Spain

A worker resident in a neighbouring border area may work as an employee in Spain while maintaining residence outside Spain.

A manager, specialist or trainee employee may be transferred temporarily from an undertaking outside the EU to a related entity in Spain.

A non-resident third-country worker may perform repeated seasonal activities in Spain under a four-year seasonal authorisation.

Employers may collectively recruit non-resident foreign workers at origin for repeated seasonal or campaign work under the 2026 circular-migration rules.

Employers may collectively recruit at least ten non-resident foreign workers at origin for stable initial employee residence-and-work authorisations during 2026.

A non-resident third-country worker may take a signed job in Spain under an initial employee residence-and-work authorisation.

A foreign worker may receive national intra-corporate-transfer residence for a qualifying transfer not covered by the EU ICT mode or after the EU ICT maximum period.

A person in a statutory exempt occupation may reside in Spain and perform that activity without a separate work authorisation.

Existing investor-authorisation holders and applications filed before repeal may continue only under the statutory transitional rules.

A third-country entrepreneur may start, develop or direct an innovative activity or one of special economic interest to Spain.

An adult non-resident third-country national may establish and operate a self-employed activity in Spain.

A person resident in a neighbouring border area may carry out an approved self-employed activity in Spain while maintaining residence outside Spain.

A third-country artist, technician or audiovisual professional may perform qualifying audiovisual or recorded/public artistic activity in Spain for up to 90 days in 180.

A third-country audiovisual or covered artistic professional may reside and work in Spain for an activity lasting more than 180 days.

A qualifying audiovisual or artistic professional may extend an initially short activity in Spain beyond 90 days up to 180 days.

A third-country professional with a qualifying high-skilled offer may obtain an EU Blue Card in Spain.

A company or foreign professional may request national highly qualified residence for qualifying high-level employee or professional activity in Spain.

A researcher authorised in another EU Member State may carry out qualifying research mobility in Spain.

A third-country national may carry out research, development, innovation or specified teaching activity with an eligible Spanish host.

A graduate of qualifying higher education in Spain may remain to seek suitable employment or start a business project.

A third-country student authorised in another EU Member State may undertake part of a higher-education programme in Spain under Directive (EU) 2016/801 mobility rules.

A third-country national may undertake a full-time recognised higher-education programme in Spain.

A third-country national may undertake a full-time recognised post-compulsory secondary-education programme in Spain.

A third-country national may undertake one of the specified language, professional, health-exam, conversation-assistant or complete vocational-certificate training activities.

A third-country pupil may follow compulsory or post-compulsory secondary education through a recognised pupil-mobility or exchange programme.

A qualifying recent higher-education graduate or current higher-education student may undertake a traineeship in Spain under an eligible traineeship agreement or contract.

A qualifying foreign health graduate awarded a Spanish specialist-training place may remain for the specialist programme.

A foreign minor may be temporarily displaced to Spain for authorised schooling.

A person already in Spain may obtain temporary residence for the statutory arraigo — family basis.

A qualifying family member may accompany or join a person holding higher-education or specialised health-training stay status.

A qualifying family member may accompany or join a Law 14/2013 entrepreneur, highly qualified professional, researcher, intra-corporate transferee or international teleworker.

A family member who formed part of the family unit in another Member State may join its EU long-term resident in Spain.

A qualifying family member may join a non-EU foreign resident in Spain through family reunification.

A person who has or had a qualifying link with a Spanish citizen may retain or obtain independent residence in the statutory cases.

A reunited family member may obtain residence independent of the original sponsor in the statutory cases.

A qualifying non-EU family member accompanying or joining an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen may reside in Spain for more than three months.

An accompanied foreign child born in Spain may obtain the residence status provided by the regulation.

An accompanied foreign minor, or qualifying supported disabled person, not born in Spain may obtain residence after meeting the statutory conditions.

— No eligibility summary published for this route yet

A qualifying foreign family member may accompany or join a Spanish citizen in Spain.

A third-country national and qualifying family may reside in Spain without performing employment or professional activity.

— No eligibility summary published for this route yet

A person already in Spain may obtain temporary residence for the statutory arraigo — second opportunity basis.

A person already in Spain may obtain temporary residence for the statutory arraigo — social basis.

A person already in Spain may obtain temporary residence for the statutory arraigo — socio-training basis.

A person already in Spain may obtain temporary residence for the statutory arraigo — sociolaboral basis.

Applicants who were in Spain before 1 January 2026 could seek one-year extraordinary arraigo through the 2026 regularisation window.

Certain people who applied for international protection in Spain before 1 January 2026 could use the special 2026 arraigo regularisation.

A qualifying foreign national may obtain indefinite residence and work in Spain plus the EU long-term-resident status.

A former unaccompanied minor who did not obtain residence before adulthood may receive exceptional residence if the statutory integration and support conditions are met.

A qualifying foreign national may reside and work in Spain indefinitely under national long-term residence.

A qualifying non-EU family member may obtain a permanent residence card after the statutory continuous-residence period or another qualifying permanent-residence case.

An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen may obtain permanent residence after qualifying continuous legal residence or an earlier statutory worker case.

A former Spanish EU long-term resident may recover that status after a listed extinction or an absence from Spain exceeding six years.

A former Spanish national long-term resident may recover that status in the statutory extinction or completed voluntary-return cases.

A former unaccompanied minor who held residence may continue in residence on reaching adulthood under the specific procedure.

An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen may stay in Spain for under three months under free-movement rules.

An EU, EEA or Swiss citizen may reside in Spain for more than three months as a worker, self-employed person, self-sufficient person, student or qualifying family member.

— No eligibility summary published for this route yet

A third-country national holding EU long-term-resident status from another Member State may reside in Spain for work, self-employment, study or non-lucrative residence.

For nationals of Argentina, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, aged 18 to 35 for Argentina and Canada and 18 to 30 for the others, who have not used the programme before and can show about €1,080/mo of planned stay.

A third-country national may perform an unpaid volunteer service in a legally constituted non-profit programme.

Visa-required third-country nationals may visit Spain and the Schengen area for tourism, business, family visits, medical treatment, short study or another non-lucrative short-stay purpose.

Visa-exempt third-country nationals may make a short stay in Spain within the Schengen short-stay ceiling.

A non-Spanish national may request international protection in Spain where the person seeks refugee or subsidiary-protection status.

Spain may recognise refugee status for a person with a well-founded fear of persecution on a Convention ground.

A protected foreign victim may receive residence, and where provided work rights, on the statutory trafficking in human beings basis.

A protected foreign victim may receive residence, and where provided work rights, on the statutory gender violence basis.

A protected foreign victim may receive residence, and where provided work rights, on the statutory sexual violence basis.

An unaccompanied foreign minor under Spanish protection may receive the specific minor residence authorisation.

— No eligibility summary published for this route yet

A person in Spain may receive temporary residence for one of the statutory humanitarian grounds, including specified protection, victim, serious illness or personal-safety cases.

— No eligibility summary published for this route yet

Spain may grant subsidiary protection where return would create a real risk of the serious harm defined by Law 12/2009.

Covered people displaced from Ukraine may receive temporary protection in Spain under the EU and Spanish emergency framework.

For a person entitled to opt for Spanish nationality under the eighth additional provision of Law 20/2022 (Democratic Memory); the route is closed, the window having ended on 22 October 2025.

For a former Spanish resident who returned to their country of origin voluntarily under a recognised return programme and has completed the agreed no-return commitment period.

A foreign minor may be temporarily displaced to Spain for authorised medical treatment.

Required passport classes may transit through the international zone of a Spanish airport on the way to a third country.

A protected foreign victim may receive residence, and where provided work rights, on the statutory administrative collaboration against organised networks basis.

A person may receive temporary residence where an authority supports the case for collaboration outside organised-network cases, national security or public interest.