General regime · RD 1155/2024
Residence for the relatives of a foreign national who already lives in Spain. Who can be reunited, what the sponsor must show, how the procedure works, when family members get independent residence and how the authorisation is renewed.
It is temporary residence for a relative whom a foreign resident of Spain reunites with them. The application is filed by the sponsor, not by the relative.
The authorisation for a spouse, partner or child lets the holder work as an employee or self-employed, anywhere in Spain, in any occupation or sector, with no further administrative step, provided they are above the minimum working age.
Basis: art. 65 RD 1155/2024Family of an EU or Spanish citizen? Those are different regimes: relatives of EU citizens fall under RD 240/2007 (form EX-19) and relatives of Spanish citizens under chapter VII of title IV of RD 1155/2024.
Spouse
Over eighteen, not separated in fact or in law, and the marriage must not have been entered into in fraud of the law. Only one spouse can be reunited, even if the sponsor's personal law allows more. A sponsor in a second or later marriage must show that earlier marriages were dissolved through a legal procedure that settled the former spouse's and family's position (shared home, spousal maintenance, child support).
Partner
Over eighteen, unmarried, in a relationship akin to marriage: either registered in a public register of an EU Member State (and not cancelled), or an unregistered stable relationship properly proven, with cohabitation of at least twelve continuous months in or outside Spain. With common children no prior cohabitation is required as long as the bond continues. Marriage, registered partnership and unregistered stable relationship are mutually incompatible.
Children and dependants
Children of the sponsor, of their spouse or partner: under eighteen when applying, or older if they have a disability needing support or cannot provide for their needs because of their health. If the child belongs to only one of them, that person must hold parental authority alone or exclusive custody, the child must be in their care, and the move to Spain must be authorised by a court or by the other parent (with shared custody the other holder's consent is needed). For adoptions, the adoption decision must be able to take effect in Spain. The same conditions apply to persons legally represented by the sponsor.
Parents and other relatives
First-degree ascendants of the sponsor or of their spouse or partner: dependent on them, over sixty-five, and with reasons that justify authorising their residence. Exceptionally, on humanitarian grounds, ascendants under sixty-five can be reunited. Also an adult child of the sponsor, spouse or partner who will act as carer for the sponsor, if the sponsor has a recognised degree of dependency under art. 26 of Law 39/2006.
The regulation lists seven requirements. They are checked on the sponsor, not on the relative.
1. Stable, regular resources
Income, rents or periodic returns equal to 150 % of the IPREM for a household of the sponsor and one relative, plus 50 % of the IPREM for each additional member. In the cases of art. 66.1.c) and d) the amount can be reduced in the child's best interests: for a household of two, one of them a minor, it is 110 % of the annual guaranteed income of the Minimum Vital Income, plus 10 % for each additional minor. Counted are the income of the sponsor, the spouse or partner and other first-degree direct-line relatives who are residents in Spain and live in the same household. Not counted: study and housing aid, compensatory and maintenance payments (except those in favour of the person to be reunited) and income from the social assistance system.
2. Adequate housing
Housing that meets art. 3 c) of Law 12/2023 on the right to housing, unless it conflicts with the requirements of the competent housing authorities, which prevail. It is proven by a report from the social services of the place of residence, which must be issued and notified within one month of the request. If it is not issued in time, that fact is documented and the housing can be shown by any means of proof admitted in law. The report or replacement documents may be at most six months old at the date of application and must show: title to occupy and dispose of the home, number of rooms, use of each room, number of occupants, and habitability and equipment conditions. It is not binding, but an authority that departs from it must give reasons. The title may relate to the sponsor or to another member of their household.
3. Health insurance
Health insurance for the sponsor and the family members listed in art. 66.
4. Schooling of other children
If the sponsor has other dependent minor children of compulsory school age already in Spain, they must be enrolled in school.
5-7. Other requirements
Not being within the period of a commitment not to return to Spain assumed on voluntarily returning to the country of origin. Not being a threat to public order, public security or public health, checked through the absence of criminal records in Spain and assessment of the police report. Having paid the processing fee.
IPREM 2026: 600 € per month (the amount was fixed for 2023 by Law 31/2022; according to available data it has not changed, check the current figure before filing). Art. 67 sets the amount as a percentage of the IPREM. Over what period it applies and how it is calculated for your family, confirm with the immigration office: we do not derive a final figure in its place.
About form EX-02. Art. 68.3 requires the application on the official form. You can fill it in online step by step with our generator (below). Which exact documents your office will ask for, confirm with the office itself.
The step-by-step generator fills in the official EX-02 PDF (sponsor, family member, type of application). You download the file ready to print and sign.
Reunited family members do not depend on the sponsor forever. Art. 69 sets out the cases in which they can obtain an independent residence and work authorisation.
| Case | Condition | Deadline and duration |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse or partner, after one year of reunification (art. 69.1) | At least one year of reunification authorisation and one of: sufficient own means under art. 67; self-employment requirements; employee requirements except the national employment situation. | If requested at renewal, 4 years. If during the already renewed period, it is kept for the remaining time. |
| Breakdown of the link (art. 69.2.a) | Legal separation, dissolution, annulment or cancellation of the registration. A three-year link and cohabitation in Spain of at least one year (less if custody of common children was granted). | Apply within six months of the notice that the annulment, divorce or separation claim was admitted, or of the decision cancelling the registration. 4 years if granted at renewal. |
| Victim of violence (art. 69.2.b) | Victim of gender or sexual violence, violent offences within the family, trafficking by the sponsor, or the offence of abandoning family, minors or persons with disabilities. Regardless of time of residence or cohabitation. Proven by a court protection order or, failing that, a police or public prosecutor report (for trafficking, a report by specialised police authorities), or by the document provided for in the relevant rules. | Six months from notification of the reports or documents. Priority processing. Duration five years. |
| Death of the sponsor (art. 69.2.c) | Regardless of time of residence or cohabitation, if they were living in Spain meeting the requirements before the death. | Six months from the death. Duration five years. |
| Children and dependants (art. 69.4) | Reach the age of majority and show one of the situations of paragraph 1, or have reached majority and lived in Spain for five years. | No specific deadline in the article. |
| EU Blue Card (art. 69.5) | Reunited by an EU Blue Card holder: five years of residence in any EU country, with at least the last two years in Spain before the application. | No specific deadline in the article. |
| Ascendants (art. 69.6) | Have obtained a work authorisation, without prejudice to art. 17.3 of LO 4/2000 on the effects of reunification. | No specific deadline in the article. |
If other relatives were reunited alongside the spouse or partner, they keep their authorisation and depend, for renewal, on the family member they live with (art. 69.3). A reunited person can in turn reunite their own relatives if they hold an independent residence and work authorisation; ascendants only after obtaining long-term residence and showing financial solvency (art. 70).
Basis: arts. 69.3 and 70 RD 1155/2024It is requested on the official form within the two months before expiry or within the three months after that date, without prejudice to possible sanction proceedings under art. 52.b of LO 4/2000.
Renewal requirements
The renewal for descendants, wards or ascendants can be requested by the sponsor's spouse or partner if they are resident in Spain, part of the same family unit, and the original sponsor no longer meets the requirements (likewise for the other parent or guardian of descendants or wards).
The application is accompanied by: a complete copy of the valid passport of the reunited person and the sponsor; where applicable, documents on the continuing marriage or relationship; where applicable, the regional schooling report for minors (if not shown, the office informs the education authorities and warns that renewal will be refused unless shown within one month of the request); where applicable, evidence of integration effort, such as a favourable report from the Autonomous Community. The renewed authorisation lasts four years and is conditional on the sponsor's authorisation being maintained. If three months pass from filing with no express decision, it is deemed granted by administrative silence.
Basis: art. 71 RD 1155/2024Enter the expiry date. We calculate the filing window under art. 71.1.
Tick as you have them. The final list is set by your office; this one follows the regulation (arts. 68.3 and 71.4).
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Rules: RD 1155/2024 (arts. 38, 40, 65 to 71); Law 12/2023; Law 39/2006 (art. 26); Law 31/2022 (IPREM).