Which relative and circumstances
Spouses, partners, children, ascendants and other categories have different conditions. A family relationship alone is not the full test.
Arts.93–94
Residence · Family · Spain
Residence for family members of Spanish citizens
Your relationship and where each person is living determine how the application is prepared.
Appointments in Paterna and remote support depend on the case. We can review documents and agree the scope before accepting an instruction. English support is in writing.
Establish the applicable regime first
This guide concerns the specific residence authorisation for family members of Spanish citizens where the applicant is not an EU, EEA or Swiss national. The relationship, whether it continues and the residence plans must be checked. Being related to a Spanish citizen does not always mean applying through arraigo familiar or general family reunification.
If the Spanish citizen exercised free movement rights in another EU or EEA country or Switzerland, or you already hold an earlier card, the applicable regime must be established first. Cards do not convert automatically. An applicant who is an EU, EEA or Swiss national needs a separate assessment.
General family reunification · Arraigo: five ordinary routes
Three checks before collecting documents
Where to apply
There are separate procedures for the Spanish citizen in Spain and relative abroad, both abroad, and both in Spain. Category(i) is outside the last procedure.
Arts.41 and 97
Work and next steps
Filing, admission for processing and approval are different. Check the notice, decision and TIE steps.
Arts.95 and 97
Eligible relatives and documents
Spouses and partners
A spouse over eighteen may qualify if the marriage is valid, continues and is not fraudulent. Previous marriages require checks on their dissolution and the required arrangements concerning the home and family obligations. An isolated marriage certificate is not the whole assessment.
An unmarried registered partner over eighteen must prove a current entry in a public register in the EU, EEA or Switzerland. Spanish registration is not universally required, and not every register in every country qualifies. Marriage, registered partnership and stable partnership are mutually incompatible categories.
For an unmarried stable partner over eighteen, the regulation treats the relationship as duly established where cohabitation comparable to marriage is proved for at least twelve continuous months, inside or outside Spain. That prior period is not required if the couple have a child together and the relationship continues. Twelve months of dating without cohabitation is different; other situations need individual assessment.
Children
The regulation covers children under twenty-six and, in the circumstances it specifies, older children who are dependent or have a disability requiring support to exercise legal capacity. Actual or intended cohabitation and whether they are married or have formed their own family must also be checked. A separate family unit may require the other-family-members category and different conditions; turning twenty-six requires checking the applicable wording.
Children of the spouse or partner may also be included if that spouse or partner lives or intends to live in Spain. Parentage and, where relevant, sole custody or the other holder’s consent must be proved, subject to the legal exceptions. An adoption must have legal effect in Spain; the documents depend on the case.
Parents and other relationships
For parents of the Spanish citizen or of their current spouse or partner, the assessment considers dependence and lack of family support in the country of origin, or humanitarian grounds. These are direct first-degree ascendants. There is no universal requirement to have reached sixty-five.
A parent or guardian of a Spanish minor may qualify if the minor is in their care and they live together or the applicant meets their obligations towards the child. The relationship and those conditions must be proved. The clause requiring that relationship to have been constituted under Spanish law was annulled by the Supreme Court and is not applied here.
One family member up to the second degree may qualify to provide care for a Spanish citizen who has a recognised degree of dependency under Law 39/2006. Informal help with household tasks alone is not equivalent to that officially recognised dependency.
There is a category for children whose parent is or was Spanish by origin, and a different one for other family members who reliably prove dependence. They are not interchangeable. The latter, Article 94.1(i), is outside the procedure for both people already in Spain under Article 97.1(c).
Dependency and resources
Where dependence is required, financial or physical dependence must be genuine, stable and predate the application. The support actually received and the need for it are assessed; one transfer arranged for the file does not by itself prove that situation. Dependence and the same evidence are not required for every category.
An ascendant’s presence in Spain cannot automatically rule out proof of dependence. The Supreme Court annulled the origin-country requirement to the extent that it prevented ascendants already in Spain from proving dependence. That ruling does not remove the remaining conditions or automatically extend to every family relationship.
There is no single income figure for all relatives of Spanish citizens. Where dependence is required, resources, evidenced support and personal circumstances are assessed, including the applicable presumptions in Article 196. This guide does not turn a financial presumption into a universal euro threshold.
Documents and criminal records
The documentary starting point is valid identity documentation for the Spanish citizen and applicant, proof of the relationship and, where required, dependence. Stable partners, other relatives and minors need specific checks. This is guidance rather than a complete checklist: applicable general requirements and criminal-record or medical documents must also be reviewed.
Foreign documents are checked to establish whether official translation and legalisation or an apostille are required. Exemptions depend on the document, country and applicable rules. Both steps are not always required for every foreign document.
Criminal records require individual assessment: neither approval nor refusal should be assumed. The Supreme Court’s annulment concerning automatic criminal-record refusal in Articles 97.4 and 98.1 is limited to situations covered by Article 20 TFEU. It does not universally remove criminal-record requirements for every category.
RD 1155/2024 · art.94 · art.96 · art.196 · art.98 · TS · BOE-A-2026-19632
The procedure depends on where the family is
The Spanish citizen’s location and that of their relative affect how residence authorisation and a visa fit together. Different competence and starting rules apply when one is in Spain and the other abroad, or both are abroad. Article 41.2 sets a month from notification of the grant to the Spanish citizen for the visa application in its case. We check the notice and applicable consulate; this does not guarantee an appointment or approval.
Where both are in Spain, current Article 97.1(c) covers categories (a) to (h) of Article 94.1 but excludes category (i), other dependent relatives. Ascendants in category (e) are included. The actual immigration position also matters; entry as a tourist is not a general prerequisite for procedures begun abroad.
We assess the relationship, procedure and evidence before agreeing to prepare the file. Representation for a particular act requires checking authority and powers; some appearances are personal. Annulment of Article 197.2 does not remove other valid electronic-filing rules or allow us to promise a wholly remote procedure.
RD 1155/2024 · art.97 · art.41 · Art. 197, provisions still in force · RD 316/2026 · sole article, para. 1 · TS · BOE-A-2026-19632
Provisional work, approval and TIE have different effects
Filing alone does not authorise work. Where both people are in Spain, the commencement notice after admission must state provisional permission to reside and work at legal working age when Article 97.5 applies. We review that notice and the exception for prior applications of the same type on substantially identical facts. Refusal automatically ends provisional permission; an employee must immediately inform the employer of the notified decision. An appeal does not automatically preserve it.
A final grant under Article 97.1(c) takes effect retrospectively from filing but does not turn the initial receipt into advance work permission. Once granted, the authorisation permits residence and employed or self-employed work throughout Spain while its conditions remain met. Working does not by itself end an authorisation obtained as a dependent relative. Employment and social-security duties are assessed separately.
The usual duration is five years or the Spanish citizen’s intended residence period if shorter. The statutory decision period for residence authorisation is two months, with its starting point and suspensions depending on the procedure; visas have separate fifteen-day periods in the cases under Article 41. These do not guarantee actual processing time. Initial administrative silence is negative and does not remove the duty to decide.
A request for evidence requires assessment of its notice: Article 97.6 provides a period of no more than fifteen days and a withdrawal decision for non-compliance. This is neither a universal fifteen-day period nor automatic closure. The TIE requires personal attendance and has a one-month period starting from notification or entry according to the procedure. The Article 97 procedure is free; documents, the card and professional services may involve costs agreed before engagement.
RD 1155/2024 · art.95 · art.97 · art.41 · Ley 39/2015 · art.22 · art.24
When circumstances change
If the authorisation was granted for less than five years, renewal requires the conditions to remain met. Article 95.4 provides for the two months before expiry and three months afterwards, with a possible penalty for late filing. That window does not apply to every procedure or card. At five years, the appropriate next route must be checked; long-term residence is not granted automatically.
The conditions for the authorisation must continue to be met. A change of address, civil status, cohabitation or the Spanish relative’s circumstances should prompt an immediate check of what must be reported and which route allows continued residence. There is no single six-month deadline: Articles 98 and 99 set different periods by situation, and SEM 2/2025 wording must not be merged into one general rule.
Independent residence under Article 99 excludes stable partners in Article 94.1(c) and other dependent relatives in Article 94.1(i). Those situations may require a change of residence category with its own conditions. References to stable partners in Article 99.4 are not presented as an automatic entitlement overriding that exclusion; other categories also need the relevant procedure and conditions.
Death, separation or the Spanish citizen moving abroad do not have a single answer. Specific retention or independent-residence provisions concern previous residence, custody, access rights or certain children studying in Spain. Three years of the relationship and one in Spain is only one alternative, not a rule for every case: the facts, application and applicable deadline must be checked.
The regulation provides for independent residence in certain cases of violence, trafficking or family abandonment and accepts specified forms of evidence. A final conviction is not universally required, and no six-month deadline is stated here for all such cases. Safety and immediate individual assessment take priority.
RD 1155/2024 · art.95 · art.98 · art.99 · SEM 2/2025 · Instructions Six and Eight, within the current limits
What to prepare for an initial enquiry
The family’s situation
State the relationship, nationalities, where each person is and whether an earlier authorisation exists.
Documents and notices
Gather identity and relationship documents and any notices received. Sensitive documents should be shared through an agreed channel.
Scope and personal attendance
We establish which preparation and representation can be accepted and which steps the applicant must complete personally.
Each case requires original documents, dates and notices to be checked; this guide does not calculate individual deadlines.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as general family reunification?
No. This guide covers the specific regime for relatives of Spanish citizens. General reunification concerns relatives of non-EU foreign residents. Cases involving free movement require the applicable regime to be established first.
Can we apply if we are both already in Spain?
Article 97.1(c) allows that procedure for Article 94.1(a) to (h), not category (i), other dependent relatives. The relationship and circumstances must be checked; not every family link qualifies.
Can I work as soon as I send the application?
Sending it is not enough. Where both people are in Spain, admission for processing and the commencement notice stating provisional permission are checked under Article 97.5. Retrospective effect of a later grant does not replace that notice.
What if we are unmarried stable partners?
The continuing relationship must be proved. The regulation treats stability as established by at least twelve continuous months of cohabitation, without that prior period if the couple have a child together. Independent residence under Article 99 is not promised for category 94.1(c).
Can I apply for an adult child or my parents?
It depends on the category. For children, age, dependence or support needs, cohabitation and their own family unit are assessed. For ascendants, dependence and lack of family support in the country of origin or humanitarian grounds are checked. There is no universal minimum age of sixty-five or single financial threshold.
How long does the authorisation last and take?
It lasts five years or the Spanish citizen’s planned period of residence if shorter. The statutory residence-authorisation decision period is two months, with a procedure-specific start and possible suspensions. The visa has its own period; none is a promise of actual completion time.
What should I do after approval?
Approval does not complete the case: depending on the procedure, a visa, entry and the TIE may matter. The TIE requires personal attendance and has a one-month period with a procedure-specific starting point. We review the notice and case before defining any action. A free authorisation procedure does not necessarily make documents, the card or professional services free.
What if we separate or circumstances change?
Immediately check reporting duties and whether retention, independent residence or a change of category is available. There is no universal answer or deadline. Article 99 excludes stable partners 94.1(c) and other relatives 94.1(i); specific conditions apply to protection from violence and other situations.
Guides to help choose the right route
Official sources and consultation date
General information based on sources consulted on 21 October 2026. The April 2026 amendment and the scope of the annulments published in September are taken into account. Information sheets do not replace the current regulation or the court ruling.
- RD 1155/2024 · Arts. 93–99, 196 and 197 (provisions still in force)
- RD 316/2026 · amendment of Arts. 97.1.c and 97.5
- Supreme Court · judgment and correction · BOE-A-2026-19632
- SEM 2/2025 · application within the limits of the regulation currently in force
- Migration Directorate · Information Sheet 18 (guidance)
- LO 4/2000 · Additional Provision 3 · personal steps and visas
- Law 39/2015 · Arts. 22 and 24
Tell us the relationship and where you are
We first establish which regime and documents are relevant. Acceptance, scope and costs are agreed before the instruction. English support is in writing.