After five years of legal and continuous residence in Spain, temporary residence permits can give way to a permanent status. At that point there are two options: national long-term residence (residencia de larga duración) and EU long-term residence (residencia de larga duración-UE). Both give the right to live and work in Spain indefinitely, but their requirements, the grounds on which they can be lost and their effects outside Spain are different. The new Immigration Regulation (Royal Decree 1155/2024), in force since 20 May 2025, governs both statuses in articles 175 to 185.
What they share: five years of legal and continuous residence
Both statuses require five years of legal and continuous residence in Spain immediately before the application. The Regulation allows some flexibility for time spent abroad:
- Absences of up to six months at a time do not break continuity, provided they do not add up to more than ten months over the five years
- For absences for work reasons, the limits are six months at a time and eighteen months in total
- Departures made irregularly do not benefit from this flexibility
The application is filed with the provincial Oficina de Extranjería during the two months before the current permit expires. If you already meet the requirements and hold a valid permit, you do not need to wait for that window. If the authorities do not decide within three months, the application is deemed granted. Once approved, you must apply in person for the foreigner identity card (TIE) within one month.
The additional requirements for EU long-term residence
EU long-term residence is based on EU Directive 2003/109/EC and, in addition to five years of residence, requires two further conditions:
- Stable and sufficient income: the amounts are the same as for family reunification. As of 2025, the IPREM index is €600 per month, so a household of two must show at least €900 per month, plus €300 for each additional person. The income can come from employment, self-employment or the applicant's own assets.
- Health cover: you must be covered by the public health system or hold health insurance with a company authorised to operate in Spain.
The standard route to national long-term residence does not require these two conditions. National status can also be granted to some people without waiting five years: recipients of a contributory retirement pension from the Spanish social security system, people born in Spain who have lived here legally for the three years before reaching adulthood, former Spanish nationals by origin who lost that nationality, and people recognised as refugees, stateless persons or beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.
There is also a detail about study periods: for EU long-term residence, half of the time spent in Spain as a student, volunteer or trainee is counted, provided you hold a residence permit in Spain when you apply.
Moving to another EU country
This is the clearest practical difference between the two. A holder of EU long-term residence who wants to settle in another EU country can use the simplified procedure provided for in the Directive. This is not an automatic right to settle: the destination country may apply its own conditions on income, health insurance or work authorisation. The Directive does not apply in Ireland or Denmark.
National long-term residence is valid for Spain only. Someone who wants to live in another EU country has to obtain a new permit there under the general rules. With either status, short trips of up to 90 days in any 180-day period within the Schengen area are possible.
Losing the status and renewing the card
Article 201 of the Regulation lists the grounds on which long-term residence ends:
- Spending twelve consecutive months outside EU territory ends the status; for people who moved to it from an EU Blue Card, and their families, the period is twenty-four months
- A holder of EU long-term residence who spends six years outside Spain, even within the EU, loses that status; the authorities may decide otherwise in exceptional circumstances
- Acquiring EU long-term status in another member state ends the status in Spain
- Permits obtained fraudulently and expulsion orders are also grounds for termination
A separate procedure (recuperación de la titularidad) allows a lost status to be recovered under certain conditions.
Under both statuses the permit itself is indefinite; only the card is renewed. The first renewal of the TIE card takes place after five years; after that, the card is renewed every five years until the holder turns thirty and every ten years thereafter. Renewal is requested in the two months before the card expires, or at the latest within three months after it expires. Applying late does not end the permit but can lead to a fine. For national status, the authorities may check at renewal that the conditions on which the permit was based still apply.
Long-term status also makes family reunification easier. For example, to bring your parents to Spain you must hold long-term residence or have applied for it.
Which option suits whom?
National status may be enough for someone who plans to live only in Spain in the long run, who may find it hard to document regular income, or who qualifies through a special route such as a retirement pension. For people who may later move to another EU country for work or family reasons, EU long-term residence offers more. For someone who meets the requirements of both, EU long-term residence is usually the broader option.
When to get advice
Calculating the five-year period is more complicated than expected in many cases. People with long absences abroad, people who changed permit type or spent a period without a permit, people with study periods, and people who will document their income from foreign sources should review the entry and exit stamps in their passport and their permit history with a specialist before applying. If you are planning a long absence that could put the status at risk, it is easier to assess it in advance than to deal with the recovery procedure afterwards.
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This article is for general information and is not legal advice. Legislation and case law may have changed since it was written.