Residence for family members of Spanish nationals

Is this your procedure?

Requirements

• Not have the nationality of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland.

  RD 1155/2024, art. 93

• Have one of the listed ties with the Spanish national and live with them, or come to join them in Spain.

  RD 1155/2024, arts. 93 and 94.1

• Prove the tie with documents: marriage certificate, partnership registration certificate or birth certificate.

  RD 1155/2024, art. 96.b.2nd

• Unregistered stable partner: prove at least 12 continuous months of living together, in or outside Spain. This is not needed if you have children in common and the relationship continues.

  RD 1155/2024, art. 94.1.c

• If your tie requires it (children aged 26 or over, parents, other family members), show that you are dependent on the Spanish national: real, stable financial support from before the application. If you are the father or mother and are already in Spain, it is no longer required that this dependency arose in your country of origin.

  RD 1155/2024, arts. 94.3 and 196.2; STS 868/2026, ruling 2(c)

• Father, mother or guardian of a Spanish child: have the child in your care and live with them, or be up to date with your obligations. The Supreme Court annulled the requirement that this relationship must have been established under Spanish law.

  RD 1155/2024, art. 94.1.f; STS 868/2026, ruling 2(b)

• Criminal record. General rule: a previous conviction does not on its own lead to refusal; your personal conduct is assessed. But the unregistered stable partner, the caring family member, the children of a Spaniard by origin and the other dependent family members must prove that they have no criminal record. And if you apply from inside Spain, you must have no criminal record in the countries where you lived in the last 5 years. In 2026 the Supreme Court annulled that automatic refusal, without individual assessment, only in cases under art. 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU). Outside those cases, a criminal record can be grounds for refusal.

  RD 1155/2024, arts. 38.e, 97.4 and 98.1; STS 868/2026, ruling 2(d)

• If you apply for the authorisation from inside Spain, you do not need to already hold a residence authorisation.

  RD 1155/2024, art. 97.4 (excludes art. 38.b)

Documents

Guide list only. Before we start, we tell you exactly which ones you need in your case.

• Form EX-24, filled in and signed.
• The foreign family member's full valid passport (copy of every page).
• The Spanish national's valid DNI (Spanish national identity card) or passport.
• Document proving the tie: marriage certificate, partnership registration certificate or birth certificate.
• Unregistered stable partner: proof of the relationship and of the time you have lived together, or the birth certificate of your children in common.
• If being dependent is required: proof of financial dependency, for example regular money transfers.
• Spouse or partner: a responsible declaration (declaración responsable) by the Spanish national that they do not live in Spain with another spouse or partner.
• Proof that you live together, for example the padrón (your town hall's register of residents) showing the same address.
• If you are an adult and lived outside Spain in the last 5 years: criminal record certificate from those countries.
• Foreign documents translated into Spanish and legalised or apostilled, if needed.

Deadlines

When to apply

There is no fixed window for the first application. If you apply from inside Spain, from the moment it is accepted for processing you can live and work on a provisional basis, unless an identical application was refused before on the same facts (art. 97.5).

Time limit for a decision

The Immigration Office has 2 months. If it does not reply within that time, the application is deemed refused and you can appeal (art. 97.6).

If a document is missing

You get up to 15 days to provide it. If you do not, the application is closed (art. 97.6).

Card (TIE)

Once the authorisation is granted, apply for the TIE (foreigner identity card) in person at the police station within 1 month of the notification, or of your entry into Spain if you come with a visa. Fingerprinting is done in person (art. 97.7).

Renewal

If it was granted for less than 5 years, it is renewed in the 2 months before it expires or in the 3 months after (art. 95.4).

Changes you must report

Changes of address, nationality, marital status or partner: within 2 months, to the Immigration Office or the police station (art. 98.2).