Permanent Residence in Spain

Written by Luis Minvielle Moderated by Oleksandra Dosii

Luis Minvielle

Luis is a writer with over 5 years of experience in B2B software. Even though he has always worked in tech, a sector he regularly publishes about, his initial incursions into writing were, curiously enough, music essays discussing scenes from different parts of the world—most likely to deal with his unfulfilled ambition of becoming a neo-soul crooner.

Oleksandra Dosii

Oleksandra is a dedicated marketer with a passion for growing HR-tech products. She believes content marketing is about delivering high-quality content that provides value—not just generating leads. Since 2016, Oleksandra has been involved in tech talent relocation.

Last update: September 20, 2024

Next update: Scheduled for February 1, 2025

Once you lived in Spain for five consecutive years legally, you will become eligible for a permanent residency. This permit will offer even more benefits than its temporary counterpart. To make the process easier, this short guide will walk you through the various kinds of Permanent Residence permits and their requirements in Spain.

What is a Spanish Permanent Residence permit?

The Spanish permanent residence permit, Residencia Permanente or Tarjeta de Residencia de Larga Duración, is a document intended to certify a foreigner's legal status in Spain. It allows you to live and work in the country with the same rights as any Spanish citizen indefinitely. This means you have a Permanent Residence status, but every five years—or in certain cases every 4 years—you’ll have to renew the physical card. There are three different types of permanent residency permits according to your needs and requirements.

Permanent residence (general)

This permit allows any non-EU to live and work in Spain indefinitely for an indefinite amount of time, with renewal every five years. Some countries have arrangements where they renew after the first year and then after four years. This is ideal for many expats or workers who want to permanently relocate to Spain.

After 10 years as a permanent resident, you can apply to become a Spanish citizen and have an EU passport. Testimonials say that the time window in between your application and getting the citizenship can fluctuate a lot, and it’s usually a slow process.

Permanent residence-EU

Non-EU citizens can also apply for a Permanent Residence-EU. Both the EU and Spanish residences are covered under Spain’s general regime, which grants its owner the right to live and work in Spain, indefinitely. Still, the Permanent Residence-EU has certain advantages if you intend to live in other EU countries. With it, you will be able to prove your status as a long-term resident in Spain. But additionally, if you want to live in The Hague and be a permanent resident of the Netherlands, for example, you should have an easier path towards that.

Still, it appears that the most convenient path to working and living in Spain (or Europe) is still getting a permanent residence, working for 10 years, and trying to get citizenship. Because, with citizenship, you can then move to the Netherlands—continuing our example—without filing paperwork.

Permanent residence for EU nationals

As an EU, European Economic Area, or Swiss citizen, you gain the right to Permanent Residence in another EU country after living there legally for a continuous period of five years. Once you meet this requirement, you can apply for a Permanent Residence document, which certifies your unconditional right to live in your current country of residence.

It’s unclear why anyone would benefit from this, though, considering you can work in Madrid with an Austrian passport and you won’t need any paperwork. There are some very specific use cases between some countries, but if you want to work abroad, we suggest you don’t waste your energy on this option.

About temporary residence in Spain and how it compares to permanent residence

If you get a job offer from a Spanish company, you’ll be granted the temporary residency. On most Spanish official sites, they specify that you need to have lived in Spain for five years with a temporary residency before getting a permanent residency (we’ll develop on this right away). But expats who have achieved the permanent residency claim there’s no factual distinction or transition between one or another. You just get the residency. That includes expats who actually did the temporary–permanent pipeline by using their university permit (temp) to get a job for five years, and thus obtained the permanent residency. They just couldn’t tell there were two kinds of durations involved.

So, don’t get confused about the "permanent" and "temporary" residence. Their distinction seems to be a bureaucratic black hole. What you actually want is the residence permit, and the best way to get it is with a job offer that will enable you to work for five years in Spain.

What is the best way to obtain permanent residency in Spain?

The best way to obtain permanent residency is by working five years with a company. And the easiest way to reach your goal of those five years is if you move to Spain with a job offer that gives you temporary residency. You actually have three options:

• If you have a job offer from a company in Spain, you can apply for a residence permit after five years working as their employee (or as an employee for a different company). This is the temporary-to-permanent transition we talked about. The company has to invest a sum in lawyers to make this possible, and that’s why your candidacy has to be compelling. Unless you find a workaround, you need to apply for this from your home country.
   
• On the other hand, if you are willing to start your own business (not the same as freelancing), you can apply for this residence permit that allows you to stay for three years at first. In this particular case, you will have to provide some proof of your activity so you can earn the Entrepreneur visa. This path has been around for some time now: It’s a 2013 law. The demands are vague—if you "create jobs," you’re good to go, allegedly. But the application process can last four months, and you need to prove you have around €30k in your bank account. You need to start this process from your home country.
   
• Finally, if you receive an offer as a manager earning more than €40k per year, the appropriate visa is a highly qualified work permit. It does not have a fast track to citizenship. It’s also not the EU Blue Card. Testimonials say that this is extremely rare in Spain, with exceptions being that you’re working for a US company and they relocate you to Madrid. This is the only path that can be applied to in Spain.

So the best way to get a permanent residency in Spain so you can work there is… yes, with a job offer that you can actually get from abroad.

Is the permanent residency the same as being a Spanish national?

No. Citizenship is more of an asset than permanent residency, but also harder to get for most. Note that, in Spain, passport, citizenship, and nationality are all interchangeable terms. Their counterparts are easy to spot: pasaporte comunitario—which refers to being from the UE—ciudadanía, and nacionalidad. If you want to achieve citizenship, read our guide on Citizenship in Spain. But you might not need to go that far if you’re an expat looking to relocate.

Do you necessarily require a permanent residence to work in Spain?

No, and there are two answers for this. To begin with, you’ll get the initial permit with a job offer, which means you’ll solve this complication with the job offer itself. It’s not that you need to get this permit before you apply.

On the other hand, you don’t necessarily need a permanent residence to work in Spain. You can work with a temporary residence. Legally residing in Spain, either temporarily or permanently, allows you to extend residence to your family and access to public healthcare. But having a permanent residence is one of the best paths towards citizenship.

You don’t need a permanent residence to work in Spain, that’s true. But naturally, you require something, just not necessarily the residence. For example, if you manage to get a European passport from any country of the European Union, then you’ll be able to work in Madrid, Barcelona, or Málaga without any problems. Due to political and historical circumstances, citizens from some countries have easier access to, let’s say, an Italian, Portuguese, or French passport than to any other kind of citizenship, including the Spanish one.

Still, applying for temporary residence is a great option if you are fully committed to living in Spain in the long run, and if you don’t have the benefits of an EU passport. If you just want to relocate and work, first check if there isn’t something easier you can pursue instead, such as the nomad visa. That said, the permanent residence does hold some unique benefits that might sway you in its direction.

The exclusive benefits of permanent residency for workers

Permanent residency in Spain is useful for workers because you can get it from abroad—with a job offer—and because it’s a good path for obtaining European citizenship.

So if you are considering making Spain or Europe your new home, it's the right path to follow. After 10 years of continuous and legal residence in Spain, you will be able to apply for a citizenship. Some countries require only two years because they were Spanish colonies.

From Spanish documentation and testimonials, there appears to be no noticeable difference between the permanent and temporary residencies for workers. The permanent is simply longer than five years. And since the job offer enables it, it’s not a prerequisite.

Do companies in Spain favour workers who need a permanent residence permit?

Companies enable you to get residency with a job offer. But they need to justify they’re hiring you and not a Spaniard. One of the paths for this is to claim you’re a highly-qualified individual… but that means they have to pay you very, very well. So… this is rare. The other path is to hire you with your current visa—e.g. you have a student visa. With that, they can hire you as an intern, and then hire you full-time because you’re already part of the workforce. The best way to land a place of employment with a company in Spain is by connecting with relocation professionals that can help you land a job and navigate the visa process.

When can you apply for a Spanish Permanent Residence permit?

As previously mentioned, you will be able to apply for Permanent Residence once you’ve lived in Spain legally for five consecutive years on a temporary residence exclusively. Continuous implies that you have not left the country for more than 10 months in the span of those five years. However, it can be extended for up to 12 months if you can justify work-related travel. Time spent in Spain on a tourist or student visas does not count. Time spent in other EU countries with an EU Blue Card or permanent Residence-EU, all the same, do count towards your application for long-term residence in Spain.

💡 If you are not sure how long you have been residing in Spain—i.e. because you had other visas going on first, and you’re not sure when exactly the count for your residence kicked in—go to the police station and ask for the residence certificate. This tells you how long you've lived in Spain and if you can stay legally and continuously.

Do you need your residence certificate to work?

Yes. Before you start your job, you’ll need the residence certificate, but not because they’ll ask it—it’s because you’ll need it to start making pension contributions. The process is called empadronarse, which means more or less "to enrol." When you enrol, you get the NIE, which is the national ID for foreigners, and with that, you get your social security number so you can start contributing to the pension and healthcare system. You’ll need to provide various documents when you do this, and fill in paperwork in Spanish. The easiest way to get it done is with relocation experts who can guide you through it.

What documents are required to apply for a Spanish Permanent Residence permit?

For both the general Permanent Residence and the Permanent Residence-EU, you will need your full passport and a photocopy, the bill of the corresponding fee, completed EX-11 application form and your current temporary residence card about to expire. You will have to show proof of a clean criminal record and not to be in a situation of voluntary return. EU nationals require the same documents, but switching up the application form for the completed EX-18.

How to apply for permanent residency in Spanish?

The application together with the accompanying documentation must be presented at any Immigration Office or police station. You can check the opening dates for appointments in your area online.

🗣️💡 The police station page doesn’t feature the updated info when you switch to the English version. It’s advisable to browse it in Spanish and use an in-browser translator instead.

Can your family members get permanent residency?

Non-EU national family members of citizens of Spain, the EU, the European Economic Area, or Switzerland may obtain a Permanent Residence card in Spain if they have resided legally in the country for five years. This type of residence falls under the EU community regime, but the process is almost identical.

Some additional documents needed include apostilled and translated documentation proving the family relationship, a Spanish ID or Certificate of Registration as a citizen of the Union and the EX-19 application form.

What are Spanish Permanent Residence permit fees?

The fee is determined by the Fee Model 790 Code 012 which, as of August 2024, states the following rates:

What if your application is rejected

If your application for Permanent Residence is rejected, the administration is obliged to specify the reason they have done so. If there is a valid argument to counter the reasons for the denial, an appeal can be filed with the immigration office. This boils down to writing a letter saying you disagree with the decision and asking for a review. This means you can stay in Spain while the appeal is being processed. In this situation, it is best to consult an immigration lawyer or to get to Spain with guidance from experts, so you avoid this situation in the first place.

How to renew the permanent Spanish residence

When you renew your long-term residency, you do not renew your resident status, only the physical card. If you lose it, it is easy to recover because you have already gained indefinite resident status in Spain. However, renewing after the deadline is considered a minor offence, and a fine of up to €500 may apply. So remember to schedule an appointment shortly before it expires. You will need your passport and copy, your current expired card, EX-17 form and the payment of the corresponding fee. Within the legal term of 3 months, you will receive an answer. After it's approved, you will be able to make an appointment at a police station to register your fingerprints. One month later, you will receive a brand-new physical card.

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