Residence for family members of Spanish citizens: an approval in less than a month and what happens next

Since the new Immigration Regulation (Reglamento de Extranjería) came into force on May 20, 2025, foreign family members of Spanish citizens have had a specific regime for applying for residence in Spain.

This regulation marked an important change from the previous procedures. However, beyond knowing how to apply for an authorization, it is also essential to understand what type of residence you obtain and what will happen when the time comes to renew it or to move to permanent residence.

At Aray Asociados we recently handled a residence application for a family member of a Spanish citizen that received a favorable decision in less than a month. This case allows us to explain both how the current procedure works and some issues worth keeping in mind for the future.

Residence granted in less than a month

On August 17, 2026, we filed an online application for a residence authorization for a family member of a person with Spanish nationality.

On September 15 we received the favorable decision from the Immigration Office (Oficina de Extranjería). Only 29 days had passed since the application was filed.

The procedure continued with the applicant's fingerprinting appointment, held on September 17 at the police station, and on September 30 the applicant's TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, the foreigner identity card) was ready for collection.

In just over a month, the applicant had completed the main administrative steps up to the point where the card was available.

This year we have also handled other residence applications for family members of European Union citizens, some of them approved in about two months.

It is important to point out that these timeframes relate to specific cases and are no guarantee for other applications. Processing times may vary depending on the circumstances of each case, the competent Immigration Office and its workload.

What has changed with the new Immigration Regulation?

Royal Decree (Real Decreto) 1155/2024 introduced a specific temporary residence authorization for family members of persons with Spanish nationality, which came into force on May 20, 2025.

Until then, many foreign family members of Spanish citizens obtained residence through other routes, mainly arraigo familiar (residence based on family ties to Spain) or the EU family member residence card.

The new Regulation sets up a separate regime for certain family members of Spanish citizens, distinguishing it from the previous procedures.

This distinction has important practical consequences, especially because over the coming years authorizations granted under the previous rules will coexist with others processed under the new regime.

That is why correctly identifying which procedure applies in each situation is essential, both when filing the first application and when carrying out later procedures.

A five-year residence card: what happens when it expires?

One of the most common questions among family members of Spanish citizens is what they should do when their residence card is about to expire.

The question is usually simple: I have a five-year card as the family member of a Spanish citizen. How can I renew it?

However, the answer is not always the same.

Two people can both hold a five-year residence card as family members of Spanish citizens and still be in different legal situations.

The reason is that the length of the card does not, on its own, determine the type of authorization granted.

To know which procedure applies when it expires, you need to check under which legal regime the residence was originally obtained.

If residence was obtained through the former arraigo familiar

Before the reform, many family members of Spanish citizens obtained a residence authorization by arraigo familiar, governed by the previous Immigration Regulation, approved by Royal Decree 557/2011.

In many cases, these authorizations were valid for five years.

The entry into force of the new Regulation does not mean that authorizations granted earlier have lost their validity. However, when their expiry approaches, you should not automatically assume that the right step is to apply for another arraigo familiar.

For those who meet the legal requirements, one of the routes to consider is access to a long-term residence authorization.

For this reason, it is advisable to review the period of residence accumulated and the conditions required before starting a new application.

If an EU family member card was obtained

There is another common situation: family members of Spanish citizens who obtained their residence under Royal Decree 240/2007, through an EU family member card.

In these cases, Instructions 2/2025 of the SEM (Secretaría de Estado de Migraciones, the State Secretariat for Migration) provide that, once five years of residence have been completed and provided the relevant requirements are met, an application may be made for a permanent residence card as the family member of an EU citizen or for a long-term residence authorization.

So, even though both cards may have an initial validity of five years, the later procedures are not necessarily identical.

The authorization originally granted is decisive in identifying the procedure that must be followed.

Why is it important to keep the original Immigration Office decision?

When a favorable decision is obtained, it is common to focus all attention on the issuance of the physical card.

However, the administrative decision granting residence contains essential information about the applicable legal regime.

For this reason, it is wise to keep it together with the rest of the case documents.

When a card is about to expire, it is advisable to check:

• What type of authorization was originally granted.
• Under which rules the residence was obtained.
• How long the person has been legally resident.
• Whether there have been long absences from Spain.
• Whether there have been relevant changes in family circumstances.

This review makes it possible to determine which authorization should be applied for and which requirements must be proven.

It is not only a matter of checking the card's expiry date, but of understanding the person's legal situation before starting a new procedure.

A good application starts with identifying the right procedure

The new residence regime for family members of Spanish citizens has brought significant changes to immigration law.

Our recent experience shows that certain cases can obtain a favorable decision especially quickly, as happened with the application filed in August 2026 and approved just 29 days later.

However, every case has its own circumstances and requires correctly identifying the applicable authorization, preparing the necessary documents and meeting the conditions set by the rules.

In addition, obtaining the first card does not mean that future procedures can be ignored.

Knowing from the outset which authorization you have obtained and keeping the related documents can prevent difficulties when the time comes to move to permanent or long-term residence.

At Aray Asociados we support our clients through their immigration procedures, from the study of their personal and family situation to the filing and follow-up of residence applications.

We also review authorizations already granted to determine which procedure applies when they are about to expire.

Because in immigration matters, knowing the steps to take afterwards is as important as obtaining a favorable decision.