Renewing your 2026 Spain regularisation permit

The extraordinary regularisation was set out in two provisions that Royal Decree 316/2026 of 14 April added to the Reglamento de Extranjería: the twenty-first additional provision, known as extraordinary arraigo, and the twentieth, for people who had applied for international protection before 1 January 2026. Applications could only be filed until 30 June 2026.

Section 10 of both provisions sets out what happens next. The permit is valid for one year and allows you to live and work, as an employee or self-employed, anywhere in Spain and in any occupation. During the two months before it expires, the holder must apply for a change under article 191 of the Reglamento, which governs moving from a residence permit to a residence and work permit. The twenty-first provision says holders «deberán» (must) apply; the twentieth says they «podrán» (may).

The same section offers two alternatives for anyone who cannot move to another permit: an exceptional one-year extension and a four-year extension where circumstances prevent you from working. Both are explained below.

The main route is to apply for a residence and work permit, as an employee or self-employed, without needing a visa (article 191.1). The application can be filed by you or by the company that employs you (article 191.5). Article 191 distinguishes two situations according to how long you have been resident:

• If you have been resident for at least one year and your permit already allowed you to work, as the regularisation permit does, you must meet the renewal conditions of article 80 (employees) or article 86 (self-employed). The new permit lasts four years (article 191.3).
• If you have not been resident for at least one year as the holder of a residence permit, an employee permit requires all the conditions of an initial permit under article 74, including a contract, an employer that is up to date with its obligations and the national employment situation. That permit lasts one year (article 191.2).

Because the application is filed in the two months before a one-year permit expires, which of the two applies to you depends on how that year is counted in your case. The rules do not specify this for these permits. It is a point worth checking before you apply, with your decision in hand and any criteria published by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.

Employees: the situations in article 80

You need to be in one of these situations (article 80.2), without prejudice to the grounds for refusal in article 80.8:

• Having worked at least three months per year and, in addition, having a contract with a new employer and being registered with Social Security (or in an equivalent situation); or having a new contract that meets the conditions of article 74, starting when the permit is granted; or having lost your job for reasons beyond your control and having stayed registered as a jobseeker without a break since then.
• Continuing in the same employment relationship, where the permit was granted on that basis.
• Receiving a contributory unemployment benefit or a public welfare benefit aimed at your social or labour integration (article 38.6 of Organic Law 4/2000).
• Having worked and been registered with Social Security for at least nine months in a twelve-month period.
• A family member, as defined in article 66, meeting the financial requirements to sponsor you for family reunification.
• If you are a woman worker, your contract having ended or been suspended because you are a victim of gender-based or sexual violence.

Shortfalls in Social Security contributions do not in themselves prevent renewal if you show that the work is carried out regularly (article 80.7). Your criminal record and compliance with tax and Social Security obligations are also assessed, and you may provide an integration report from the regional government (articles 80.5 and 80.6).

Self-employed: article 86

You must show that the activity is continuing, and the authorities check on their own initiative that you are up to date with tax and Social Security. It is also enough to have been granted the benefit for cessation of activity, to have a family member who meets the financial requirements to sponsor you or, if you are an economically dependent self-employed worker, for your contract to have been interrupted or ended for reasons beyond your control (article 86.2).

If you have school-age children

In both cases, the application must include a report from the regional authorities confirming that the children in your care who are of compulsory school age are enrolled in school. If this is not shown, the office will warn you in writing and you will have one month to provide it; otherwise the permit will not be renewed (articles 80.3 and 80.4; 86.3 and 86.4).

If you file no application in the two months before or the three months after expiry, you are left without a permit. Being in Spain with a permit that expired more than three months ago without having applied for renewal in time is a serious offence (article 53.1.a) of Organic Law 4/2000), punishable by a fine of 501 to 10,000 euros (article 55.1.b), the amount being set in proportion and having regard to the person's financial capacity (article 55.3 and 55.4). Instead of the fine, and not in addition to it, removal from Spain may be ordered after formal proceedings and by a reasoned decision (article 57.1 and 57.3); it is a possibility, not an automatic consequence.

There is another consequence worth knowing. Second-chance arraigo requires having held, in the two years before the application, a residence permit that was not granted on exceptional grounds (article 127.a)). The regularisation permits are temporary residence permits on exceptional grounds, so, on the wording of the article, that route would not fit. The other types of arraigo could be considered, if their conditions are met, as explained in our general guide to arraigo.

The safest course is to note the date from day one and prepare your documents before the window opens.

If you applied for the regularisation before 30 June 2026 and have not yet had an answer, this is what the official sources say:

• Checking the status. The status is checked on the Public Administrations' electronic office (sede electrónica), in the service Información sobre el estado de tramitación de los expedientes de extranjería (status of immigration files), according to the regularisation information sheet of the Government Delegation in Madrid.
• Providing documents. The fee receipt and any documents you are asked for can be uploaded through the Mercurio platform on the same electronic office, which requires a digital certificate, according to the same sheet.
• Reporting an error. Processing errors are reported through the electronic office's incident form; general questions, through the Ministry of Inclusion's enquiry form or by calling 060.

While you wait, the provisional authorisation to live and work remains valid from the notice that the procedure has started until it is decided, including if the procedure is suspended. The authorities have three months to decide and serve the decision, a period that can be suspended, for example while a criminal record certificate from another country is requested through diplomatic channels. If you are asked to complete your application, the time you are given cannot exceed fifteen days, and if you do not respond you will be treated as having withdrawn (sections 4, 6 and 9 of the twenty-first provision; sections 3, 6 and 9 of the twentieth).

If three months pass without a decision being served, the application is deemed refused by administrative silence. The rules also say that a refusal automatically ends the provisional authorisation (habilitación provisional) to work, without any express decision being needed. They do not make clear whether silence has the same effect. Before you stop working, or carry on working, have a lawyer review your file and assess your options, including an appeal. If you work as an employee, once you are notified of the decision you must tell your employer its outcome immediately (section 4).

If it is granted, you have one month to apply for your foreigner's identity card (under the twentieth provision, also showing that you have withdrawn your international protection application: sections 4 and 7), although the permit gives you full rights from the date it is granted (section 7).