Via Mercurio the form is completed online — no printing required.
Do not withdraw asylum or its appeal before a favourable regularization decision. For EX-31, additional provision 20 requires withdrawal after the permit is granted and proof of the withdrawal request when applying for the TIE.
We review your situation and documents — 29 €
If you’re unsure whether EX-31 or EX-32 applies to you, which pathway fits, or whether your documents are sufficient — we review your specific case individually and tell you exactly what to do.
Review my situation — 29 €The guide stays free. A consultation is only needed if you want a review of your specific case.
Three pathways for Route 1 applicants
Employment pathway
You have already worked in Spain during your stay here, or you can show an intention to work through a job offer (the contract does not need to be already signed), or you intend to be self-employed and submit an official responsible declaration.
Family pathway
You live in Spain with a family unit that includes: minor children; or adult children with a disability or serious health condition preventing self-sufficiency; or your parents (first-degree ascendants — not any older relative, specifically your parents) who live with you.
Vulnerability pathway
A vulnerability certificate from regional social services or a RECEX-registered NGO or trade union.
⚠️ This certificate is only needed if you apply through the vulnerability pathway. If you are going through employment or family, you do not need it.
If you are a parent: children's applications
Children's applications must be submitted at the same time as the parent's application. Do not file your own and leave children for later.
👶 Child was born in Spain
For minors whose applications fell within the transitional rules, the decree waived certain requirements of articles 159 and 160. The application had to accompany the parent’s; the rules also cover applications lodged before the closing date. This is not a new application route open in October: check the ordinary conditions for any new procedure.
Rules of the closed application period: historical reference, not a new call for applications · RD 316/2026, DT 1.
✈️ Child was not born in Spain
Normally, including a child required proving 2 years of their prior stay in Spain, plus sufficient income and housing. Under this regularization those requirements are waived — but you must prove the child has been continuously in Spain for at least 5 months before you file.
Rules of the closed application period: historical reference, not a new call for applications · RD 316/2026, DT 1.
If you already have another application or a valid permit
If you already filed a residence application before April 15, 2026
You may not need to file a new application. Applications filed between May 20, 2025 and April 15, 2026 under various residence categories may fall under a transitional regime — meaning the administration should evaluate them using the simplified rules of the new regularization. This applies to applications still pending and to related administrative or court appeals (arraigo social, sociolaboral, socioformativo and related categories).
About the vulnerability certificate
If you are applying through the vulnerability pathway only, you need this certificate. The following is useful to know:
- It can be issued by public social-assistance services (municipal, regional, national) or by Third Sector organisations / trade unions registered in RECEX.
- RECEX-registered organisations are not obliged to issue the certificate — but if they do, it must be free of charge.
- Organisations with a specific territorial scope can only issue certificates within that territory.
- The certificate must include the organisation's seal and its RECEX registration number.
What documents do you need?
📋 Required for everyone
- Passport or identity document (valid or expired)
- Proof of arrival before January 1, 2026
- Proof of continuous stay for 5+ months
- Criminal record certificate from country of origin
Proof of entry and stay is very flexible: city registration (padrón), utility bills, medical records, school certificates, social services documents…
📄 Depending on your pathway
- Employment: job offer/contract or self-employment declaration
- Family: any document proving family unit (family book, birth certificate, joint padrón…)
- Vulnerability: official vulnerability certificate — only if applying through vulnerability pathway
If your country is slow in sending the criminal record certificate, Spain can request it via diplomatic channels on your behalf.
How and where to apply
Online (telemática)
Via the Mercurio platform of the Ministry. Available 24/7 since April 16.
If you have no electronic signature, an authorised NGO or lawyer can submit on your behalf. Hiring a lawyer is not mandatory.
In person (presencial)
From April 20, 2026 — free appointment required:
- 🟡 372 Correos (post office) branches
- 🔵 60 Social Security offices
- 🟢 5 Extranjería (immigration) offices
- 🔴 200+ accredited NGOs
Key dates
What permit will you receive?
Initial permit
A 1-year residence and work authorisation, valid anywhere in Spain in any sector or occupation.
Renewal
Convert to an ordinary permit if you are working. Or extend for another year if you are actively job-seeking and registered with SEPE (public employment service).
Minor children
Must be applied for simultaneously. Children receive a 5-year permit.
What to do next?
Check which route fits you
Tell NAVI your situation and it tells you which residence route fits — arraigo or another — and the next step. Free, no account.
Check my route — free →A real case: the Supreme Court did not suspend the regularisation
Two regional governments asked for the regularisation decree to be suspended. The Supreme Court refused and did not refer a question to the EU Court of Justice at this stage. The Generalitat Valenciana and the Autonomous Community of Aragón challenged Royal Decree 316/2026 of 14 April (appeals 109/2026 and 120/2026) and asked, as an interim measure, for its enforcement to be suspended. On 8 July 2026 Section 5 of the Supreme Court’s Contentious-Administrative Chamber refused the suspension, referring to the reasons already given in its orders in appeals 98/2026 and 100/2026. Having heard the parties on a possible preliminary reference to the Court of Justice of the EU, the court found that, once suspension had been refused, making that reference was not appropriate “at this procedural moment”. There were no dissenting opinions.
What was not obvious. Challenging a decree does not by itself stop it: until a court suspends the rule, it applies. Nor did the court settle the EU-law question for good — it declined to refer it at this particular stage of the proceedings.
Outcome: suspension refused, and no reference to the EU Court at this stage. The decision was taken in the interim-measures proceedings — the appeals themselves were not decided on the merits.
Applications under this procedure could only be filed until 30 June 2026 (additional provisions 20 and 21 of RD 1155/2024 as amended by RD 316/2026). For applications already filed, the refusal to suspend means processing continues; the outcome of the appeals on the merits is not yet known.
Supreme Court of Spain, Contentious-Administrative Chamber, Section 5 · 08.07.2026
The case shows that challenging the decree did not stop it from applying. How your own application is decided depends on your documents, not on this dispute.
Review my filed applicationFAQ
1. Can I still apply for this regularization?
2. Will there be another chance, or a future regularization?
3. What was the minimum time you needed to have lived in Spain to apply?
4. Could you apply with a criminal record?
5. Did you need a job offer or work contract to apply?
6. How long does the process take from application to card, if I already filed?
7. Could family members (spouse, children) apply together?
8. What happens if the application I already filed is denied?
9. I missed the June 30 deadline. What options do I have left?
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This guide is general information about Spanish law, not a legal opinion on your case. Rules change and outcomes depend on your own facts and documents — check your situation before you act on it.