Spain's 2026 Regularización (RD 316/2026)

In 2026 Spain opened an extraordinary regularización of migrants — a one-time window letting some people in irregular status obtain a residence authorization. There is a lot of confusion around it, especially in Ukrainian and Russian-speaking chats. The key thing to understand up front: if you hold Ukrainian temporary protection (protección temporal), this campaign does NOT apply to you. Below: who it actually helped, the deadlines, what happens to files already submitted, and what temporary-protection holders should do.

What this window is

• Instrument: Real Decreto 316/2026, of 14 April — it amends the Immigration Regulation (Reglamento de Extranjería, RD 1155/2024), it is not a standalone "amnesty." Published in the BOE on 15 April 2026, in force from 16 April 2026.
• What it creates: two new additional provisions of the Regulation — DA 21ª, arraigo extraordinario for people in irregular status (form EX-32), and DA 20ª, a separate route for those who applied for international protection (asylum) before 1 January 2026 (form EX-31).
• Application window: the window CLOSED on 30 June 2026. Online (Mercurio platform) applications were accepted from 16 April 2026, in person by appointment (cita previa) from 20 April 2026, in both cases until 30 June 2026. There is no extension: in the consolidated text of the Regulation as of 22 September 2026 the date 30 June 2026 is unchanged.
• Scale: the rule itself gives no figure; the Ministry of Inclusion's report presented to the Council of Ministers on 14 April 2026 estimated potential beneficiaries at roughly 500,000 people.

Who qualified (arraigo extraordinario, DA 21ª)

To qualify for the new route you had to meet all of the basic conditions at once:

1. Adult (18+), present in Spain before 1 January 2026 and at the time of filing.
2. Irregular status in the strict sense: no valid stay or residence authorization and no pending application for one to be granted, extended or modified. Never having held a temporary-protection authorization (EU Decision 2022/382).
3. Continuous presence of at least 5 months immediately before applying — proven by any legally valid document containing personal data.
4. No criminal record in Spain or in the countries where the person lived in the 5 years before entering Spain, for acts punishable under Spanish law (records cancellable in Spain don't count); no threat to public order, safety or health — the police report is assessed individually, and an entry in it does not by itself mean refusal; not listed as "inadmissible" in countries with which Spain has an agreement; not within a no-return commitment period.
5. Fee paid (see below).
6. Plus one of three routes:
   • Laboral — worked in Spain (employed or self-employed) OR intends to work: a job offer from an employer or a self-employment declaration (declaración responsable); any contract type is accepted if the contract or the sum of contracts exceeds 90 days in a year;
   • Familiar — living in Spain with one's family: minor children, adult children with a disability or unable to provide for themselves for health reasons, or cohabiting parents (first-degree relatives in the ascending line);
   • Vulnerabilidad — vulnerability certified on the set form (Anexo II) by social-assistance authorities or by third-sector organizations entered in the Registro Electrónico de Colaboradores de Extranjería (Orden ISM/164/2026).

The applicant's parents, spouse or registered partner living in the same household could apply at the same time — the files are decided together, but each person must meet the requirements individually.

The separate route DA 20ª (form EX-31) is for those who applied for international protection (asylum) before 1 January 2026, including those whose claim had by then already been refused or who had withdrawn it (this is how Hoja informativa 28 bis reads it). The basic requirements are the same — including the temporary-protection exclusion — but none of the three routes above has to be proven. If the authorization is granted, the applicant must withdraw the asylum application (or the appeal against its refusal) and show the withdrawal receipt when requesting the TIE; the authorization granted is for 1 year and counts as arraigo social.

Temporary-protection holders (Ukraine): why it doesn't fit and what to do

Temporary protection is already a legal status, while the regularización is designed for people in irregular status. So:

• Common misconception: chats claim temporary protection qualifies for this campaign's "asylum-seeker route." It does not — both DA 20ª and DA 21ª exclude anyone who holds or has held a temporary-protection authorization. Do not file on that basis.
• Your temporary-protection TIE is automatically extended to 4 March 2027 (Orden INT/96/2026) — no separate renewal step is needed. At EU level the protection itself runs until 4 March 2028 (Decision (EU) 2026/1912).
• Moving to ordinary residence (by work, by ordinary arraigo, etc.) for temporary-protection holders goes through a different mechanism — Disposición Adicional Decimonovena of the Regulation (as worded by RD 316/2026), which lets you apply from within Spain for the stay and residence authorizations whose procedure can be started in the country, including arraigo (art. 125) and the authorizations under Ley 14/2013. But it is not an automatic switch: you must meet that authorization's own requirements, and it uses a different form, not this campaign's EX-32.
• What to do in practice: if you plan to move to ordinary/permanent residence, see an immigration lawyer to pick the correct route and form for your case. The 30 June deadline did not apply to you — there was, and is, no need to rush because of it. More detail in the guide from temporary protection to ordinary residence.

How applications worked (reference — the window closed on 30 June 2026)

• Form: EX-32 (arraigo extraordinario, DA 21ª) or EX-31 (asylum applicants, DA 20ª), plus a statistical questionnaire on the applicant's work and education situation — its answers do not affect the decision.
• How to file:
  • Online 24/7 via the Mercurio platform (sede electrónica of the Ministry of Territorial Policy) from 16 April: yourself with an electronic certificate, through a proxy listed in the Registro Electrónico de Apoderamientos, through a lawyer / graduado social / gestor administrativo, or through an organization in the Registro de Colaboradores de Extranjería;
  • In person, by appointment only (cita previa) from 20 April: 371 Correos offices (in provincial capitals and municipalities over 50,000 inhabitants), 60 Seguridad Social offices (at least one per province) and 5 Immigration Offices (Madrid, Alicante, Valencia, Almería, Murcia). Book via the Ministry website (with Cl@ve or a form) or by phone 060; nobody was seen without an appointment. If you ever need an extranjería cita previa for other procedures (NIE, TIE, fingerprints), we cover when slots are released and how to catch one in the guide Cita previa at extranjería.
• Fee: €38.28, modelo 790, code 052 (epígrafe 2.3.1, Orden PJC/617/2025). It becomes due when the file is admitted for processing — the request comes with the admission notice, payment within 10 business days. Without a NIE you cannot pay in advance. Be careful with the code and amount — a mistake can block the file.
• Documents: the form; full copy of the passport, cédula de inscripción or travel document — valid or expired; criminal-record certificates from the countries of residence in the 5 years before entering Spain (if a certificate was requested and not received within 1 month, Anexo I-1 and Anexo I-2 are attached and the administration requests it through diplomatic channels, suspending the procedure for up to 3 months); proof of presence in Spain before 1 January 2026 and of the 5 continuous months; proof of the route (work documents / job offer / self-employment declaration; proof of kinship and cohabitation; Anexo II vulnerability certificate); fee receipt. Foreign documents need a sworn translation and legalization/apostille.
• Effect of filing: from the notice that processing has started (comunicación de inicio de tramitación) the applicant is provisionally allowed to reside and work — employed and self-employed, nationwide, in any sector; if granted, the authorization takes effect from the filing date. A refusal automatically ends the provisional work permission — the employer must be told at once.
• Decision deadline: 3 months from the day after the application is registered with the competent body (Dirección General de Gestión Migratoria); the deadline can be suspended; silence after the deadline counts as a refusal.
• After approval: a 1-year authorization; the TIE is requested in person at the police within 1 month of the notification; in the last 2 months of validity you must apply for a modificación under art. 191 of the Regulation (filing extends the old authorization until the decision); if that is not possible — an exceptional extension of 1 year (active job search or integration report) or 4 years (illness, disability, retirement age).
• Applicants' children: children could be applied for at the same time under art. 159/160 of the Regulation with relaxed requirements — no need to file within 6 months of birth, no 2 years of prior stay, no proof of means and housing, but with proof of the child's 5 months of presence; children's authorization — 5 years.

Where to get help

Don't face this alone — free legal aid is available:

• Ucrania Urgente (Ministry of Inclusion) — official portal for Ukrainians: ucraniaurgente.inclusion.gob.es
• CEAR (Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid) — free legal aid for refugees and migrants: cear.es
• Red Acoge / local Acoge (e.g. Valencia Acoge) — free legal advice by appointment.
• Servicio de Orientación Jurídica (SOJ) of the bar associations — free first immigration consultation.
• UNHCR/ACNUR Spain — acnur.org/es-es