The status has no end date. The card does
Long-term residence (residencia de larga duración) is granted with no time limit. Only the TIE card (foreigner identity card) expires. The card is renewed 5 years after issue, then every 5 years until the holder turns 30, and every 10 years after that (Arts. 178.1 and 185.1 of the Regulation). You apply for renewal in the two months before the card expires. You can be up to three months late: while your application is being processed, the old card stays valid (Arts. 178.2 and 185.2).
If you do not renew the card at all, the status does not end because of that (Arts. 178.3 and 185.3). There are still consequences: with EU long-term residence, breaking the card rules can lead to sanctions under Organic Law 4/2000, and with national long-term residence the immigration office (Extranjería) will check at renewal that the conditions you were granted the status on still apply.
The main rule: 12 months in a row outside the EU
The status ends if you spend 12 consecutive months outside the European Union (Art. 32.5 of Organic Law 4/2000 and Art. 201.1.c of the Regulation). Three details matter.
First, the whole EU counts, not just Spain. Living in France or Germany does not count as being away. Second, the months must be consecutive. The rule does not say "12 months in the last 5 years", and separate trips are not added together. Third, the status does not disappear by itself. Extranjería ends it by a formal decision (Art. 201.1).
If you got EU long-term residence after holding an EU Blue Card (the European card for highly qualified workers), or you are a family member of someone who did, you get more time: not 12 but 24 consecutive months. This extension does not apply to cooperation workers whose permit is tied to organisations promoting cooperation (Royal Decree 708/2024) (Art. 201.1.c).
Which long-term residence you have: national or EU
Spain has two types. National long-term residence (Arts. 182-185) is valid in Spain. EU long-term residence (larga duración-UE) (Arts. 175-181) gives you additional rights if you move to other EU countries. The rule about 12 months outside the EU is the same for both.
But EU long-term residence has one more rule: the status ends if you are away from Spain for six years in a row (Art. 201.2). This applies even if you lived in another EU country the whole time. There is one exception: the Directorate-General for Migration Management (Dirección General de Gestión Migratoria), after a report from the Comisaría General de Extranjería y Fronteras, may decide that the status does not end if there are exceptional reasons. Do not count on it.
If you do not remember which type you hold, find out before a long trip.
Other reasons the status ends
Besides absence, the status ends in these cases (Art. 201.1): the permit was obtained by fraud; you are made subject to an expulsion order; you obtain EU long-term residence in another EU country; you receive a final criminal conviction for human trafficking or for assisting illegal immigration (Arts. 177 bis and 318 bis of the Criminal Code). If you got the status on the basis of international protection granted in another EU country, there is one more case: that protection ends there.
Do not confuse this with the rules for getting long-term residence
To get long-term residence you need 5 years of continuous residence. Absences of up to 6 months at a time do not break continuity, as long as they total no more than 10 months over the five years, or 18 months if the absences were for work (Arts. 176.a and 183.2). Those limits apply only before the status is granted. Afterwards, the rules above apply. For how to get it, see our page on long-term residence.
Spanish citizenship does not depend on long-term residence. It has its own residence periods and conditions: citizenship timelines. You are not obliged to apply for citizenship after getting long-term residence.
If you have lost the status: how to get it back
A lost status can be recovered through a simplified procedure. You do not have to build up 5 years again (Art. 32.6 of Organic Law 4/2000, Arts. 186-189 of the Regulation). The steps are below.
Step 1. Check that your case qualifies
EU long-term residence: the status ended because of 12 months outside the EU, or because you obtained EU long-term residence in another EU country (Art. 201.1.c and d). Or you spent more than six years outside Spain (Art. 186.1).
National long-term residence: it ended for those same two reasons (Art. 188.1.a). There is also a second, uncommon case: you returned to your home country voluntarily under a programme in which you agree not to come back to Spain for three years, and you held national long-term residence when you left. Once that period is over, you can apply for recovery (Art. 188.1.b).
There is a special rule for people who got long-term residence as a family member brought in through family reunification (reagrupación familiar), that is, at the request of a relative already living in Spain. If that status is lost, the family member cannot apply for recovery themselves. The relative who sponsored them must apply for family reunification again (Arts. 186.2 and 188.2). The only exception is for national long-term residence: minors can apply for recovery themselves.
Step 2. Choose where to apply
You must apply in person, using the official form. You can apply at the Extranjería office of the province where you want to live. If you are abroad, the application is addressed to that office but submitted at the Spanish consulate where you live (Arts. 187.2 and 189.2). For EU long-term residence, if you apply from inside Spain you must be in Spain legally.
Step 3. Prepare your documents
EU long-term residence: proof of stable and regular resources sufficient for you and your family (if you have one), health insurance, and proof that you paid the fee (Art. 187.3). You must also show that you meet the conditions for recovery.
National long-term residence: proof that you paid the fee and documents showing that you meet the conditions for recovery (Art. 189.3). Resources and insurance are not mentioned in this article. The rule does not spell out what counts as sufficient proof.
Step 4. Wait for the decision
The decision must give reasons and be notified within three months of your application. If there is no express answer within that time, your application is treated as approved (Arts. 187.5 and 189.6). Refusal is possible if you are seen as a threat to public order or public security (for EU long-term residence, also public health; Arts. 187.4 and 189.5). The authorities request your criminal record certificates and police reports themselves. For national long-term residence, the police also report whether you kept your commitment not to return for three years. Visits to Spain of up to three months do not count as a breach, as long as you do not stay longer (Art. 189.4). Your previous permit may be formally cancelled while your application is being processed (Arts. 187.7 and 189.8).
Step 5. After approval
If you applied from abroad, you need an entry visa, which the consulate issues on request. Visa conditions: a completed and signed application; you are not in Spain irregularly; you are not on an entry-refusal list in countries with which Spain has an agreement on this; a passport valid for at least one year; no criminal record for offences under Spanish law in the countries where you lived over the last five years; the visa fee paid; and recovery already approved (Art. 38.a-e and h, Arts. 187.2 and 189.2). You then enter as a holder of long-term residence.
After that you must apply in person for your TIE card within one month of being notified of the approval or of arriving in Spain. The card is valid for five years (Arts. 187.6 and 189.7).