On November 20, 2024, the Official State Gazette (BOE) published Royal Decree 1155/2024, which repealed the 2011 Foreigners’ Regulation and approved a new one. This reform, effective from May 20, 2025, aims to adapt immigration rules to Spain’s new social, economic, and demographic realities. It introduces significant changes to various conditions and procedures, enabling foreigners to reside, work, and regularize their administrative status in Spain.
New Conditions for Visa Issuance and Changes to Residence Permit Requirements in Spain
- One of the most significant changes affects students of language courses, who are now required to apply through Spanish consulates and are prohibited from including family members in their applications. Additionally, new types of arraigo (regularization based on ties to Spain) have been introduced, all work-related residence permits are now extended for four years at once, and a new residence permit for family members of Spanish citizens has been created, previously processed either as family members of EU citizens or through family arraigo.
- Many of these changes aim to facilitate foreigners’ access to the Spanish labor market. This tool is designed to encourage the integration of qualified professionals into the country’s productive system.
- The reform also provides greater flexibility in granting residence permits to university students and researchers, allowing them to convert their studies into work permits and eliminating previous barriers, such as the need to request an extension to complete studies after a certain period. This measure aligns with policies aimed at retaining talent and promoting educational and labor mobility in a global context.
- Regarding financial dependency for regularizing parents, the age threshold for family members of Spanish citizens has been raised to 80 years, after which proving financial dependency is no longer required.
- For adult children of Spanish citizens, under previous rules, those over 21 had to continue proving both financial dependency and reliance on the applicant to benefit from family reunification rights. The reform raises the minimum age for them to 26 years.
Reform of Residence Permits in Spain Based on Arraigo
Arraigo remains one of the primary methods for regularizing the status of foreigners residing irregularly in Spain. The reform introduces significant changes to the conditions of all types of arraigo.
- Social Arraigo: Retains its status as a regularization tool for those with direct family ties and sufficient financial resources. The reform expands access to this status by reducing the required period of residence in Spain from three to two years.
- Socio-Educational Arraigo: Replaces the previous type for educational purposes, allowing regularization for those wishing to study in Spain. The new regulation narrows the eligible study options (e.g., universities no longer qualify), but permits working up to 30 hours per week during studies, promoting migrants’ social and economic integration. After completing studies, it is now possible to take a job not necessarily related to the acquired qualification, unlike the previous Foreigners’ Regulation.
- Socio-Labor Arraigo: Replaces labor arraigo, making previous requirements more flexible. A preliminary employment contract of 20 hours per week is now sufficient, expanding regularization opportunities for those who have worked in Spain outside the international protection system over the past two years.
- Family Arraigo: Allows parents of children who are EU citizens to regularize their status.
- Second Opportunity Arraigo: Designed for individuals who lost their legal residence status within the two years prior to the application and wish to regularize their situation. This is a key mechanism to address past violations and ensure administrative reintegration into the system.
Protection of Vulnerable Groups
Measures to protect vulnerable groups are a cornerstone of the reform. Victims of gender-based or sexual violence, as well as human trafficking, will have direct access to residence and work permits, ensuring immediate protection of their fundamental rights. This reform aims to provide swift and effective responses to situations of violence, safeguarding victims from potential labor exploitation or abuse.
Improvements in Administrative Procedures
Many administrative procedures have been digitized. They can now be completed online, significantly reducing waiting times and increasing process transparency.
The new Regulation was intended to provide comprehensive answers for each type of residence permit, eliminate ambiguities, simplify application preparation, and standardize evaluation criteria to avoid discrepancies among different immigration offices. However, many provisions of the new Regulation still require further clarification, as they currently raise more questions than answers, which will be resolved in practice.
International Mobility and Voluntary Return
The new regulation also promotes international mobility, particularly by facilitating family members of long-term residence permit (permanent residence) holders in other EU countries to apply for a residence permit in Spain without needing a visa.
Regarding voluntary return, the regulation establishes that individuals who held permanent residence and return to Spain within two years of departure can reinstate their residence status.
Changes in Calculating Time Spent as an International Protection Applicant
A significant change in this area is that the time spent as an international protection applicant will no longer count toward residence permit applications in Spain. Only the time after the final rejection of an asylum application will be considered, limiting regularization opportunities for individuals in this situation.
Applications submitted before May 20, 2025, will be evaluated under the previous rules unless the applicant requests to adapt to the new regulation’s provisions, meeting the established requirements.
Existing residence permits in Spain will remain valid under the conditions under which they were issued until their expiration, without requiring immediate adaptation to the new regulatory framework.
If asylum is denied, after six months, a foreigner may regularize their status through one of the arraigo types until May 20, 2026. If this deadline is missed or six months have not passed, a two-year wait is required.
