This page helps you understand on what basis you can stay in Spain and where to go next. It compares the main grounds and lists the changes. Step-by-step instructions are on separate pages about temporary protection and arraigo.
What does it mean to be in Spain legally?
You are in Spain legally if you have a valid basis: a protection decision, a residence permit, a visa or a visa-free period. Ukrainian citizens with a biometric passport can stay without a visa for up to 90 days. While an application for temporary protection is being processed, the application itself allows you to stay in the country; in the same way, an asylum applicant is in Spain legally while the application is being examined.
An NIE number and registration at your address (padrón) do not give that right: the number only identifies a person, and you can register at an address even without legal status. The TIE card confirms your status, but it is valid only as long as the decision it was issued on remains valid. How these documents are connected is explained on the page Documents for living in Spain.
How do temporary protection, asylum and residence permits differ?
Temporary protection is granted because you belong to a defined group of people who left Ukraine because of the war, and the decision is made within 24 hours. Asylum (international protection) is examined case by case and has two forms: refugee status and subsidiary protection. Residence permits are issued on other grounds: ties to the country (arraigo), sufficient funds, remote work, family.
You can apply for asylum while you hold temporary protection, but while the application is being examined, the benefits of the two statuses are not combined. The preamble of the 2026 EU decision recalls that desertion and evasion of military service are not, in themselves, grounds for international protection.
What conditions and rights does each basis give?
The grounds differ in who can apply, what funds are needed and whether you can work. Some amounts in the table are expressed in IPREM: a public index used to calculate income, which in 2026 is €600 a month.
| Basis | Who it is for | Key conditions | Work | Who decides |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary protection | People who left Ukraine because of the war from 24 February 2022 onward, and groups defined by Spain | An application in person at the police; from 5 August 2026, anyone without protection in Spain on 4 August confirms that they have fulfilled their military obligations or are exempt from them, if they have such obligations | Yes, from age 16, as an employee and self-employed | Ministry of the Interior |
| International protection (asylum) | People who face persecution (refugee status) or serious harm (subsidiary protection) in their home country | Individual examination | After 6 months from the application date, if the application has been admitted for processing and the decision is delayed through no fault of the applicant | Ministry of the Interior |
| Arraigo | People who are already in Spain and have ties to it | Five types; four of them require 2 years of stay | Yes; the education type allows only employment of up to 30 hours a week | The provincial immigration office |
| Residence without the right to work (no lucrativa) | People who can live on their own funds | Funds of at least 400% of IPREM a month (€2,400), that is €28,800 a year, plus €7,200 a year for each family member, or an equivalent regular income; health insurance; first a visa at a consulate | No | The consulate (visa), the immigration office (permit) |
| Remote work (Ley 14/2013) | People who work remotely for companies outside Spain | A degree from a recognized university, vocational school or business school, or 3 years of experience; the employer has been operating for at least a year, and the working relationship has lasted at least 3 months | Yes, remotely; self-employed people may work for Spanish companies for no more than 20% of their total work | The UGE-CE unit examines the application, the Directorate-General for Migration issues the permit; a visa from abroad is issued by the consulate |
| Family reunification | Family members of a foreign national who lives legally in Spain | The foreign national bringing the family has lived in Spain for a year and has applied to renew the permit for at least another year; income of at least 150% of IPREM for two people plus 50% for each additional person; adequate housing; health insurance | Yes, for the spouse, partner and children | The immigration office |
For the remote worker permit, the law sets no income threshold; consulates state one in their visa requirements.
How does your status affect work and family?
The right to work comes from the decision itself, not from the card or the number. Temporary protection and arraigo allow both employment and self-employment, except education arraigo: it allows only employment of up to 30 hours a week. The Regulation allows students to work no more than 30 hours a week. A residence permit without the right to work does not allow you to work.
Family members get protection or a permit under different rules. Family members of people who left Ukraine are themselves entitled to temporary protection, and you can ask for relatives the war separated you from to be admitted through the Asylum and Refuge Office. For other statuses, family reunification applies, with requirements on length of residence, income and housing.
Can you move from temporary protection to another permit?
Yes, you can apply. Since 16 April 2026 the Regulation expressly allows holders of temporary protection to apply from within Spain for permits whose procedure can be started in the country: arraigo and permits under Ley 14/2013, including the permit for remote workers. You cannot change the temporary protection permit itself; you apply for a new one. The residence permit without the right to work is not on this list: the visa application for it is filed at a consulate.
What remains unclear for arraigo is described on a separate page.
Which “new legalization law” is in force now?
There is no separate new law. It is a series of changes that took effect in 2025–2026:
- On 20 May 2025 the new Regulation on Foreigners (Real Decreto 1155/2024) came into force. It set out five types of arraigo; four of them require two years of stay in Spain.
- On 16 April 2026 amendments to the Regulation (Real Decreto 316/2026) came into force. They allowed holders of temporary protection to apply for arraigo and opened an extraordinary regularization for people who were in Spain before 1 January 2026.
- On 30 June 2026 the acceptance of applications for the extraordinary regularization ended. Current and former holders of temporary protection were not eligible. The official answers to technical questions say that holders of protection have a different procedure, with other ways of applying and no deadline. This probably refers to the ordinary permits available to them since 16 April.
- On 8 July 2026 the Supreme Court annulled certain provisions of several articles of the Regulation; the judgment was published on 22 September. The articles on arraigo are not among them.
- On 30 July 2026 the EU extended temporary protection until 4 March 2028 and, from 5 August, introduced a requirement on military obligations for anyone who did not yet have protection in that EU country on 4 August.
- On 6 October 2026 the Spanish parliament was dissolved, and elections were called for 29 November 2026. The popular legislative initiative on regularization, under consideration since 2024, did not become law. Such an initiative does not lapse when parliament is dissolved, so the next parliament may take it up.
What about Spanish citizenship?
Citizenship is not granted on the basis of a permit but after a long period of legal residence. The Civil Code requires 10 years of legal and continuous residence immediately before the application, 5 years for refugees. Marriage to a Spanish citizen does not give citizenship automatically: it shortens the period to one year if, at the time of the application, the marriage has lasted at least a year and the spouses do not live apart. Besides the period, you need good civic conduct and sufficient integration into Spanish society. Ukrainian citizens have to renounce their Ukrainian citizenship.
We have not found an official clarification of whether years under temporary protection count toward these periods.
When do you need a lawyer?
You need a lawyer specializing in Spanish immigration law when your case goes beyond the general rules:
- you have temporary protection and want to move to arraigo or another permit;
- you received a refusal or a request for additional documents;
- you have a criminal record or an entry ban;
- your family members have different statuses, or your children were born in Spain.
Kompanion does not provide legal services and does not recommend lawyers.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Treating an NIE or address registration as a residence permit.
- Waiting for a “new legalization law”: the extraordinary regularization has already ended, and the legislative initiative did not become law.
- Taking conditions from materials written before 20 May 2025.
- Applying for asylum and arraigo at the same time: an applicant for international protection cannot get arraigo.