Arraigo is an exceptional residence permit granted to foreign nationals who have lived in Spain for a certain time and built ties with the country but do not hold a valid residence permit. It is based on article 31 of Immigration Law 4/2000, with the details set out in the implementing regulation. The new Regulation approved by Royal Decree 1155/2024 of 19 November 2024 came into force on 20 May 2025, replacing the regulation that had applied since 2011. The arraigo rules were among the areas that changed most.
The old system
Under the old regulation, the most commonly used routes were:
- Social arraigo: three years in Spain, an employment contract or sufficient means, and family ties or an integration report
- Labour arraigo (arraigo laboral): two years in Spain and a documented employment relationship
- Training arraigo: two years in Spain and enrolment in a training programme
- Family arraigo: being the parent of a Spanish child or the child of a parent who was Spanish by origin
The main changes in the new system
Articles 125 to 127 of the new Regulation provide for five types of arraigo: second chance (segunda oportunidad), socio-labour (sociolaboral), social (social), socio-training (socioformativo) and family (familiar). The main changes are:
- For all types except family arraigo, the required continuous stay in Spain fell to two years; family arraigo has no minimum stay
- All arraigo permits now include the right to work; for socio-training arraigo this is limited to a maximum of 30 hours a week
- Permits are granted for one year and can be extended by a year at a time while the conditions are met; family arraigo is granted for five years
- People with a pending application for international protection (asylum) cannot apply for arraigo, and the time during which an asylum application was being processed does not count towards the two years
The common requirements include being in Spain, not posing a threat to public order, having no criminal record in Spain or in the countries where the person lived during the five years before entering Spain, and paying the fee.
The five types of arraigo
- Second-chance arraigo: for people who held a residence permit (other than an exceptional one) in the last two years and could not renew it for reasons other than public order, public security or public health. It gives people whose permit lapsed a way back to regular status.
- Socio-labour arraigo: requires one or more employment contracts guaranteeing at least the minimum wage, or the wage set in the applicable collective agreement, in proportion to the hours worked, adding up to at least 20 hours a week in total. Several contracts can be submitted for seasonal work or for part-time work for several employers at the same time.
- Social arraigo: requires family ties with a spouse, registered partner or first-degree relatives who hold a residence permit in Spain, and means of at least 100% of the IPREM, which as of 2025 is €600 per month. Where there are no family ties, the effort to integrate is shown by a social integration report issued by the Autonomous Community or, where authorised, the local council.
- Socio-training arraigo: requires enrolment in certain official training programmes, or a commitment to complete training organised by the public employment services for occupations with labour shortages, together with a social integration report.
- Family arraigo: its scope has been narrowed. It is for parents or guardians of a child who is a national of another EU or European Economic Area country or Switzerland, and for people who support a family member with a disability who is a national of those countries. Family members of Spanish nationals have been moved to a separate residence route set out in another part of the Regulation.
The 2026 amendment
The Regulation was amended by Royal Decree 316/2026 of 14 April 2026. The amendment clarified the content of the integration report for social and socio-training arraigo and the deadline for issuing it, and added the requirement that the applicant must not hold another residence permit or have another permit application pending. The same decree opened an extraordinary, one-off regularisation route for people who were in Spain before 1 January 2026 and had stayed continuously for the five months before applying, and for people who had applied for asylum before that date. The application window for that route closed on 30 June 2026; the five types of arraigo described above are what applies today.
Applying and extending the permit
- No visa is required; the person applies while in Spain, as a rule in person, to the competent Oficina de Extranjería in the province where they live
- A criminal record certificate is required from the countries where the person lived during the five years before entering Spain; a certificate from Türkiye must carry an apostille and a sworn translation. It is not required from people who have spent the last five years continuously in Spain
- The two-year stay is proven with dated documents; in practice the municipal register (padrón) is the most commonly used
- For socio-labour arraigo, once the application is admitted for processing, the applicant may work provisionally until a decision is made; once the permit is granted, registration with social security must take place within one month
- Within one month of a favourable decision, the applicant must apply in person for the TIE card
To extend the one-year permit under second-chance, socio-labour and social arraigo, the holder must as a rule be registered with the public employment service and actively looking for work; this does not apply where there are justified reasons such as illness, disability or reaching retirement age. For socio-training arraigo, a document showing progression to the next year of the course or completion of the training is required. The extension is requested in the two months before the permit expires.
When to get advice
In arraigo cases the hardest part is often proving the length of stay and the ties. If there are gaps in the municipal register, if an asylum application was made in the past, if an earlier permit lapsed, or if it is unclear whether an employment contract meets the hours and pay requirements, the situation should be assessed before applying. The validity period of the criminal record certificate from Türkiye and the apostille process should also be planned around the application date.
Member of the Istanbul Bar Association. Spain immigration consultant. Profile
This article is for general information and is not legal advice. Legislation and case law may have changed since it was written.