What exactly it was
A temporary residence permit for exceptional circumstances, with its own preferential and separate procedure, decided centrally by the Directorate-General for Migration Management through the Immigration File Processing Unit. Offices were enabled across the country to file it, including Post Office and Social Security offices.
The cumulative requirements of section 1 were, in summary: being of legal age and in Spain when filing; not holding a stay or residence permit or having another open procedure; not having held a temporary protection permit arising from displacement from Ukraine; providing a passport, registration card or travel document, even if expired; having stayed in Spain without interruption during the previous five months; having no criminal record; not being a threat to public order; not being listed as non-admissible; not being within a no-return commitment period; and paying the fee.
In addition, at least one of these three had to be met: having worked in Spain or proving the intention to work with a job offer or a sworn statement of self-employed activity, with contracts adding up to more than ninety days in a year; staying in Spain with the family unit where it included minor children, adult children with disabilities or cohabiting first-degree ascendants; or being in a situation of vulnerability certified by the bodies competent in social assistance or by Third Sector bodies registered in the Electronic Register of Immigration Collaborators.
If you filed and still have no answer
This is what the law says about your file:
- From the notice of the start of processing until it is decided, you are provisionally allowed to reside and work, employed and self-employed, anywhere in Spain and in any occupation or sector.
- If granted, the permit's effectiveness goes back to the moment the application was filed.
- The maximum period to decide and notify is three months from entry in the registry of the competent body, and it may be suspended in the cases of article 22 of Law 39/2015. During suspension the provisional permission remains valid.
- Once that period passes without notification, the application is deemed refused by administrative silence. Negative silence does not prevent an appeal or bind the administration to decide that way: it remains obliged to decide expressly.
- Refusal means automatic loss of the provisional permission to work, with no express ruling needed. If you work as an employee, you must tell your employer the outcome immediately.
- Once the permit is granted, you must apply for the foreigner identity card during the month immediately afterwards.
To check its status: how to see the status of an immigration file.
If you did not get to file
The extraordinary route is closed, but the ordinary ones remain open and in some cases are better than people think, because the 2025 Regulation lowered the required stay from three years to two.
- With two years in Spain and a contract of at least twenty hours a week: arraigo sociolaboral. It allows work as soon as it is admitted.
- With two years and a family tie with residents, or with an integration report: arraigo social.
- With legal residency lost in the last two years: second-chance arraigo.
- With a minor child who is an EU, EEA or Swiss national, or supporting a relative with a disability of that nationality: arraigo familiar, with no minimum stay and a five-year permit.
- By enrolling in regulated or employment-service training: arraigo socioformativo.
If you were close to completing two years when the extraordinary deadline closed, the sensible thing is to work out the exact date the stay is completed and prepare the folder beforehand, above all the criminal records from your home country, which take longest.
A warning about what you read out there
Around any regularisation an ecosystem of intermediaries selling certainties always appears. Keep in mind three facts that are in the law and can be checked: the deadline ended on 30 June 2026 and was not extended; the application is free except for the official processing fee; and nobody can guarantee a favourable decision, because the power to decide lies with the Directorate-General for Migration Management.
If someone offers to «get you in after the deadline», they are offering you a problem.
Want us to check your case before filing?
Registered gestora administrativa, ICGA Valencia. We review the requirements and documents before touching the file. Free first consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Can extraordinary arraigo still be requested?
No. The 21st additional provision set 30 June 2026 as the filing deadline and it was not extended. The ordinary arraigo routes remain open.
I filed in time and have had no answer. Can I work?
Yes. From the notice of the start of processing until it is decided, the law provisionally allows you to reside and work, employed and self-employed, anywhere in Spain and in any occupation.
How long does the administration have to decide?
Three months from entry of the application in the registry of the competent body, with possible suspension in the cases of article 22 of Law 39/2015. After that period without notification, the application is deemed refused by silence.
If it is granted, from when does it count?
The permit's effectiveness goes back to the moment the application was filed. After that there is one month to apply for the foreigner identity card.
I missed the deadline. Which route is left?
It depends on your situation: sociolaboral with a contract, social with a family tie or integration report, second chance if you held legal residency in the last two years, familiar if you have a minor child who is an EU national, or socioformativo if you enrol in valid training.
Legal basis
- Organic Law 4/2000 on the rights and freedoms of foreign nationals in Spain
- Royal Decree 1155/2024, Regulation implementing Organic Law 4/2000 (consolidated text)
- Royal Decree 316/2026 amending the immigration Regulation
- Order PJC/617/2025 setting immigration and foreigners' fees
- Law 39/2015 on Common Administrative Procedure, art. 14 on electronic dealings with the administration
Official sources
- Ministry of Inclusion: sheet 28 ter, extraordinary arraigo
- Status of immigration files
- Catalogue of immigration procedures
- Electronic office: immigration appointments
Written by Irina Klein. Reviewed by Elena Alonso Volostnova, registered gestora administrativa (ICGA Valencia). Updated on 5 October 2026. This page is general information and does not replace personalised advice on your case.