No papers yet? Your route in Spain

This page does not promise you a permit and does not offer a shortcut. It sets out the order in which the Spanish system works, so you know what to do today and what you are waiting for.

1. The padrón comes first

Registering your address at the town hall is the padrón. It is not an immigration permit and it does not require papers. It is the date from which your time in Spain starts to count, and it is the basis for a health card and for a child’s school place. Do it as early as you can — every month of delay is a month lost later.

2. Keep collecting proof

The padrón certificate, doctor’s appointments, a child’s school, language courses, volunteering, rent papers — all of it builds the record of how long you have been here. Start a folder and photograph everything in it. That folder is what your application will be made of.

3. Arraigo — and being honest about it

The route to status after a long stay in Spain is called arraigo. Since the 2025 reform there are five kinds, and the older names you will still hear are out of date:

• Arraigo social — two years here, plus family ties or a social-integration report, and means of at least 100% of the IPREM.
• Arraigo sociolaboral (this used to be called laboral) — two years here, plus one or more employment contracts.
• Arraigo socioformativo (this used to be called formación) — two years here, plus approved training. It permits employed work of up to 30 hours a week.
• Arraigo de segunda oportunidad — new. For someone who held a residence permit at some point in the last two years but could not renew it.
• Arraigo familiar — on family grounds, and the exception to everything above: no minimum period at all. It is also granted for five years, where the others are granted for one.

Three things are worth knowing before you count anything:

• The general rule is two years of continuous residence immediately before you apply — not three. Old videos still say three.
• Absences from Spain must not add up to more than 90 days across those two years.
• Time spent as an asylum applicant does not count towards the two years.

These come from the Ministry’s own arraigo guide, which we read on 8 September 2026. Rules change; if you are reading this much later, open that guide before you plan around a date. Our longer article is linked below.

4. Work in the meantime

Work does not give you papers, but no route is complete without it. Keep your own record of pay and hours even when there is no contract — that record does two jobs later: it supports a wage claim, and it helps show how long you have been here.

5. Before you pay anyone

This is the moment most people are robbed. Nobody can guarantee a permit. Before you pay, take two minutes to check whether the person is on a register — the check is free.