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.
Ukrainian temporary protection (protección temporal) is a legal but temporary status. The TIE cards under it have been extended to 4 March 2027; in August 2026 the EU officially extended the protection itself for another year, to 4 March 2028 (the Spanish TIE card is still tied to the earlier date). The status stays temporary, so it makes sense for many people to think in advance about moving to regular residence, which does not depend on temporary protection being extended. This guide is about how that transition works in 2026: under the Regulation as amended by RD 316/2026 and the Secretaría de Estado de Migraciones instructions SEM 2/2026 of 22 June 2026.
The key point in one paragraph
Your TIE is automatically valid until 4 March 2027 — you don't need to do anything for that. At the same time, Disposición Adicional 19ª of the Immigration Regulation allows you, without leaving Spain, to apply for regular residence permits — for work, self-employment, arraigo, family routes and so on. But this is not an automatic transition: for each permit you have to meet its own conditions. And once the new permit is granted, you must renounce temporary protection in writing (SEM 2/2026 instruction, SÉPTIMA).
The temporary protection status right now
Temporary protection is the legal status of Ukrainians in Spain, extended at EU level until 4 March 2028, while the Spanish TIE card itself remains automatically valid until 4 March 2027. You do not need to obtain a new card or file a separate application; as of 25 September 2026 no separate Spanish order extending the cards themselves to 2028 has been issued.
- TIE cards have been automatically extended to 4 March 2027 (Orden INT/96/2026, art. único: «se prorroga hasta el 4 de marzo de 2027 la validez de las tarjetas»). You do not need to obtain a new card or file a separate application. This is the date in force right now for the TIE card itself. The current protection period at EU level runs to 4 March 2027 under Decision 2025/1460.
- What happens after March 2027. The EU Council adopted 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 for another year, until 4 March 2028 (art. 1). The extension itself applies from 5 March 2027 (art. 3). For Spain, the separate Orden INT extending the TIE cards themselves to 2028 has not been issued as of 25 September 2026: in 2025 and 2026 those orders came out in February (Orden INT/195/2025, Orden INT/96/2026). So the physical card still shows 4 March 2027, while the right to protection under the EU decision already runs until 4 March 2028. Keep track of the BOE and the Ucrania Urgente portal.
If you are already here, the new condition does not apply to you
Decision (EU) 2026/1912 added a new condition for new applicants (art. 2): protection is granted only to those who satisfy their military obligations in Ukraine, presenting proof where applicable. The start date: under art. 3 of the decision (as corrected by DOUE-L-2026-81267), from 5 August 2026; according to the Ucrania Urgente page, «a partir de agosto de 2026». The European Commission published an FAQ on the verification in August 2026; as of 25 September 2026 no Spanish list of accepted documents has been published. The condition does not apply to people who already held temporary protection in Spain on 4 August 2026 or earlier and continuously retain it here (art. 2, second paragraph) — it does not extend to people already registered under temporary protection in Spain. The text of the decision contains no age bracket — the wording is «irrespective of their age or gender» (recital 20); claims like "men 23-60" in media and Telegram channels do not match the text of the decision. More in the guide on applying for temporary protection.
Temporary protection is not forever
Don't put off the move to regular residence "for later". Filing, the appointment and processing take months: the general period (disposición adicional séptima of the Regulation) allows up to 3 months to decide, and for both the art. 191 modification and arraigo silence after the deadline means REFUSAL (silencio negativo: disposición adicional octava; Hojas informativas 55 y 28), not "still pending": you need to check the status or appeal. The extension to March 2028 is adopted, but in the same decision the EU Council asks states to «accelerate, in a coordinated manner, the transition of persons enjoying temporary protection to other legal statuses» (recital 21) — a temporary status stays temporary, and relying on further extensions alone is risky.
The legal "door": Disposición Adicional 19ª
Disposición Adicional 19ª is the provision of Spain's Immigration Regulation that lets temporary protection holders apply for ordinary residence permits — through work, self-employment, arraigo or other routes — without leaving Spain and without losing their current status. It is not an automatic conversion: you must meet the specific permit's requirements like any other applicant.
The key mechanism is Disposición Adicional Decimonovena (19ª) of the Immigration Regulation (RD 1155/2024) as amended by RD 316/2026 (BOE of 15 April 2026, in force since 16 April 2026). It says that holders of a temporary protection permit (Decisión UE 2022/382) «podrán solicitar las autorizaciones de estancia y residencia cuyo procedimiento pueda iniciarse desde territorio nacional previstas en este Reglamento, siguiendo los procedimientos previstos en el mismo, incluidas las contempladas en el artículo 125 y en la Ley 14/2013» — that is, without leaving the country and without losing your current status until it ends. Until April 2026 this provision only promised a separate order on the "pasarela" that never came (Orden INT/96/2026 acknowledged this expressly in February 2026).
How to apply it is explained by the Instrucciones SEM 2/2026 of the Secretaría de Estado de Migraciones (signed 22 June 2026): seven instructions — modification under art. 191 (PRIMERA), arraigo (SEGUNDA), children (TERCERA), students (CUARTA), the remaining permits and family of Spanish citizens (QUINTA), larga duración (SEXTA), renouncing protection after obtaining the new permit (SÉPTIMA). It is an administrative instruction, not a law: it binds the offices, but no court has reviewed it.
It is important to understand: this is an open door, not an automatic grant. You file an application for a specific permit and must meet its requirements on equal footing with any other applicant.
What pathways are available
Temporary protection holders can apply for the main ordinary permits: employed work and self-employment through the art. 191 modification, arraigo in its five forms, family routes, studies, and flexibilities for children. Each pathway has its own conditions and its own form; confirm the exact list of documents for your case at the Oficina de Extranjería.
Below are the main regular permits that a temporary protection holder can apply for through D.A. 19ª. Confirm the exact form and list of documents for your case at the Oficina de Extranjería.
- Employed work or self-employment: modification under art. 191 (instruction PRIMERA). The instruction lifts only the bar in art. 191.7 (for «desplazados conforme a la normativa sobre protección temporal»); all other art. 191 requirements remain. Which paragraph applies depends on the length of residence: less than a year with a permit — art. 191.2, all art. 74 requirements including the situación nacional de empleo (an offer from the catálogo de ocupaciones de difícil cobertura or proof that the vacancy cannot be filled from the domestic market), new permit for 1 year; a year or more, with a permit that already allowed work (temporary protection does — Orden PCM/169/2022, art. 5.1) — art. 191.3: the requirements of art. 80 (cuenta ajena: a current contract with alta, or at least 3 months of work in the year plus a new contract, or 9 months of alta in 12, or a benefit, or a relative with means for reagrupación) or art. 86 (cuenta propia), new permit for 4 years. The form is EX-26 in both cases (Hoja informativa 55). How offices read the "year of residence" for protection holders the instruction does not specify — confirm at your office.
- Self-employment (cuenta propia): is a business plan needed? The primary sources do not settle it. Under arts. 191.3 and 86.3 of RD 1155/2024 you must show the requirements for an initial permit, including art. 84 c): that the planned investment in the project is sufficient (in practice, a business plan). But Hoja informativa 55 (updated August 2025, before the instruction) does not list it among the cuenta propia documents, and SEM 2/2026 does not address the point. Check with your Oficina de Extranjería and have one ready.
- Arraigo (instruction SEGUNDA). Under art. 125 of the Regulation there are five types: de segunda oportunidad, sociolaboral, social, socioformativo, familiar (the old names "laboral" and "para la formación" do not exist in RD 1155/2024). Permit duration: 1 year; for arraigo familiar, 5 years. The instruction waives the requirement of art. 126.h (not holding another permit — otherwise a protection holder could not apply at all) and counts time on temporary protection «a todos los efectos» toward the 2 years of continuous stay (art. 126.b); arraigo familiar requires no minimum stay. The form is EX-10 (Hoja informativa 28).
- Family pathways. Three different regimes: family member of a Spanish citizen — residencia temporal de familiares de personas con nacionalidad española (capítulo VII título IV, arts. 93–99; Hoja 18), which instruction QUINTA names expressly; family member of a citizen of another EU country — the RD 240/2007 regime (art. 2); joining a relative who is a resident of Spain — reagrupación familiar (arts. 65–71), where the applicant is the resident, not you. On 8 July 2026 the Supreme Court struck from the Spanish-family regime the requirement that a parent's relationship with a Spanish child be «constituida conforme al ordenamiento jurídico español» (art. 94.1.f) and the automatic refusal for criminal records without individual assessment (arts. 97.4 y 98.1).
- Studies (instruction CUARTA). Students who qualify under art. 191 file the modification under instruction PRIMERA. Those who do not: arraigo socioformativo (art. 125.1.d) without the requirements of art. 126.h and art. 127.d, proving one of the activities in art. 52.1 (higher education, post-compulsory secondary, language courses, professional certificates of levels 2 and 3, etc.) and its continuation at renewal. The separate autorización de estancia por estudios (arts. 52–54) can also be filed from Spain by a residence-permit holder, but it is estancia, not residencia.
- Children (instruction TERCERA). A child born in Spain: art. 159; the 6-month filing deadline starts only when a parent obtains a permit other than temporary protection. A child not born in Spain, or under guardianship: art. 160 without the 2-year prior-residence requirement and without proof of means or housing. In both cases you can file even if neither parent has changed status yet (point 3). The instruction still says «solteras», but on 8 July 2026 the Supreme Court annulled the word «solteros/solteras» in arts. 159.1 y 160.1 (BOE 22 September 2026). More in the guides on a child born in Spain and one born outside Spain.
- Permits under Ley 14/2013 (highly qualified professionals, entrepreneurs, digital nomads, etc.): DA 19ª and instruction QUINTA open these too, if the procedure starts on Spanish territory. This guide does not cover them.
If you are unsure which arraigo route is structurally closest to your situation, the arraigo route orientation quiz can give you a first sense of direction — it orients, it does not assess your eligibility, and it does not replace the requirements of each permit.
Does time on TP count toward arraigo
Yes. SEM 2/2026 instruction (SEGUNDA, point 2): the time temporary protection holders have spent in Spain «se computará, a todos los efectos, para el cumplimiento del período de dos años de permanencia continuada» under art. 126.b. This is the favourable position of an administrative instruction, not of a law or a court — check it with an immigration lawyer for your specific case.
Permanent residence and nationality
Residencia de larga duración is permanent residence after five years of continuous legal residence. For the national Spanish larga duración the SEM 2/2026 instruction counts time on temporary protection in full; for the EU-wide larga duración-UE neither the instruction, nor the Regulation, nor Directive 2003/109 says anything about counting it. For nationality (ten years for Ukrainians) there is no official answer either — consult a lawyer.
This is the most important and often misunderstood part.
- Residencia de larga duración nacional (arts. 182–184 RD 1155/2024) is granted after 5 years of legal continuous residence. The SEM 2/2026 instruction (SEXTA) says so expressly: time with a temporary-protection permit «computará íntegramente a efectos del cumplimiento del plazo de cinco años», and is added to the time on the new permit. A plus of this route: under art. 184.6, silence for 3 months means approval (silencio positivo). This is an instruction, not a law — don't treat the counting as an absolute guarantee.
- Residencia de larga duración-UE (arts. 175–177) is the Directive 2003/109 status with EU-wide mobility. Nobody has promised the counting here: instruction SEXTA speaks only of the national larga duración; art. 176 lists special counting rules (studies at 50 %, international protection at 100 % from the application date) and is silent on temporary protection; the Directive itself does not apply to people while they are on temporary protection (art. 3.2.b) and expressly excludes from the count only temporary grounds such as au pair and seasonal work (art. 4.2). Whether time already spent on protection counts toward the 5 years for the larga duración-UE, no official text says — treat the question as open and check with the office.
- Spanish nationality — under art. 22 of the Código Civil the general term is 10 years of legal, continuous residence immediately before the application; 5 years only for those who obtained refugee status (temporary protection is not that); 2 years for nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal and Sephardic Jews; Ukraine is not on the list. Temporary protection grants a residence authorisation (Orden PCM/169/2022, art. 5.1; RD 1325/2003, art. 16), but no official text says whether that time counts toward the 10 years, and SEM 2/2026 is silent on nationality. Don't build your plan on it without consulting a lawyer.
Short takeaway on the timelines
For arraigo (2 years) and the national larga duración (5 years), time on TP counts under SEM 2/2026. For the larga duración-UE and nationality there is no official answer. Either way, moving to regular residence sooner starts an undisputed term accumulating.
How to apply
- Where: the Oficina de Extranjería for your province of residence — in person or electronically through the Mercurio platform on the Sede Electrónica (Hojas informativas 55 y 28 name both routes). The obligation to file certain applications electronically only (art. 197.2 of the Regulation) was voided in full by the Supreme Court: the judgment of 8 July 2026 (868/2026), reiterated by the judgment of 29 July 2026, both published in the BOE on 22 September 2026 — from that date the rule no longer applies. Caveats: art. 197.1 still treats personal appearance as satisfied by electronic filing too, offices may in practice still direct you to the Sede Electrónica, and the court left the government free to reimpose the electronic obligation for specific categories if it justifies doing so.
- Appointment (cita previa): required for filing in person, arranged through the Ministry's website; for electronic filing via Mercurio no appointment is needed. Slots are released in batches and go within minutes — see our guide “Cita previa at extranjería: NIE and TIE” for when to catch them and how to book for free.
- Documents (approximately): a valid passport and your TIE under temporary protection; a criminal record certificate only if your pathway requires one (mandatory for arraigo, art. 130.2 RD 1155/2024, covering the 5 years before entry into Spain, unless you have lived in Spain continuously for the 5 years before applying, art. 130.2 1º; for a modification under art. 191 the Regulation does not require a foreign certificate, because the office checks Spanish records itself, arts. 74.1 h) and 84 e), and on the art. 191.3 route arts. 80 and 86.5); proof of fee payment; plus documents for the chosen pathway (employment contract / business plan / enrolment / proof of family relationship). Foreign documents need a sworn translation and an apostille (Hoja 55).
- Fees: modelo 790 código 052 — for the art. 191 modification epígrafe 2.5.2 (paid by the worker; for cuenta ajena the employer additionally pays código 062, epígrafe 3.2.2), for arraigo epígrafe 2.3.1 (Hojas 55 y 28). Amounts are in Orden PJC/617/2025 and on the form.
- Deadlines: 3 months to decide; for art. 191 and arraigo silence means refusal, for larga duración it means approval (see above).
- After approval: the TIE is requested in person at the police station within 1 month — for art. 191 from the alta in Seguridad Social (Hoja 55), for arraigo from the notification (art. 130.6). This is the moment when the receipt for renouncing temporary protection is needed — see below.
- Confirm the exact set and the EX- form at the Oficina de Extranjería or with a lawyer — they depend on the chosen permit.
New permit granted: renounce temporary protection
SEM 2/2026 instruction (SÉPTIMA): those who obtain a new permit «deberán renunciar expresamente a la protección temporal» under art. 24.1.d RD 1325/2003 and art. 9 Orden PCM/169/2022, and when requesting the TIE for the new permit must present the «resguardo acreditativo de la solicitud de renuncia expresa». Procedure: fill in the renunciation form and file it through a registro, paper or electronic (Ucrania Urgente, FAQ, point 4.2); the OAR does not reply to these filings, the proof is the receipt from the registro or the police station (point 4.3). The renunciation is filed after the favourable decision, not before: filing the application does not cancel temporary protection. The old TIE must be handed in after renouncing (Orden INT/96/2026, preamble).
What to watch out for
- The 2026 mass regularization (RD 316/2026) was not for you. DA 21ª of the Regulation required «no ser ni haber sido titular» of a temporary-protection permit (point 1.c), and the filing window closed on 30 June 2026 (point 6). Your pathway is through D.A. 19ª, not EX-32. More detail in the guide on the 2026 regularización.
- Don't wait for the "last day". It is better to start the transition in advance, while temporary protection is still valid.
- Filing from within Spain does not equal automatic approval. If the requirements of the specific permit are not met, a refusal is possible.
- A common mistake: assuming temporary protection will "by itself" turn into permanent residence. It won't — you must actively apply for an ordinary permit (DA 19ª) and, after approval, renounce protection in writing. Whether TP time counts toward the larga duración-UE and toward nationality is an open question (see above) — don't treat it as automatic.
- A reform of the law is under way, but changes nothing yet. On 25 August 2026 the Council of Ministers approved at first reading the anteproyecto de ley orgánica amending LO 4/2000 — adaptation to the European Pact on Migration and Asylum (border screening, border procedure), not the rules for moving on from temporary protection. It is a draft, not a law; it does not affect the routes described here.
- To weigh whether to change status now or wait, see the guide "Change status or wait?".
Where to get help
These questions are complex and individual — there is free legal assistance available:
- Ucrania Urgente (Ministry of Inclusion) — the official portal for Ukrainians: ucraniaurgente.inclusion.gob.es (as of 25 September 2026 the SEM 2/2026 instruction itself is not published there but in the «Instrucciones» section of inclusion.gob.es)
- CEAR (Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado) — cear.es
- ACCEM — legal support for migrants and refugees: accem.es
- ACNUR/UNHCR España — the Asistencia Legal section: help.unhcr.org/spain
- Servicio de Orientación Jurídica (SOJ) of your province's bar association — free initial consultation.
Check that information is current and seek advice
This is informational material, not legal advice. Each case is individual, and conditions, deadlines and forms may change. Before filing, verify against official sources (BOE, inclusion.gob.es) and consult an immigration lawyer or a free NGO. Facts checked against primary sources: September 2026.