Humanitarian residence in Spain: serious illness, crime victims, danger in returning

~13 min read · Published 30 September 2026 Updated and checked against official sources 19 October 2026 Print / PDF

The humanitarian residence permit, autorización de residencia temporal por razones humanitarias, is granted without a visa to a foreign national who is already in Spain. The immigration office grants it on three grounds of art. 128 RD 1155/2024: a serious illness that arose in Spain, status as a crime victim recognized by a final court ruling, and danger in traveling home for a visa. The permit is issued for one year, includes the right to work and can be renewed.

Contents

• What this permit is
• Pros and cons
• Grounds and who applies
• Requirements and documents
• Documents from the US, the UK, Canada and Australia
• Can you work
• How the procedure runs
• Refusal and appeal
• Renewal and switch to the general regime
• Long-term residence and citizenship

What this permit is

The humanitarian residence permit belongs to the permits on exceptional circumstances (circunstancias excepcionales), like arraigo. Art. 31.3 LO 4/2000 allows such permits to be granted without a visa, and art. 124.1 RD 1155/2024 grants them to foreign nationals “que se hallen en España,” that is, who are already in Spain. The application is filed in Spain, with no trip abroad for a visa.

Art. 128 lists the humanitarian grounds as a closed list. Three of them depend on the applicant’s own situation, and the immigration office decides on them: a serious illness that arose in Spain (art. 128.3), status as a crime victim (art. 128.2) and danger in traveling home for a visa (art. 128.4). This article covers those three.

The grounds of art. 128.1 open through a decision of the Minister of the Interior in international protection procedures. The permit after a refusal of asylum under art. 37.b and 46.3 Ley 12/2009 has not been granted or renewed by the Ministry of the Interior since June 12, 2026 (information note of the Directorate General for International Protection). The switch available to those whose permit is still valid is described in the section on renewal. The permit for people under temporary protection is covered in the article on temporary protection.

Other situations have other permits:

• A woman who suffered violence from a husband, partner or former partner (violencia de género), or sexual violence, receives a separate permit under art. 31 bis LO 4/2000. Victims of human trafficking and people who cooperate with investigations against organized networks receive permits under art. 59 bis and 59 of the same law.
• Someone who fits none of the grounds of art. 128 but lives in Spain may fit arraigo: there the basis is a period of residence combined with work, study or family.

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Pros and cons

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Grounds and who applies

Serious illness arising in Spain

Art. 128.3 RD 1155/2024 requires four conditions at once. First, the illness is “sobrevenida en España,” that is, it arose after arrival in Spain. Second, the illness is serious and requires specialized medical care. Third, that care is not available in the country of origin. Fourth, interrupting the treatment or not receiving it creates a serious risk to health or life. All four conditions are proven by an informe clínico, a clinical report from the health authority.

That is, someone who came to Spain for treatment of an illness they already had before arrival does not qualify on this ground.

If a child is ill, art. 128.3 extends the permit to the parent or guardian who was with the child in Spain when the illness arose and is responsible for the child. The rule speaks of one parent.

The family circle was widened by Criterio de gestión DGGM 1/2026 of January 7, 2026, a guidance criterion of the Directorate General for Migration Management for all Oficinas de Extranjería. It applies to art. 128.3 Supreme Court judgment 942/2025 of July 10, 2025 (recurso 1963/2023), which was issued under art. 126.2 of the previous regulation, RD 557/2011. Under the criterion, the permit goes to these members of the ill child’s family:

• both parents
• minor brothers and sisters
• adult brothers and sisters with a disability who need support or who, because of their health, cannot provide for themselves

The condition is the same for all: they lived with the child in Spain when the illness arose. This does not mean that the criterion is a rule of the regulation. It binds the immigration offices to read art. 128.3 the same way, but it was not published in the BOE, and the wording of the rule still speaks of one parent or guardian.

For example, a family came to Spain as tourists, and a month later the younger daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. Treatment runs at a public hospital, and the regional health service issues the informe clínico. The permit under art. 128.3 goes to the daughter, both parents and the ten-year-old son. The grandmother who came with them does not receive a permit on this ground. The example shows the limit of the criterion: it names parents, brothers and sisters, and leaves other relatives outside the circle.

Crime victim

Art. 128.2 grants the permit to the victim of three groups of offenses:

• offenses against workers’ rights, art. 311 to 318 of the Criminal Code (Código Penal): for example, imposing unlawful working conditions through deception or by abusing the worker’s position, hiring foreign nationals without a work permit, unlawful placement of workers, and breaches of workplace safety rules that endanger life and health
• hate and discrimination offenses (art. 510, 511.1 and 512) and any offense committed for racist, antisemitic or other discriminatory motives (the aggravating circumstance of art. 22.4)
• domestic violence, “conductas violentas ejercidas en el entorno familiar”

Victim status is proven only by a “resolución judicial finalizadora y firme,” that is, a court ruling that ends the proceedings and has become final. A police report or an open criminal case is not enough. The ground opens after the final court ruling.

Danger in traveling for a visa

Art. 128.4 grants the permit to a person for whom traveling to the country of origin or previous residence for a visa “implica un peligro para su seguridad o la de su familia,” that is, is dangerous for that person or their family. The danger is proven by documents. The second condition: the applicant meets the other requirements of the permit they would obtain with a visa.

Hoja informativa 32, the information sheet of the Ministry of Inclusion, names two options for the second condition. The first is financial means and health insurance. The second is the requirements of an employed or self-employed work permit. In that case the work application (form EX-03 for employment or EX-07 for self-employment) is filed together with the application under art. 128.4.

Who applies

The foreign national applies in person (art. 130.1). For a child, or for a person with a disability who needs support, the application is filed by the legal representative or by the person providing support. Each member of an ill child’s family files a separate application.

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Requirements and documents

Art. 31.5 LO 4/2000 sets the general requirement for all grounds. The applicant has no criminal record in Spain or in the countries of previous residence for offenses that exist in Spanish law. The applicant is not listed as a person to be refused entry under Spain’s agreements with other countries, that is, in the Schengen Information System. Hoja 32 adds that the period during which the applicant undertook not to return to Spain after a voluntary departure must have ended.

Documents under art. 130.1 and Hoja 32:

• the application on form EX-10
• a copy of all pages of a valid passport or travel document
• proof of the ground: a final court ruling under art. 128.2, an informe clínico under art. 128.3, documents on the danger and on the requirements of the second permit under art. 128.4
• a criminal record certificate from the countries where the applicant lived during the five years before entering Spain
• for the family of an ill child, documents proving the relationship with the child and that the family lived with the child in Spain when the illness arose
• the fee on form 790 code 052: heading 2.3.2 a) of the annex to Orden PJC/617/2025, and for crime victims under art. 128.2 heading 2.3.2 b) with a lower amount

Hoja 32 requires the criminal record certificate on all three grounds, and art. 130.2 names it expressly for the illness ground. It is filed by applicants over 18. The certificate is not needed if the applicant has lived in Spain continuously for the last five years. Nor is it needed if the applicant already filed such a certificate in another case within the last five years and has not left Spain since (art. 130.2). The immigration office obtains the Spanish criminal record and the police report itself. Entries in the police report do not lead to a refusal by themselves: the office assesses whether the applicant threatens public order and security (art. 130.2).

Not required

• A visa: art. 31.3 LO 4/2000 and art. 130.1 RD 1155/2024.
• A period of residence in Spain before filing: art. 128 sets none.
• Legal stay in Spain on the filing date: art. 124.1 requires only being in Spain.
• Financial means and health insurance on the illness and crime grounds: art. 128.2 and 128.3 do not mention them.
• An employment contract: art. 130.1.b requires it only where the ground requires it, that is, under art. 128.4 in the option with a work permit.

Foreign documents are filed with a sworn translation into Spanish and with an apostille or consular legalization (Hoja 32), and the procedure is covered in the article on the criminal record certificate.

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Documents from the US, the UK, Canada and Australia

The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia are parties to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. Their criminal record certificates and the birth certificates that the family of an ill child files to prove the relationship are filed with an apostille and a sworn translation into Spanish. In the US the apostille on a state document is issued by the Secretary of State of the state that issued it, in the UK by the FCDO Legalisation Office, in Canada by Global Affairs Canada or the provincial authority, in Australia by DFAT. Which documents need an apostille and a translation we determine when the service is ordered.

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Can you work

Yes. Under art. 131 RD 1155/2024, a permit on exceptional circumstances “llevará aparejada una autorización de trabajo por cuenta propia o ajena en España sin limitación de ámbito geográfico y ocupación,” that is, it includes the right to work as an employee and self-employed anywhere in Spain and in any occupation for as long as the permit is valid. No separate work permit is issued. Each member of an ill child’s family who received the permit has the right to work.

There is one exception: a child below the minimum working age. In Spain that age is 16 (art. 6.1 Estatuto de los Trabajadores).

This does not mean that work may start when the application is filed: the right to work arises with the permit. A temporary right to work during the procedure is granted by art. 130.5 only to arraigo applicants under art. 127.b.

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How the procedure runs

The application is filed with the Oficina de Extranjería of the province where the applicant lives, in person or electronically through the Mercurio portal (Hoja 32). The fee is paid within ten working days of filing.

If documents are missing, the office issues a requerimiento, a request to complete the application, with a deadline of no more than 15 days. Without an answer in time, the application is treated as withdrawn and the file is closed (art. 130.3).

The decision is issued within three months from the day after the application is received, and silence means refusal (DA 7ª and DA 8ª RD 1155/2024). This means that after three months without an answer the application is deemed rejected and can be appealed, and the procedure is covered in the article on administrative silence.

The notice that the application has been admitted for processing is neither an approval nor a refusal. It confirms that a file is open and gives no right to reside or to work.

Within a month of notification of the approval, the applicant applies in person for the TIE at the police station for their place of residence (art. 130.6).

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Refusal and appeal

Resolutions of the immigration office exhaust the administrative route (DA 9ª RD 1155/2024). A refusal is challenged by a recurso de reposición, an appeal to the same office, within a month of notification (art. 124 Ley 39/2015), or directly by 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, the administrative court procedure act, Ley 29/1998). Against a refusal by silence, the reposición may be filed at any time.

Instead of an appeal, a new application can be filed if the circumstances behind the refusal have changed. A repeat of a rejected application with nothing changed is not admitted for examination (DA 4ª.1.c LO 4/2000).

The appeal to the immigration office we prepare and file ourselves. The 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 and switch to the general regime

The permit and each renewal are issued for one year (art. 132.1). The renewal is filed within the two months before the permit expires, and filing in that period extends the previous permit until the decision. Filing within three months after expiry also extends it, but opens a fine procedure for the infringement of art. 52.b LO 4/2000 (art. 132.3). The fee is under heading 2.4 of the same order.

For a serious illness, the permit is renewed for a year as many times as needed to complete treatment (art. 132.1). For crime victims and for danger in returning, art. 132 sets no special renewal conditions.

Instead of a renewal, the holder can switch to an ordinary residence and work permit without leaving Spain (art. 191). The conditions depend on how long the applicant has lived in Spain with a permit:

The four-year permit runs from the day after the previous one expired if it has already expired, and from the date of approval if not (art. 191.3). The fee is under heading 2.5.2 of the order. All routes for changing the permit type are collected in the article on change of status.

The permit after a refusal of asylum (art. 128.1.a) has not been renewed since June 12, 2026. For those who hold a valid one, Instrucciones SEM 1/2026 of June 17, 2026 open a switch to a residence and work permit for four years, without a visa and without the requirements of art. 191.3. There is one condition: the first year of the permit has passed. The application is filed within the two months before the permit expires or the three months after, and filing in that period keeps the applicant’s legal status until the decision. Once that window is missed, the switch under the instructions is closed.

When treatment has ended, the ground for renewal under art. 128.3 falls away. The next step is then the switch under art. 191 while the previous permit is still valid.

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Long-term residence and citizenship

Years on the humanitarian permit and its renewals count toward the five years of legal and continuous residence that long-term residence requires (art. 183.1). The limits on absences are the same as for other permits: no more than 6 months in a row and 10 months in total over the five years (art. 183.2).

Citizens of the US, the UK, Canada and Australia obtain Spanish citizenship under the general rule, after 10 years of legal and continuous residence (art. 22.1 Código Civil). The procedure is covered in the article on Spanish citizenship.

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Author Aleksandr Nazarov