Arraigo in Spain 2026: how many years you need to live there

Arraigo in Spain 2026: how many years you need to live here

Arraigo requires at least two years of continuous residence in Spain immediately before the application. This is the rule in Article 126, letter b, of the Reglamento de Extranjería: it is common to four types of arraigo, while arraigo familiar has no minimum period [1]. The period did not change in 2026. Real Decreto 316/2026 added a condition to Article 126 that concerns status, not the period [2].

Overview of the types: what arraigo is and types of arraigo; for parents of a child from another EU country: arraigo familiar.

How “continuous” stay and permitted absences are counted

The Reglamento only requires that the person has “permanecido en territorio nacional de forma continuada” for at least two years before applying [1]. What counts as a break is explained by SEM Instruction 1/2025: absence from Spain must not exceed 90 calendar days over two years [4]. Information sheet Hoja 28 repeats the same criterion [3]. This is the authorities’ position; the text of the Reglamento contains no figure. We have not checked how the courts treat this limit.

Add up all your trips rather than looking at the longest one. We count the two-year window backwards from the filing date.

Trips abroad are proved by tickets, boarding passes, passport stamps and bank transactions in other countries. Within Schengen there may be no stamps, so keep your tickets. We did not find the exact way of counting days (day of departure, day of return) in the ministry’s documents; ask a lawyer.

Which periods do not count

Time when you were an applicant for international protection does not count, and it is the only period named explicitly [1]. Details:

• the time an application for protection is being processed, up to the final decision (administrative and, if there was one, judicial), is not included in the period [1];
• applicant status begins from the moment you expressed your wish to seek protection, not from the formal filing [4];
• if you withdraw the application, you stop being an applicant from that moment and the period starts or resumes [4];
• time you cannot prove with documents bearing your details will not be counted in practice.

One question the Reglamento does not settle: how to count if you held a residence permit in the last two years, as in segunda oportunidad. Article 127.a required you to have held a permit in the last two years, and Article 126.b to have been in the country for two years [1]. We have found no official guidance on how the oficina de extranjería combines these checks.

Which documents prove how long you have lived here

The ministry’s information sheet requires documents bearing your details, preferably issued or registered by the Spanish administration: padrón registration certificates, hospital admission records, records of public healthcare appointments, and any municipal, regional and state papers proving your presence in Spain [3]. For the informe de integración the Generalitat mentions the “volant d'empadronament històric” or any other admissible proof [6].

If there are gaps in your registration, SEM Instruction 4/2025 also lists private documents in your name as alternative proof: medical and educational records, money transfers, account movements, contracts and receipts for phone and electricity, and a tenancy agreement [5]. Since padrón in Barcelona is available even without a residence permit, start with it: how to register your address. A detailed list by type of proof: how to gather proof of residence.

What changed in 2026

Real Decreto 316/2026 of 14 April came into force on 16 April. Three of its effects matter for the residence period [2]:

• Article 126 gained point h: you cannot apply if you hold a stay or residence permit or are taking part in a procedure for such a permit;
• the fifth transitional provision was repealed, under which refusal of protection opened the way to arraigo after six months of irregular stay (it was due to expire in May 2026 anyway);
• arraigo applications filed between 20 May 2025 and 16 April 2026 and not yet decided are now assessed under a relaxed criterion: it is enough to have been in Spain before 1 January 2026 and to meet the conditions of additional provision 21 [2].

The separate 2026 procedures (for those who applied for international protection before 1 January 2026, and the “arraigo extraordinario”) accepted applications until 30 June 2026. As of 3 October 2026 we found no extension in the BOE [2]. The Tribunal Supremo judgment of 8 July 2026 and the Auto of 1 September 2026 do not affect Articles 125-127 [7]. The Generalitat page on the informe de integración, updated in September 2025, still describes the procedure with the 20 May 2026 date, which no longer applies [6][2].

Applying step by step

1. Check your status: make sure you hold no stay or residence permit and have no open procedures for one (Article 126, point h) [2].
2. Choose the type of arraigo and gather the specific documents: a contract for sociolaboral, proof of ties and means or the informe for social, proof of enrolment and the informe for socioformativo [1].
3. Gather proof of the two years and a table of your trips abroad during that time [3][4].
4. Order criminal record certificates from the countries where you lived in the last five years before entering Spain, with apostille and sworn translation. Certificates from other countries are not needed if you have lived in Spain for the last five years in a row: the oficina checks Spanish criminal records itself [1].
5. For social and socioformativo, request the informe de integración in advance: it is valid for six months from issue [5].
6. File the application on form EX-10 at the oficina de extranjería or online through Mercurio. Under Article 130.1 the application is filed by the foreign national in person; filing by a representative is possible under Article 197.4 (notarial power of attorney or apud acta in the electronic register, or through convenio participants or the Registro de Colaboradores); whether you need one in your case is for a lawyer to decide [1]. The fee (modelo 790, código 052) is paid at the time of filing when you apply through Mercurio (Orden PJC/617/2025, Article 2.3); the ten working days apply to in-person filing [3][8].
7. If you receive a requerimiento, reply within the deadline stated in the notice: it does not exceed 15 days, otherwise you will be deemed to have withdrawn your application [1].
8. The Reglamento does not set a decision deadline; the ministry’s information sheets give three months and treat silence as refusal [3]. After approval, you must book your TIE in person within one month [1].

Common mistakes when calculating the period

• Counting from the first padrón. The period runs from actual residence, and padrón is only one piece of proof [3].
• Looking at the longest trip rather than the total. Three trips of 35 days each already exceed 90 [4].
• Applying too early. If the two years are reached in a week, it is better to wait that week: the condition is checked on the day of filing [1].
• Overlooking point h. An open procedure to extend a student stay blocks arraigo [2].
• Using outdated instructions. Texts about the fifth transitional provision and the deadline of 20 May 2026 do not reflect its repeal on 16 April [2].
• Submitting an informe older than six months. The issue date must fall within the six months before filing [5].

When you need an individual review

There will be no simple “enough or not” answer if you have more than 90 days of absences, gaps in the padrón, a past application for protection, a previous permit, open removal proceedings or a recently expired card. For Ukrainian citizens with temporary protection, a separate rule, additional provision 19, expressly lists Article 125 among the available procedures. We have found no guidance on how it relates to point h. All of this is for a lawyer to decide on the basis of your documents, not a table in an article.

How we can help

The ReloVictory team in Barcelona builds a timeline of your residence from documents and tickets, checks point h and your absences, gathers the documents and prepares the file; the application is filed by the team’s lawyer under a power of attorney or by you, as set out in the contract. We are not responsible for how long the authorities take to respond. Booking: consultation, section arraigo. The whole route step by step is shown in the arraigo route card, and the general procedure after moving is in the section residence permit in Barcelona.

Frequently asked questions

Related articles

ReloVictory · Sources reviewed 02.10.2026 · Not a substitute for individual legal advice.