How to bring eligible family members to live with you in Spain

A non-EU relative of a Spanish national normally uses the dedicated temporary-residence route for family of Spanish nationals. Its categories include defined spouses, registered or stable partners, descendants, ascendants, parents or tutors of Spanish minors, carers, children of Spanish origin, and other dependent family members. The filing place changes according to where sponsor and relative are located and the category. The current form is EX-24, the authorisation procedure is free, and a grant normally lasts five years with unrestricted employee and self-employed work.

A non-EU relative accompanying or joining an EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen exercising free movement requests the EU-family residence card with EX-19. The applicant normally files personally in Spain within three months of entry and receives an immediate receipt. The card ordinarily lasts five years or the EU citizen's shorter planned residence. A Spanish sponsor uses this EU regime only where EU free-movement law actually applies, such as a qualifying return case, not merely because Spain is in the EU.

A third-country national legally resident in Spain uses general family reunification. The sponsor first files EX-02 with the competent Immigration Office and proves qualifying prior residence, fixed regular resources, adequate housing, insurance, and the family category. After approval, the relative abroad applies for the visa, enters, and obtains the TIE.

Strategic and study-linked families

Family members of an entrepreneur, investor legacy holder, highly qualified professional, EU Blue Card holder, researcher, intra-company transferee, international teleworker, or other qualifying Law 14/2013 holder use the relevant UGE family branch. Joint, simultaneous, or later family filing, financial means, insurance, and work rights follow that framework rather than general EX-02 regrouping. International-teleworker family permits allow unrestricted work.

A long-stay student has a family stay route, not automatically general family residence, and family work rights differ. When the student modifies to residence, the current modification sheet can provide a linked family route under its own conditions.

Use Spanish-family residence for a qualifying relative of a Spanish national, EU-family EX-19 for a genuine free-movement case, ordinary regrouping for a qualifying relative of an ordinary third-country resident, and UGE family residence for a sponsor under its strategic framework. If the relationship, dependency, sponsor residence, or location does not fit, do not force another family label; assess an independent work, study, or other lawful route.

Read the family definitions in the chosen regime. General regrouping allows one spouse or an adult registered or proven stable partner. An unregistered stable partnership normally needs at least 12 continuous months of marriage-like cohabitation, unless the couple has a common child and the relationship continues. Marriage and an analogous partnership cannot both be used, and prior marriages can require evidence of dissolution and financial or child arrangements. Spanish-family and EU-family routes have their own definitions and proof.

Children under the applicable age can qualify, including recognised adoptions. Older children qualify only in defined dependency, disability, health, or strategic-family categories. When one parent applies alone, prove sole parental authority, awarded custody, or the other parent's valid consent to the child's residence in Spain. A court restriction or abduction concern cannot be cured by a visa form.

Under general regrouping, first-degree ascendants normally must be dependent, over 65, and have reasons justifying residence in Spain. Humanitarian circumstances can allow a younger ascendant. The sponsor proves support during the preceding year and the parent's family, financial, property, social and health position in the country of origin. A qualifying adult child who will care for a sponsor with formally recognised dependency has a separate current category.

Sponsor conditions change by route

An ordinary third-country sponsor generally must have lived lawfully in Spain for at least one year and applied to reside for at least another. The relative cannot receive the grant until the sponsor's relevant renewal or long-term status becomes effective. Ascendant regrouping ordinarily requires the sponsor to hold long-term status. Specific long-term-EU mobility cases differ.

The ordinary sponsor proves fixed and regular resources, adequate housing, and health insurance for the household. In August 2026, 150% of monthly IPREM is EUR 900 for sponsor plus one relative and each further 50% is EUR 300. A special reduced calculation applies in cases involving minors or represented persons and must use the current guaranteed Minimum Vital Income amount. Do not reject a child case using only the ordinary arithmetic.

For an EU-family card, prove the EU citizen's employment, self-employment, or sufficient resources and comprehensive insurance basis, plus accompanying or joining. Spanish-family and UGE routes apply their own financial and dependency tests.

Finally check the relative's location, lawful status, passport, criminal and public-order position, medical condition where required, and whether a consular or in-Spain filing is permitted. The competent Immigration Office, consulate, police unit, or UGE decides its stage; a town hall decides neither family eligibility nor immigration status.

Start with the route-specific form: EX-24 for family of a Spanish national, EX-19 for the EU-family card, EX-02 for general initial regrouping, or the correct UGE family application. Add complete valid passports for sponsor and relative, sponsor nationality and residence evidence, padrón where required, photographs, representation documents, and every prior resolution relevant to the family status.

Civil evidence can include a current marriage, partnership, birth, adoption, death, divorce, custody, guardianship, disability or dependency record. The record must create the legal effect claimed in Spain. A stable unregistered couple adds dated cohabitation, shared address, child, finances, insurance, travel and public-record evidence. Dependency proof can include regular transfers, bills paid, income and property records, medical needs, household composition, and why support is necessary rather than merely helpful.

For a child travelling with one parent, include the enforceable custody or authority order and valid consent in the form accepted by the consulate. For an ascendant, add a full year of support evidence and origin-country family, social, financial, asset and health records. Explain gaps or informal transfers rather than manufacturing receipts.

General sponsor evidence

An ordinary sponsor supplies six months of employment contract and payslips plus the latest income-tax record where applicable, or self-employment activity, tax returns and accounts. A non-working sponsor uses verifiable bank or credit evidence accepted by the sheet. Include insurance for sponsor and relatives and proof that compulsory-school-age children already in Spain attend school where relevant.

Adequate housing is normally proved by the autonomous community's report or a local report where delegated. If it is not issued and notified within one month of request, substitute proof can cover the right to occupy, rooms, use, residents, habitability and equipment, together with proof that the report was requested. The report or substitute pack must be no more than six months old when the regrouping application is filed.

Foreign public records may need Hague Apostille, diplomatic legalization, or an exemption and Spanish sworn translation. Covered EU records are accepted as authentic without apostille under the EU public-document framework, but that does not force Spain to recognise the document's legal effect.

Check every name, date, prior spouse, parent, child, address, transfer, relationship period, sponsor card, insurance period and passport. Keep the complete indexed submission, fee, registry receipt, requests, responses, visa file, original consent, entry evidence and TIE receipt.

1. Classify the sponsor and family member. Confirm Spanish, EU free-movement, ordinary third-country, long-term-EU, study, or Law 14/2013 status; exact relationship; location; ages; custody; dependency; and intended timing. Save the current official sheet.
2. Complete route prerequisites. Obtain current civil records, authentication and translation, dependency and custody proof, sponsor renewal evidence, income, insurance, and any adequate-housing report. Check passport and certificate expiry against every later stage.
3. File the correct first application. In general regrouping, the resident sponsor or representative submits EX-02 in person to the provincial Immigration Office or electronically through Mercurio, pays the 790-052 item within ten business days, and downloads the registry receipt. Spanish-family and UGE cases use their own filing branch. An EU-family applicant normally files EX-19 personally after entry.
4. Monitor official notifications. Watch the electronic channel and file status. Answer every request with an indexed response and proof. Do not infer approval from silence without checking the exact procedure; initial general regrouping and Spanish-family currently use negative silence.

Visa, entry, local registration, and work

5. Apply for the visa when required. After a general regrouping grant, the relative has two months from notice to apply personally at the responsible consulate. Adults of criminal age provide the required record, plus passport valid at least four months, medical certificate, original relationship and dependency evidence, application and fee. The consulate's stated decision period is one month.
6. Collect and enter. A favourable general family visa is collected personally within one month of notice, with a minor's representative exception, and the holder enters Spain within one month after collection. Keep entry evidence. Spanish-family, EU-family and UGE sequences can differ.
7. Register the real address. Complete padrón at the habitual municipality using its housing and identity rules. Padrón does not create immigration permission, but it supports residence, schooling, healthcare and later continuity evidence.
8. Request the TIE or EU-family card. A generally reunited relative personally requests the TIE within one month of entry. A minor attends with the representative. EU-family EX-19 is filed within three months of entry and produces an immediate receipt. Spanish-family and UGE holders follow their grant and card rules.

A spouse, partner, and child of working age under general regrouping can work anywhere in Spain as employee or self-employed without another administrative application. Spanish-family, EU-family and Law 14/2013 family rights also need confirmation from their resolution. After arrival, arrange healthcare, Social Security for actual work, schooling, bank, tax and digital-notification access.

The Spanish-family residence authorisation procedure itself is currently free. A qualifying EU free-movement family visa should use the facilitated free framework, while the EU-family residence card had a EUR 12 police-document charge when checked on 25 August 2026. Law 14/2013 charges each family applicant under its live fee schedule. General regrouping uses 790-052 item 2.1.2, then a consular visa fee and TIE fee. Recheck the responsible authority's current form, exemption, currency and payer before payment.

The police fee table listed EUR 16.08 for a first temporary-residence TIE on 25 August 2026. A renewal TIE was EUR 19.30. Those dated card charges are not the general authorisation or consular fee and can change.

For ordinary regrouping, monthly IPREM remained EUR 600 under the 2026 budget extension. The ordinary 150% floor is therefore EUR 900 for sponsor plus one family member, with EUR 300 for every further member. Show fixed regular resources after considering household needs. Cases with minors or represented persons can use a special reduced threshold based on current guaranteed annual Minimum Vital Income, so calculate that branch live instead of applying EUR 900 mechanically.

Practical costs and timeline

Budget new passports, marriage and birth certificates, court and custody records, commercial or dependency evidence, criminal and medical certificates, Hague Apostille or legalization, sworn translation, certified copies, housing-report documents, consular and police travel, photographs, courier, and optional qualified advice. Insurance can be a large recurring cost for non-working sponsors or relatives. Add housing, deposits, travel and the period before the relative can earn income.

A public housing report may be free or carry a local charge and takes time. If it is not issued and notified within one month, substitute evidence is possible, but producing a strong habitability file also costs time. Report and substitute evidence expire after six months for filing purposes.

Initial general regrouping states two months for the sponsor decision, followed by up to one month for consular decision. Add the two-month visa-application window, appointment availability, one-month collection deadline, one-month entry deadline, and one-month TIE deadline. EU-family card issue should occur within three months of application. Spanish-family states two months for its authorisation. UGE family routes use their own shorter statutory period.

Plan four to eight months for a general overseas regrouping and renew documents only when the expected filing date makes their validity sensible. Avoid appointment sellers, fabricated partnerships, fake dependency transfers and anyone promising a guaranteed family decision.

A general family authorisation normally ends on the same date as the sponsor's authorisation at the relative's entry, with at least one year of validity. The spouse, partner and working-age children have unrestricted work rights. Keep the grant, TIE, passports, padrón, sponsor renewals, relationship, schooling, work and Social Security evidence and travel history.

The current general family renewal sheet allows filing in the two months before expiry or three months after, with possible sanction for late filing. Its decision period is three months and silence is positive for that renewal, unlike the negative silence on the initial application. A renewed authorisation normally lasts four years and permits unrestricted work, subject to the sponsor-link rules. Preserve the signed registry receipt.

An EU-family card ordinarily lasts five years or the EU citizen's shorter planned stay. Continuing free-movement rights, relationship, retained rights after death or divorce, and permanent residence use EU-specific rules. A Spanish-family authorisation usually lasts five years but has its own retained and independent residence rules. Never transfer the general-route tests to these cards.

Independence after life changes

The independent family residence sheet gives several general-regime routes. A spouse or partner can seek independence after at least one year of family residence by proving own sufficient means or qualifying employed or self-employed conditions. After relationship breakdown, another branch normally requires a three-year bond and at least one year of cohabitation in Spain, with a shorter-cohabitation custody exception. Sponsor death permits independence regardless of prior residence time if filed within six months and the family lived lawfully in Spain.

Victims of gender or sexual violence, violent offences in the family, trafficking by the sponsor, or family abandonment can qualify regardless of residence and cohabitation duration, using the current protection order or police or prosecutor evidence. Safety comes first. Contact emergency services, specialist support, police, prosecutor, court, legal-aid or victim service as appropriate; do not wait for the sponsor's cooperation. Other reunited relatives living with the protected person can retain their status under the sheet.

Adult children, represented persons and ascendants have their own independence conditions. Long-term or permanent residence can become available after qualifying continuous residence. Before a move, separation, sponsor's job loss, graduation, child's adulthood or departure, check which event must be reported and which filing window applies.

First diagnose the regime. A Spanish-family case filed as general regrouping, an EU free-movement case treated as ordinary sponsorship, or a general sponsor trying to use EX-19 can fail regardless of relationship strength. Compare sponsor nationality, actual EU movement, residence title, family category, location and responsible authority. Withdraw or refile only after assessing lawful status, visa timing and appeal consequences.

For an evidence request, answer each numbered point with an explanation and indexed exhibit. An unregistered partner may add a continuous cohabitation timeline, official addresses, common child, shared finances, insurance, travel and witness-quality records. An ascendant needs sustained transfers and expenses plus evidence of limited own resources and need in the origin country. A single bank transfer just before filing is weak.

If the housing report is late, preserve the request date. After one month without issue and notification, use the official substitute branch with occupancy title, rooms, use, residents, habitability and equipment evidence. If funds are short, check the minor-household reduced rule, all permitted stable resources and whether timing can improve the record. Do not borrow and recycle money to create false statements.

A custody conflict requires a valid order, sole authority, or proper consent. Immigration staff cannot decide a cross-border parental dispute. Seek family-law advice, court relief or central-authority help where abduction or consent is contested.

Delay, refusal, violence, and scams

Initial general regrouping and the Spanish-family authorisation state negative silence after two months. General renewal states positive silence after three months. EU-family and UGE procedures have other rules. Never rely on the wrong silence rule or work and travel only from a missed target date. Check notification, TEU and electronic access first.

A refusal should state facts, law, remedy and deadline. Preserve sponsor and visa files, registry and fee receipts, housing-report request, civil originals, notifications and entry history. Decide whether new evidence supports a fresh application or whether a factual or legal error justifies reconsideration or judicial review. Cross-border custody, disputed dependency, retained EU rights and court appeals merit qualified counsel.

If there is violence, sexual violence, trafficking, abandonment or coercive control, do not let the sponsor threaten that reporting automatically ends residence. Seek safety and independent confidential advice immediately. The current independent route expressly provides no prior residence or cohabitation minimum for defined victims with the specified protection, police or prosecutor evidence. In immediate danger call emergency services.

Avoid anyone selling a partnership registration, invitation, housing report, appointment or guaranteed card. Pay official charges only through official channels, verify adviser identity and scope, protect passports and civil records, and report fraud or document theft quickly.