Eligibility quiz
Are you married to, or in a relationship like marriage with, someone who lives in Spain with a residence permit?
Benefits
Benefits for youBenefits for you
Live in Spain
You can live in Spain with your sponsoring family member; your initial permission normally ends with theirs, but lasts at least one year.
A spouse or partner may qualify for independent residence after one year with enough money or qualifying work.
Other routes exist after a breakup, violence, certain other crimes or the sponsor’s death; independent permission normally lasts four or five years.
Study in Spain
You can study in Spain, including after compulsory schooling, and gain qualifications.
You can also access public scholarships if you meet their conditions.
Work in Spain
Spouses, partners and children old enough to work can work anywhere in Spain, for an employer or themselves, in any occupation or sector.
They do not need a separate work procedure.
Travel from Spain
You can leave and return while your residence permission and travel document are valid, subject to border rules.
Your residence card proves your immigration status; a valid passport is normally your travel document.
Build time toward settlement
After five years of legal, continuous residence, you may qualify for long-term residence, subject to absence and other conditions.
Citizenship normally takes ten years, or five for recognised refugees, two for certain nationalities or one in particular cases.
Citizenship also requires continuous legal residence immediately before applying and other conditions.
Use public healthcare
Your healthcare access depends on your recognised entitlement and circumstances, including local registration and habitual residence.
Minors and pregnant women have specific protections, and emergency public care is available for serious illness or accidents.
Access public support
You can access Social Security benefits and social services on the same conditions as Spanish citizens.
Individual benefits can require contributions, a period of residence or other conditions.
You can also access public housing assistance under national, regional and local rules.
How to apply
From outside SpainFrom outside Spain
Find the immigration office
Ask your spouse or partner to find the immigration office for the province where they live in Spain.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Spain immigration office handles reagrupación familiar for a resident of your city?”
Download the application form
Ask your spouse or partner to download form EX-02 for the family-reunification residence application.
Download the formFill in the form
Your spouse or partner must fill in and sign the residence application form.
Get form instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I fill in Spain's EX-02 reagrupación familiar application form?”
Gather your documents
Prepare the required documents for the residence application and the consulate.
See required documentsPay the residence fee
Your spouse or partner must pay the immigration fee using form 790, code 052. They can pay online with a digital certificate or electronic identity card, or print the form and pay at a participating bank.
Pay the feeSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I pay Spain's reagrupación familiar residence application fee using modelo 790 código 052?”
Submit the residence application
Your spouse or partner must submit the signed form and required documents online through Mercurio, using a digital certificate or electronic identity card. They can also apply in person at their provincial immigration office.
Submit the applicationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I submit a Spain reagrupación familiar residence application through Mercurio?”
Wait for the decision
Your spouse or partner must wait for the immigration office's decision and respond if the office asks for more information or documents. The residence permission must be granted before you apply for your visa.
See what happens nextSearches DuckDuckGo for “What happens after a Spain reagrupación familiar residence application is submitted?”
Get the residence decision
Ask your spouse or partner to send you the decision granting your residence permission.
Find decision informationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I get the decision on a Spain reagrupación familiar residence application?”
Find your consulate
Find the Spanish consulate responsible for the place where you live.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Spanish consulate handles reagrupación familiar visas for someone living in your city?”
Download the visa form
Download the national visa application form for your family-reunification visa.
Download the formFill in the form
Fill in and sign the national visa form, choosing residence for family reunification.
Get form instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I fill in Spain's national visa form for reagrupación familiar?”
Book an appointment
Book an appointment using your consulate's instructions. Some consulates ask you to request one by email.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I book a Spain reagrupación familiar visa appointment at the consulate responsible for your city?”
Go to your appointment
Apply in person at the consulate within two months after your residence permission is granted and notified; bring your signed form and required documents, including originals and copies. Give fingerprints if requested and pay the visa fee as the consulate instructs.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I submit and pay for a Spain reagrupación familiar visa application at the consulate responsible for your city?”
Wait for the decision
Wait for the consulate's decision and respond if it asks for more information or documents.
See what happens nextSearches DuckDuckGo for “What happens after I apply for a Spain reagrupación familiar visa?”
Collect your visa
If your visa is approved, collect it as the consulate instructs.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I collect my Spain reagrupación familiar visa from the consulate responsible for your city?”
Travel to Spain
Enter Spain while your visa is valid.
Find travel informationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I enter Spain with a reagrupación familiar visa?”
Once in SpainOnce in Spain
Find the police office
Find the police office responsible for residence cards where you live in Spain.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which police office handles Spain residence cards for reagrupación familiar in your city?”
Book a card appointment
Where a residence card is required, book an appointment through the government appointment service.
Book an appointmentSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I book a Spain police appointment for a reagrupación familiar residence card?”
Apply for your card
Where a residence card is required, apply in person at the police office within one month of entering Spain. The card documents your residence in Spain.
Find card instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I apply for a Spain residence card after entering with a reagrupación familiar visa?”
Documents needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Proof of relationship
Get an official marriage certificate or an official record proving your qualifying partnership. If your spouse has been married before, also provide the final divorce or annulment decisions and records showing that the former spouse’s and any shared children’s housing and financial arrangements were settled.
Partner's residence card *
Get a copy of your spouse or partner’s valid Spanish residence card, called a TIE. Your spouse or partner can send you a copy.
* Only if you apply for a visa at a consulate.
Considerations
Things to think aboutThings to think about
Residence and document renewal
Keep your passport and residence card valid, and tell the authorities about relevant changes.
Renew your residence within the required period; renewal is not automatic, and the card alone does not extend your permission.
The official 2025 renewal fee was €16.40.
Residence can end
Your permission can end if it expires without lawful renewal, its conditions no longer hold, or your sponsor loses the status yours depends on.
Fraud, public order, security or health grounds, long absences and other legal grounds can also end it.
A breakup does not always end your residence; you may qualify for independent permission.
Discuss
Online communitiesOnline communities
EU Freedom of Movement Support Initiative
English Facebook group for people living in Spain interested in Spanish visas
Request to joinAmecan -USA Canada Australia Europe Japan-Visitor & Student Visa Specialist
English Facebook group for people living in Spain interested in Spanish visas
Join on Facebook👉 Regularizaciones, Residencia, Reagrupación y Nacionalidad Española.
Facebook group for people interested in Spanish visas and citizenship (Spanish, Arabic, & French)
Join on FacebookConsultation
Talk to a professionalTalk to a professional
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