Based on the Immigration Regulations in force (Royal Decree 1155/2024). Sources at the end. The official texts are in Spanish.

In short: a residence permit (officially, a residence authorisation) lets you live legally in Spain for more than 90 days. There are many types and yours depends on why you come and where you are now: work, family, your own means, arraigo… Temporary permits are renewed and, after five years of legal residence, you can ask for long-term residence, which no longer expires. Once the permit is granted, you ask for the card (TIE) from the police within a month.

Stay or residence

Staying in Spain for more than 90 days needs an authorisation. The law separates a stay (up to 90 days, or longer for studies or volunteering) from a residence (to live here: temporary and renewable, or long-term and indefinite). And do not mix up the three documents: the permit is the authorisation, the TIE is the card that proves it and the NIE is your foreigner identity number, which never changes.

Which permit fits you

  • You come to work for a Spanish company: residence and work as an employee (in Spanish). Usually the company applies and you collect the visa in your country.
  • You come to start a business or be self-employed: residence and work as self-employed, with a viable project and enough investment.
  • You work remotely for companies or clients abroad: the digital nomad visa.
  • You live on savings, a pension or rents: the non-lucrative visa. It does not allow work.
  • You come to study: the student visa.
  • You have family: a relative with residence in Spain can request family reunification (in Spanish); a Spanish relative gives you a five-year residence that allows work; an EU relative, an EU family member card.
  • You already live here without papers: arraigo (in Spanish), in five types: social, work-based, training-based, family and second chance.
  • Exceptional circumstances: international protection, humanitarian reasons, victims of gender or sexual violence or trafficking, or collaboration with the authorities.

Choosing the wrong route is the most expensive mistake. If your situation is not clear-cut, tell us about your case and we will tell you which one fits.

Long-term residence

It is the indefinite residence: you can live and work in Spain on the same terms as a Spanish citizen, with no contract and no renewal to depend on.

  • General requirement: five years of legal and continuous residence in Spain.
  • Absences: trips of up to six months in a row do not break continuity if they total no more than ten months over the five years (eighteen if for work).
  • When to apply: in the two months before your permit expires. The office has three months; if it does not reply, it is treated as granted.
  • The card is renewed every five years, or every ten once you are 30.

There is also a long-term EU residence, which makes it easier to live later in another EU country.

The residence card (TIE)

You request it in person from the police within one month of the permit being granted or of entering Spain with the visa. In Bilbao, at the National Police on calle Gordóniz, 8, with an appointment for the fingerprints. Its validity is that of the permit.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Choosing the wrong route, for example the non-lucrative visa to work remotely.
  • Travelling as a tourist planning to apply from Spain when your route is applied for at the consulate.
  • Documents not apostilled or not translated.
  • Letting the permit expire or going more than three months past the date.
  • Long absences from Spain if you want to reach long-term residence or citizenship.
  • Not requesting the card within the month.

How we help

We study your situation and tell you which permit fits and what the alternatives are. We prepare the whole file and submit it online, follow it to the decision and help you with the card. Later, we handle renewals, long-term residence and citizenship. We help you in English and Spanish, at our office in the centre of Bilbao (calle Colón de Larreátegui, 15), or by video call and phone from anywhere. Ask for a free first call.

You may also be interested in

Sources