Temporary protection in Spain for Ukrainians

This page is for people who arrived from Ukraine after 24 February 2022 or who are helping relatives get legal status in Spain. It covers the steps from the application to the card, the rights that protection gives and what changed in 2026.

# Who can get temporary protection?

Protection is granted to people who left Ukraine because of the war from 24 February 2022 onward. Under the EU decision, they are:

• Ukrainian citizens who lived in Ukraine before that date;
• stateless persons and citizens of other countries who had international or equivalent protection in Ukraine;
• family members of people in the two previous groups;
• citizens of other countries with a permanent residence permit in Ukraine who cannot safely return to their home country.

By a Council of Ministers decision of 8 March 2022, Spain added three more groups:

• Ukrainian citizens who were already in Spain before 24 February 2022 in stay status (estancia) rather than residence and cannot return because of the war;
• Ukrainian citizens who were in Spain without legal grounds before that date;
• citizens of other countries who lived legally in Ukraine with any permit, including students, and cannot safely return.

Family members of people in the first and third of these groups are also eligible, but not family members of those who were in Spain without legal grounds.

# New requirement from 5 August 2026

From 5 August 2026, protection is granted only to people who have fulfilled their military obligations in Ukraine or are exempt from them, if they did not yet have temporary protection in Spain on 4 August 2026. This also covers people who applied earlier but had not been granted protection by that date. The EU decision notes separately that such obligations may apply regardless of age or sex, for example to those who have joined the military or have obligations related to military activity. It is up to the applicant to prove this.

A legal exit from Ukraine is confirmed by the border crossing record or the exit stamp in your passport. If the legality of your exit cannot be confirmed, you must submit an official document, for example one from the Reserve+ (Rezerv+) app.

The requirement does not apply to those who had temporary protection in a given EU country up to and including 4 August 2026 and keep it in that same country without a break.

# What documents should you prepare?

The Spanish Ministry of the Interior lists these documents:

• identity and travel documents, including your passport;
• documents proving family ties: marriage, birth and adoption certificates;
• for citizens of other countries: documents proving residence in Ukraine.

Since August 2026, proof that you have fulfilled your military obligations or are exempt from them is added to the list, if you have such obligations.

# Where and how do you apply?

You apply in person to National Police officers. In Madrid (Pozuelo de Alarcón) and Málaga, applications are accepted at CREADE centers. In Barcelona, the CREADE center books appointments, and you file the application at a designated police station. In other provinces, applications are accepted by police stations; the list of them, with how to book, is published on the Ministry of Inclusion website.

Appointment phone numbers (ministry website data as of 12 October 2026):

The websites of the two ministries give different addresses for the Málaga center, so confirm the address when you book by phone.

When you apply, your fingerprints are taken, and you receive a receipt for your application the same day. It already shows your NIE number, so you do not need to apply for the number separately. While your application is being processed, the application itself gives you the right to stay in Spain.

# When will you get a decision, and what does it give you?

The decision is made by the Ministry of the Interior: Orden PCM/169/2022 requires this within 24 hours of the application. According to the official answers to frequently asked questions, the decision can be downloaded after 24–48 hours.

A temporary protection decision is at the same time a residence and work permit. You can work from age 16, both as an employee and as a self-employed person.

Protection itself does not mean an automatic right to every social benefit in Spain. Each program has its own conditions, and they are checked separately.

# How do you get a TIE card?

After the decision, you must book a police appointment online and apply in person for a TIE card. The deadline is one month from the day the residence permit is granted. The police have published booking instructions in Ukrainian; the link is among the sources. We cover the card, fees and replacement in detail on the page TIE in Spain.

# Can you travel and move to another EU country?

A holder of protection can stay in other EU countries for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. The TIE card is not a travel document; you need a passport to travel. If you need to leave Spain and do not have a valid passport, the regulation on temporary protection provides for issuing a travel document.

If you plan to go to Ukraine and do not have a TIE card yet, the official answers advise asking the immigration office or the police about a return authorization (autorización de regreso).

You can hold temporary protection in only one EU country. Before you ask for it in another country, you must renounce protection in Spain. You file the renunciation through a public registry office (oficina de registro); no separate reply is sent, and the registry receipt is your proof. After renouncing, you must hand in your TIE card.

After a move to another EU country, the exemption from the new military obligations requirement is lost: it applies only to those who keep protection in the same country without a break.

# When does protection end?

Protection ends automatically when:

• the temporary protection period set at EU level expires;
• the person acquires Spanish citizenship;
• the person decides to return and expressly informs the authorities;
• the person expressly renounces protection;
• the person is officially transferred to another EU country to join family members who have protection there.

In addition, protection is considered abandoned if the person was summoned for a mandatory procedure and did not appear within 45 days without good reason. Protection can also be revoked if it was obtained on the basis of false information or documents, or if grounds that exclude the right to it come to light.

# How are protection and cards extended?

Protection is extended by decisions of the Council of the EU, which apply in Spain directly, without separate decisions for each person. The latest such decision, of 30 July 2026, extends protection until 4 March 2028 and applies from 5 March 2027.

TIE cards are extended by separate orders of the Ministry of the Interior. Orden INT/96/2026 extended the validity of the cards until 4 March 2027; you do not need to apply for a new card.

As of 12 October 2026, the Ministry of Inclusion website still gives the date 4 March 2027. We have not found a Spanish order extending the cards beyond that date. We will update this page as soon as one is published.

# What about your family?

Family members of people who left Ukraine are themselves entitled to temporary protection and can apply in person. If the war separated you from relatives, you can ask for them to be granted protection in Spain; such a request is examined by the Asylum and Refuge Office (Oficina de Asilo y Refugio). This covers a spouse or partner, unmarried minor children and parents who depended on you and lived with you.

# Can you apply for asylum while you hold temporary protection?

You can apply for international protection, but while the application is being examined, the benefits of temporary protection and those of an asylum applicant 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.

We compare temporary protection with other grounds for staying in Spain on the page Legal status in Spain.

# What mistakes should you avoid?

• Asking for protection in another EU country without renouncing it in Spain.
• Missing the one-month deadline to apply for a TIE card after the decision.
• Taking police station addresses and opening hours from old publications. The current list is on the Ministry of Inclusion website.
• Assuming that your status entitles you to all benefits. Check the conditions of each program separately.