Is it true that men aged 23-60 will now be excluded from protection?

No, there is no such age bracket in the text of the decision. The new condition (from 31 July 2026) is to confirm you satisfy your military obligations in Ukraine when required, and the text states directly: "irrespective of age or gender" (recital 20). Claims like "men 23-60" circulating in some media and Telegram channels do not match the text of the decision.

Is it true that a Reserv+ extract confirming exemption from military registration is mandatory to apply?

No, that is inaccurate. Recital 18 of the decision names an extract from the "Reserv+" app only as an example ("such as") of one possible document — and only for cases where legal departure from Ukraine cannot be confirmed (the border-crossing stamp, which comes first in the hierarchy of evidence). The standard wording of the decision is "satisfying military obligations OR being exempt from them", not necessarily a certificate of removal from the military register. There is still no official Spanish document with an exact list of accepted papers (checked as of 22.08.2026); the Embassy of Ukraine in Spain has itself asked the Spanish side to clarify the procedure (~13 August 2026) and has not yet received a reply. Social-media claims that police in Alicante demand specifically Reserv+ and are mass-refusing applicants without it rest on a single Facebook post with no independent confirmation — that is not a primary source.

I already had protection in Poland — if I move to Spain after August 2026, do I need to confirm military-obligation status?

Most likely, yes. The exemption from the new condition only applies to those who already held protection in a SPECIFIC EU country on or before 30 July 2026 and continue to hold it in that same country. Changing country is a new application in a new country, and you do not fall under this exemption even if your protection in Poland or another country was continuous.

Will Spain grant protection if I already have it in Poland?

Yes, you can change country. The European Commission's guidance says explicitly: a country cannot refuse registration on the grounds that the person is registered in another one. When you move, the second country is obliged to register you and issue a permit, and the first country's permit is withdrawn. But you can only enjoy protection in one country at a time. **2026 update:** if you are applying in Spain for the first time after 30 July 2026, a requirement to confirm military-obligation status is added (see the question above).

Can I hold temporary protection in two countries at once?

No. Protection is granted in only one EU country. When you move, the previous country's permit must be withdrawn and the rights under it end. Double registration is tracked: countries notify each other.

Will I get protection if I left Ukraine BEFORE 24 February 2022?

By the letter of the EU Decision — no: you need both residence in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 and displacement on or after 24 February 2022. But recital 14 of that same Decision explicitly invites countries to extend protection to those who left shortly before that date amid rising tensions, and countries are free to apply more favourable conditions. Spain has used that discretion. Your case is decided by CREADE — ask, rather than treating a refusal as a foregone conclusion.

Does temporary protection depend on the city in Spain?

No. The criteria are set by EU acts and Spanish rules and apply across the whole country. Cities and autonomous communities differ in the availability of places in the reception system and in how fast you can get an appointment, but not in whether protection is granted.

Can I work straight away or do I have to wait for the TIE card?

The right to protection arises immediately. According to the European Commission's position, once registered in a country a person may work as an employee or be self-employed without waiting for the physical card to be issued.

Temporary Protection in Spain from Poland, EU, USA

Q: Until when is temporary protection now extended?

Until 4 March 2028. Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1912 was adopted on 30 July 2026, published in the Official Journal on 4 August 2026, and entered into force on 5 August 2026 — this is an already-adopted act, not a proposal.

Q: I returned to Ukraine and left again — do I keep protection?

Voluntary return to Ukraine ends the right to protection, and the permit may be revoked. But on a subsequent return to the EU, a person who meets the criteria is again entitled to temporary protection — and is free to choose the country.

Temporary Protection status — verified 15 August 2026

EU temporary protection has been extended to 4 March 2028 (Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1912, adopted 30.07.2026, in force since 05.08.2026) — this is an adopted act, not a proposal.
The Spanish TIE card remains automatically valid until 4 March 2027 (Orden INT/96/2026). You do not need to get a new card.
A separate Spanish Orden extending the cards themselves to 2028 had not yet been issued as of the verification date — watch BOE and Ucrania Urgente for updates.
The date printed on the physical card (it may say 2025/2026) does not matter — go by the dates above, not by what is printed on the plastic.

In short

Protection requires two conditions at once: residence in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 and displacement on or after 24 February 2022. If you already have protection in another EU country — you can change country: the second country is obliged to register you, and the first country's permit is withdrawn. Holding it in two countries at once is not allowed. Protection does not depend on the city in Spain.

This is the most common question among people living in Poland, Germany or outside the EU who are thinking about moving to Spain. In community groups it gets answered from hearsay, and most often wrongly. Below is a breakdown based on EU acts and European Commission guidance, stating plainly what those documents do not say.

2026 update: extended to 2028, but a new condition appears

The Council adopted Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1912 (30 July 2026, published in the Official Journal on 4 August, in force since 5 August 2026) — temporary protection is extended by another year, until 4 March 2028. This is an already-adopted act, not a proposal.

At the same time, from 31 July 2026 a new condition applies: to be granted protection, you must confirm you satisfy your military obligations in Ukraine or are exempt from them. Recital 18 of the decision describes a hierarchy of evidence: first of all — legal border crossing when leaving Ukraine, or an exit stamp in the passport; only if that cannot be confirmed must you present an easily verifiable official document (paper or electronic) — the recital cites an extract from the "Reserv+" app as an example of such a document ("such as"), not the only acceptable option. The burden of proof is on the applicant.

No official Spanish document (BOE, an Interior Ministry order, an OAR/police instruction) with the operational mechanism — exactly which document CREADE will accept — had been found at the time this guide was published; the Ministry of Inclusion states the condition on its website without naming a specific paper. The Embassy of Ukraine in Spain has itself sent an official request to the Spanish authorities asking them to clarify the procedure (~13 August 2026) and promised to publish the answer when it arrives — the mechanism is unclear even to Ukrainian diplomats on the ground. Reports in some Telegram channels and social media that police in Alicante are already mass-refusing applicants without a Reserv+ extract rely on a single Facebook post with no independent confirmation — we are not publishing that as fact (checked as of 22.08.2026).

Important specifically for the topic of this guide — changing country

The exemption from the new condition is tied to a specific country, not applied EU-wide. It only covers people who already held protection in that same country on or before 30 July 2026 and continuously retain it there. If you held protection in Poland (or another country) and are applying for protection in Spain for the first time after that date — you are a new applicant in Spain specifically, and the exemption does not apply to you, even if your protection in Poland was continuous.

Separately: the text of the decision contains no age bracket at all — recital 20 states directly that military obligations may apply "irrespective of age or gender" (for example, on voluntary enlistment). Some media outlets and Telegram channels have circulated an inaccurate "men 23-60" framing — it does not match the text of the decision.

Two conditions, not one

Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 (Article 2) applies to people displaced from Ukraine on or after 24 February 2022, namely to Ukrainian nationals residing in Ukraine before 24 February 2022, to stateless persons and third-country nationals who held international protection in Ukraine before that date, and to their family members.

A common mistake

Many people remember only the first condition — "lived in Ukraine before the war". There are two conditions, and the second one (leaving on or after 24 February 2022) is exactly what creates most of the borderline cases.

If you already have protection in another EU country

This is the main misunderstanding: "I had protection in Poland, so Spain will refuse." That is not true.

The European Commission's guidance on interpreting the Directive states directly:

protection is granted in only one country of the EU at a time;
at the same time, the person is free to choose the country in which they exercise their rights (Member States decided not to apply Article 11 of the Directive);
a country cannot refuse registration on the grounds that the person is registered in another one;
when a person moves from the first country to the second, the second is obliged to provide all the rights under the Directive, including registration and the subsequent issuing of a residence permit;
the permit issued by the first country must end and be withdrawn.

A refusal is possible only for those who do not meet the criteria as such.

What this means in practice

You cannot hold protection in two countries at once, and double registration is tracked — countries notify each other. But you can change country, and this is your right of choice, not an exception you have to beg for.

If you had protection but it ended

The situation "I had protección temporal (temporary protection), now I don't" is common — the status may have ended because of departure, failure to appear, or voluntary return. Here everything depends on why it ended, and that is examined case by case. The only correct step is to go to CREADE (the reception centres for displaced people from Ukraine) with documents about your previous status and explain your history, rather than building a plan on forum answers.

If you returned to Ukraine and then left again

Voluntary return to Ukraine ends the right to protection: the permit may be revoked. But the Commission's guidance specifically notes that on a subsequent return to the EU a person who meets the criteria of Article 2 is again entitled to temporary protection — and here too the freedom to choose the country applies.

Separately: a short trip to Ukraine (to visit relatives, to collect documents) should not be treated as a voluntary return and does not cancel the status.

If you left Ukraine BEFORE 24 February 2022

This is the most painful case — and here we are not going to give you false hope.

By the letter of the Decision, such people are not covered: the second condition is not met. The Commission's guidance says this directly about those who were in another EU country with a valid permit (a work permit, for example) before 24 February 2022 — they "are not entitled to temporary protection, as it is understood that they were not displaced from Ukraine on or after 24 February 2022". The expiry of such a permit does not change that conclusion; they are pointed towards the international protection (asylum) route rather than temporary protection.

But there are two significant caveats:

The same document adds that this does not prevent countries that decide to extend the scope from applying more favourable conditions.
Recital 14 of the Decision itself explicitly invites countries to consider extending protection to those who left Ukraine shortly before 24 February 2022 amid rising tensions, or who found themselves on EU territory (on holiday or for work, for instance) just before that date.

Spain has used that discretion — Ukrainians already in Spain before 24 February 2022 are covered.

Conclusion for a borderline case

If you left weeks before the invasion, a refusal is not a foregone conclusion, but there is no guarantee either. This is exactly the kind of case to bring to CREADE with documents, rather than settling it on the basis of other people's comments.

If you are coming from outside the EU (from the USA, for example)

Here we will honestly stop. The EU acts describe displacement from Ukraine; the situation "left for a third country, lived there, and now I am moving to Spain" is not directly addressed in the documents we studied. We are not offering a conclusion on it — too much depends on your history of statuses.

This is the case where it is worth writing to CREADE in advance or consulting an immigration lawyer, rather than buying a ticket on the strength of a forum answer.

Protection does not depend on the city

The question "which city still grants protection" comes up constantly — and it rests on a misunderstanding. The criteria are set by nationwide rules and work the same way across Spain. What does differ is something else: the availability of places in the sistema de acogida (the state reception system), appointment waiting times, and how busy a particular office is. That affects convenience, not the right itself.

Rights arise immediately, not with the card

According to the European Commission's position, the right to temporary protection is immediate: there is no separate "application procedure" in national law. Once registered in a country, a person may work — as an employee or as a self-employed person — without waiting for the physical card (TIE, the foreigner's residence card).

What we are not claiming

The outcome of your particular case. Borderline cases (leaving before 24 February, a previous status in another country, arriving from outside the EU) are decided by the authorities on the basis of your documents.
The practice of individual CREADE offices — it may differ, and we have not verified it.
How much money you will need and how quickly you will find work — there is no official benchmark; any figures quoted in chats are someone else's experience, not a rule.

Where to go for an answer on your case: the CREADE centres (Pozuelo de Alarcón, Barcelona, Málaga, Torrevieja), and in the other provinces the National Police. For a complex case on the Costa Blanca you can find a lawyer in Torrevieja in our directory. A step-by-step breakdown of the application is in our guide "How to apply for temporary protection in Spain".

This guide is for reference only and is not legal advice; rules and practice change — check the primary sources (Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382, European Commission guidance, Ministry of Inclusion's "Ucrania Urgente") and consult a lawyer in a complex case. You can find Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking immigration lawyers in our verified directory.