Family Reunification in Spain (Reagrupación Familiar): Full Guide

Residencia temporal por reagrupación familiar

~21 min read · Published 22 July 2026 Updated and checked against official sources 8 October 2026 Print / PDF

Reagrupación familiar is a Spanish residence permit for the family members of a non-EU national who lives legally in Spain (art. 65 RD 1155/2024). The resident files the application once they have lived in Spain for a year and have applied to renew their own permit. A spouse, a partner and children of working age can work without any separate procedure. Parents can be brought over only after the resident obtains long-term residence.

Contents

• What this permit is
• Pros and cons
• Who applies and who counts as family
• Requirements and documents
• Applying from the United States or the United Kingdom
• Can you work
• How the process works
• Refusal and appeal
• Renewal
• Long-term residence and nationality

What this permit is

Reagrupación familiar is a temporary residence permit granted to a family member of a foreign national who lives legally in Spain, at that foreign national’s request (art. 65.1 RD 1155/2024). The regulation calls this person the persona reagrupante, and we refer to them as the sponsor. The right to family reunification is set out in art. 16 LO 4/2000, the circle of relatives in art. 17 and the requirements for the sponsor in art. 18. The procedure is governed by art. 65 to 71 of the regulation.

The permit is granted by the Oficina de Extranjería, the immigration office of the province where the sponsor lives. In English-language forums the permit is often called the “family reunification visa.” The visa is only the entry document: the family member obtains it at the consulate after the permit has been approved. The family member’s permit depends on the sponsor’s. The first permit runs until the same date as the sponsor’s permit (art. 68.9), and a renewed one remains valid as long as the sponsor’s permit is valid (art. 71.6).

The regime applies when both the sponsor and the family member are nationals of countries outside the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Other situations are covered by other permits:

• Family members of a Spanish citizen obtain a permit as family members of a Spanish citizen (art. 93 RD 1155/2024 and the articles that follow).
• Family members of an EU citizen apply under RD 240/2007, as explained in the article on residence for EU citizens.
• The family of a digital nomad, an entrepreneur, a highly qualified professional, a researcher or an intra-company transferee applies together with the main permit holder or later (art. 62.4 Ley 14/2013).
• A child born in Spain to a resident obtains a permit under art. 159 RD 1155/2024 without a visa, as explained in the article on residence for children.

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Pros and cons

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Who applies and who counts as family

The sponsor files the application, in person or through a representative, with the Extranjería office of their province (art. 68.2 and 197 RD 1155/2024, Hoja 8, the information sheet of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration). Meanwhile the family member stays in their own country and applies for the visa later, once the permit has been approved. The exception is the family of a foreign national who holds EU long-term residence obtained in another EU country: they may file the application themselves (art. 68.2).

For reunification purposes, family members are (art. 66.1 RD 1155/2024):

• A spouse over 18, provided the spouses are not separated in fact or in law and the marriage is not a sham. Only one spouse can be reunited, even if the sponsor’s national law allows polygamy. In a second or later marriage, the sponsor must show that the previous marriage was dissolved in a procedure that settled who keeps the family home, maintenance for the former spouse and child support.
• A partner over 18. The partnership must be registered in a public registry of an EU member state or proved as a stable relationship with at least 12 months of continuous cohabitation. It does not matter whether the couple lived together in Spain or elsewhere. No cohabitation period is needed if the couple has a child together. Marriage and partnership are mutually exclusive for reunification.
• Children of the sponsor, the spouse or the partner who are under 18 on the filing date, adult children with a disability who need support, and children who cannot support themselves for health reasons.
• Persons whose legal representative is the sponsor, under the same age conditions, provided the act of representation does not conflict with the principles of Spanish law.
• Parents of the sponsor, the spouse or the partner who are over 65, if they depend on the sponsor and there are reasons justifying their move.
• An adult child of the sponsor, the spouse or the partner who will care for the sponsor, if the sponsor has a recognized degree of dependency under art. 26 Ley 39/2006 on care for dependent persons.

A child’s age is determined on the filing date: the rule says “en el momento de la solicitud de la autorización de residencia a su favor.” So a child who turns 18 while the application is pending remains eligible.

A partnership registered outside the EU does not count as registered for this rule: art. 66.1.b refers to a registry “establecido en un Estado miembro de la Unión Europea.” Such a couple is treated as unregistered and must show 12 months of cohabitation or a child together.

If the child is the child of only one of the spouses or partners, that parent must show that they alone hold parental authority or have been granted custody, that the child depends on them, and that a court or the other parent has authorized the move. Under joint custody, the other parent must consent to the child’s residence in Spain (art. 66.1.c). An adoption must be effective in Spain.

The sponsor can bring parents over only after obtaining long-term residence (art. 18.1 LO 4/2000, art. 68.1.a RD 1155/2024). The application for a parent can be filed right after the application for long-term residence, but the parent’s permit is granted only once long-term residence has been issued. A parent under 65 can be reunited only on humanitarian grounds, listed in art. 196.6:

• The parent’s country is at war or has been hit by a disaster.
• The parent has several chronic illnesses or a serious loss of functional or mental capacity.
• The sponsor, the spouse, children or wards living in Spain have a recognized degree of dependency under art. 26 Ley 39/2006.
• The other parent is over 65 and has already obtained a permit.
• The parent will care for the sponsor’s minor children or for children who cannot support themselves for health reasons.
• Any other case with a prior favorable report from the Directorate-General for Migration Management (Dirección General de Gestión Migratoria).

Dependency (a cargo) means a real and stable financial or physical dependency that existed before the application (art. 196.1 and 196.2). The regulation treats dependency as proved if, during the year before filing, the sponsor transferred money to the parent or paid the parent’s expenses. The total for that year must reach at least 51% of the annual GDP per capita of the country where the parent lives, according to the World Bank, and it is calculated separately for each parent (art. 196.3.c).

GDP per capita is the value of the goods and services a country produces in a year, divided by its population. The World Bank publishes it in US dollars: for the United States, the figure for 2025, the latest year published, is $90,027 (World Bank data). So for a parent who lives in the United States, the transfers and expenses paid over the year must total at least $45,914, about $3,826 a month, and twice that for two parents. A lower amount does not rule out dependency, but dependency must then be proved with other documents.

A parent over 80 is treated as dependent in any case, as is a parent with several chronic illnesses or a serious loss of functional or mental capacity. A parent is also presumed dependent when the sponsor has a recognized degree of dependency (art. 196.5). Dependency can be shown even when the parent is already in Spain: the condition in art. 196.2.b that it exist in the country of origin was annulled on this point by Supreme Court judgment 868/2026 of July 8, 2026 (BOE, September 22, 2026).

The person supporting the parent also has a condition to meet: they must be financially self-sufficient (art. 196.3.d). Their household, including the parent, does not receive the Ingreso Mínimo Vital, the state minimum income benefit, and the household’s income or assets are at or above a threshold the rule ties to the non-contributory pension: monthly income of at least the annual amount of that pension divided by twelve for a household of two and 130% of that figure for a larger household, or stable assets worth at least three times the annual threshold. The pension amount for 2026 was set by art. 2.5 Real Decreto-ley 3/2026. The threshold: income of at least €733.60 a month for a family of two and €953.68 for a larger family, or assets of at least €26,409.60 and €34,332.48 respectivelycurrent for 2026.

No other relatives are included: a brother, a sister or a grandparent cannot be brought over through reunification (art. 66.1). A child who has already lived in Spain with a resident parent for at least two years has a separate permit under art. 160, and the parents must meet the reunification income and housing requirements.

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Requirements and documents

The sponsor must have a regular income sufficient for themselves and the family. The amount is calculated from IPREM: 150% a month for a family of the sponsor and one relative, and 50% for each additional family member (art. 67.1 RD 1155/2024).

€900 a month for a family of two and €300 for each additional family membercurrent for 2026

The rule requires “recursos fijos y regulares” and assesses them “en función de su naturaleza y de su regularidad” (art. 67.1). So a one-off deposit does not meet the threshold: the income must recur and cover the family’s needs after the move (art. 18.2 LO 4/2000), and savings are assessed on their average balance over the last six months. How income is calculated (art. 67.1):

• Salaries and pensions count in full before tax, including the proportional share of the extra payments (pagas extraordinarias). Business income counts as net profit.
• The income of the sponsor, the spouse or partner, and first-degree relatives in the direct line counts, if they are residents of Spain and share a household with the sponsor.
• Study and housing grants, maintenance and compensation payments received by the sponsor do not count, except payments in favor of the person being reunited, and neither does income from the social assistance system.

For children and wards under 18, the threshold can be lowered in the child’s interest (art. 67.1, second paragraph). The reduction is at Extranjería’s discretion: the rule says “podrá ser minorada” and requires proven circumstances. For a family of two that includes one minor, the reduced threshold is 110% of the annual guaranteed amount of the Ingreso Mínimo Vital (IMV, the minimum income benefit paid by Seguridad Social), plus 10% for each additional minor. The two thresholds have different bases: the general one is calculated from IPREM per month, the reduced one from IMV per year.

Adequate housing is required. This means housing that meets the definition of vivienda digna y adecuada in art. 3.c Ley 12/2023 on the right to housing, unless the region’s housing rules require otherwise, in which case those rules apply (art. 67.2). The sponsor proves it with a report (informe de vivienda adecuada) from the regional government or the town hall. The authority must issue and deliver the report within a month of the request. If it does not, the housing can be proved by any admissible evidence together with a copy of the request. The report, or the documents that replace it, must be issued no more than six months before filing and describe the right to occupy the home, the number of rooms, the use of each room, the number of occupants, the living conditions and the facilities. The report does not bind Extranjería, but a decision that departs from it must state its reasons.

Other requirements for the sponsor (art. 67.3 to 67.7):

• Health insurance for the sponsor and the family members.
• Any other school-age minor children of the sponsor already living in Spain are enrolled in school.
• The sponsor is not within the period of an undertaking not to return to Spain given under a voluntary return program.
• No threat to public order, public security or public health. Extranjería itself requests the criminal record and a police report on the family member, with seven days for the reply. An entry in the police report does not lead to refusal automatically and is assessed in context (art. 68.4).
• The fee is paid: modelo 790, code 052, section 2.1.2, within 10 working days of filing (Hoja 8).

Documents (art. 68.3, Hoja 8):

• Application form EX-02, signed by the sponsor.
• A copy of every page of the sponsor’s passport.
• Proof of income. For employees, the employment contract and payslips for the last six months. For the self-employed, proof of the activity and IRPF (personal income tax) returns. Without work in Spain, bank certificates.
• The housing report.
• Health insurance.
• When reunifying a spouse or partner, the sponsor’s declaración responsable (a formal statement made under their own responsibility) that no other spouse or partner lives with them in Spain.
• A copy of every page of the family member’s passport.
• Documents proving the family relationship or the partnership and, where relevant, legal and financial dependency.
• For parents: proof of the transfers or expenses over the last year and documents on the reasons why the parent needs to live in Spain.
• The fee receipt.

Not required when applying for the permit:

• The family member’s criminal record certificate and medical certificate: they are filed at the consulate with the visa application (art. 38 RD 1155/2024, letters e and i).
• The family member’s presence in Spain: the sponsor files the application (art. 68.2).
• An employment contract: any regular income counts, including a pension and income from assets (art. 67.1).
• Owning the home: the right to occupy it is enough, and that right may belong to any family member (art. 67.2).
• A minimum length of marriage: a period of cohabitation is required only from an unregistered couple (art. 66.1.b).
• Knowledge of Spanish: the regulation contains no such requirement.

Foreign documents are filed with an apostille or consular legalization and with a translation into Spanish by a sworn translator, traductor jurado (Hoja 8). We determine which documents need an apostille and a translation when the service is ordered, since the list depends on the issuing country.

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Applying from the United States or the United Kingdom

The family member applies for the visa in person at the Spanish consulate for their place of residence. For a minor, a parent, a guardian or an authorized representative applies. The Los Angeles consulate and the London consulate publish their own checklists for this visa. The checklists still state a passport valid for four months, two months for the visa decision and a visa valid for 90 days (the London page is dated April 10, 2024, before RD 1155/2024 was adopted). Under the current regulation these are one year (art. 38.d), one month (art. 40.3) and the term of the permit, up to one year (art. 37.2).

Both consulates:

• A passport with two blank pages, issued no more than 10 years ago. The regulation requires it to be valid for at least one year (art. 38.d RD 1155/2024).
• The original permit approval and a certified copy of the sponsor’s valid TIE.
• Proof of residence in the consular district.
• For a parent: proof of the parent’s annual income and property, and information on other close relatives who live in the parent’s country.

United States:

• Applications are filed in person at the consulate, by appointment.
• Nationals of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia pay a visa fee set by reciprocity, which differs from the standard fee.

United Kingdom:

• Applications are filed at the BLS Spain Visa Application Centre in London.
• Residence in the consular district can also be shown through in-person study there.
• An ACRO criminal record certificate, no more than six months old, with the Hague apostille and a sworn translation into Spanish.
• A medical certificate issued only in the United Kingdom or in Spain by a registered medical practitioner, no more than three months before the application, with the Hague apostille and a sworn translation.
• The apostille must certify the signature of the doctor or police officer who issued the certificate, not that of a notary or solicitor.

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Can you work

Yes. The reunification permit gives a spouse, a partner and children the right to work “sin necesidad de realizar ningún trámite administrativo,” that is, without any separate procedure, once they reach the minimum working age (art. 65.2 RD 1155/2024). They can work as employees or self-employed, anywhere in Spain, in any occupation and sector.

This does not mean that parents can work: art. 65.2 names only the spouse, the partner and the children. A parent gets the right to work only with a work permit, and with it a residence permit of their own (art. 69.6).

The general change of status route under art. 191 is closed to reunification (art. 191.7, letter c). A family member obtains a residence and work permit of their own, independent of the sponsor, under art. 69:

• A spouse or partner after a year of residence on reunification, if they meet one of three conditions: their own means under art. 67, the requirements for a self-employment permit, or the requirements for an employment permit without the labor market test (art. 69.1).
• Children and wards on reaching adulthood, if they meet one of the same conditions, or after five years of residence in Spain (art. 69.4).
• A spouse or partner on divorce or cancellation of the registered partnership, if the relationship lasted at least three years, including at least one year living together in Spain. The year is shortened if they have been awarded custody of the children they have in common. The application must be filed within six months of notice that the petition for divorce, separation or annulment was admitted (art. 69.2.a).
• A family member who is a victim of violence, trafficking or abandonment by the sponsor, regardless of the length of residence, after a protection order or a police or public prosecutor’s report. The permit is issued for five years (art. 69.2.b).
• A family member after the sponsor’s death, if the application is filed within six months of the date of death. The permit is issued for five years (art. 69.2.c).

In cases of divorce, violence or the sponsor’s death, the other reunited relatives keep their permits and, at renewal, depend on the family member they live with (art. 69.3). The term of an independent permit depends on when it is requested. If it is requested when the reunification permit is renewed, it is issued for four years. If it is requested later, while the renewed permit is valid, the family member keeps the remaining term of that permit, now on their own basis (art. 69.1). The conditions of each route are covered in the article on change of status.

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How the process works

The process has two stages: the permit in Spain, then the visa at the consulate (art. 68 and 40 RD 1155/2024).

The sponsor files the application with Extranjería and pays the fee within 10 working days (Hoja 8). The sponsor can file after at least a year of residence in Spain and once they have applied to renew their own permit for at least another year, so both applications can be filed at the same time. The family member’s permit is granted only after the sponsor’s renewal is approved (art. 68.1).

The decision is due within two months, and silence means refusal (art. 68.6). This means that after two months without an answer the application is deemed refused and can be appealed. The procedure is explained in the article on administrative silence. Reunification applications, the visas based on them and renewals are processed with priority (art. 68.7).

Approval does not yet give the family member the right to live in Spain. The decision states expressly that the permit “no desplegará sus efectos hasta que no se produzca la obtención del visado y la posterior entrada en España” (art. 68.5.a). So the permit takes effect only on entry with the visa.

The family member applies for the visa in person within two months of the date the sponsor is notified of the approval, with the original documents proving the relationship (art. 40.1.a). The consulate decides within a month of the application (art. 40.3). The visa is collected in person within a month of notice that it has been issued (Hoja 8). It is issued for the term of the permit, up to one year (art. 37.2). Entry must take place no later than a month after the visa is collected (art. 68.5.a, Hoja 8), and the visa’s own validity does not extend that month.

Within a month of entry, the family member applies in person for the TIE at the police station of the province where the permit was processed (art. 37.3, consular checklists). For a minor, the representative applies together with the child.

The first permit runs until the same date as the sponsor’s permit on the day the family member enters, but for at least one year (art. 68.9). For example, the sponsor’s wife enters Spain on June 1, 2027, and the sponsor’s renewed permit runs until March 10, 2030: her permit also runs until March 10, 2030. If the sponsor holds long-term residence, the family member’s first permit runs until the sponsor’s TIE expires, but for at least one year, and the next permit will be long-term.

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Refusal and appeal

A refusal can come at two stages, and each is appealed differently.

Refusal of the permit. Extranjería decisions are final at the administrative level (DA 9ª RD 1155/2024). A refusal can be challenged with a recurso de reposición, an appeal to the same office, within a month of notification (art. 124 Ley 39/2015), or directly with a recurso contencioso-administrativo, a claim before the Juzgado de lo Contencioso-Administrativo, the first-instance administrative court, within two months (art. 8.4 and 46.1 LJCA, Ley 29/1998, the law on administrative court proceedings). Against a refusal by silence, reposición can be filed at any time.

Refusal of the visa. The consulate notifies a refusal in writing, stating the grounds. A recurso de reposición is filed with the consulate within a month, and a recurso contencioso-administrativo with the High Court of Justice of Madrid (Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid) within two months of notification of the refusal or of the dismissal of the appeal (Los Angeles consulate checklist).

We prepare and file the appeal to Extranjería or to the consulate ourselves. A court claim requires an abogado and a procurador: we prepare the case, and a partner Spanish lawyer represents the client in court.

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Renewal

The family member applies for renewal within the two months before the permit expires or the three months after. A filing after expiry may bring a fine under art. 52.b LO 4/2000 (art. 71.1 RD 1155/2024). The application uses form EX-02, or form EX-11 if the sponsor holds long-term residence (Hoja 10).

Renewal conditions (art. 71.3):

• The sponsor’s permit and the family member’s permit are valid or expired no more than three months ago.
• The family relationship or partnership continues.
• School-age dependent children are enrolled in school.
• The fee is paid: modelo 790, code 052, section 2.2.2 (Hoja 10).

Art. 71.3 does not list income or housing among the renewal conditions. So when a family member’s permit is renewed, they are not checked again. What is checked is whether the sponsor’s permit is valid. A criminal record does not lead to refusal of renewal automatically: if the sentence has been served, suspended or pardoned, Extranjería assesses whether renewal is possible (art. 71.3.c).

The application includes copies of the family member’s and the sponsor’s passports, documents on the marriage or partnership where relevant, a school enrollment report for the children and documents on integration efforts, such as a favorable report from the regional government (art. 71.4). If the sponsor no longer meets the renewal conditions, renewal for children, wards and parents can be requested by the sponsor’s spouse or partner, if that person is a resident of Spain and lives with them as a family. For children and wards, renewal can also be requested by the other parent or guardian, if a resident of Spain (art. 71.2).

The decision is due within three months, and silence means approval (art. 71.5). The initial permit has a different period and the opposite effect of silence: two months, and silence means refusal (art. 68.6). The renewed permit is issued for four years, allows work as an employee or self-employed without restriction and remains valid as long as the sponsor’s permit is valid (art. 71.6). The application for a new TIE is filed within a month of notification (Hoja 10).

To leave Spain and return while the application is pending, the holder needs an autorización de regreso, a return authorization, which is issued if the renewal was filed on time (art. 5.1 RD 1155/2024).

At renewal, a spouse or partner can request an independent four-year permit instead (art. 69.1), on the conditions set out in the section on work. The next step after five years of residence is long-term residence.

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Long-term residence and nationality

After five years of lawful residence, the holder can obtain long-term residence. If the sponsor holds long-term residence, the family member also obtains long-term residence at renewal (art. 68.9, Hoja 10). Years on reunification also count toward Spanish nationality: 10 years as a rule, or 2 years for nationals by origin of Latin American countries, the Philippines and several others (art. 22.1 Código Civil).

A reunited family member can in turn reunite their own relatives once they hold an independent residence and work permit (art. 17.2 LO 4/2000, art. 70.1 RD 1155/2024). A reunited parent can do so only after obtaining long-term residence, unless they have dependent minor children or children who cannot support themselves for health reasons (art. 70.2 and 70.3).

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Author Aleksandr Nazarov