Long-Term Residence in Spain
After 5 years of legal residence in Spain, two different statuses open up, not one: Spanish national long-term residence, which simply confirms the years you've already lived here with no extra conditions, and EU long-term residence, a separate status you have to qualify for with income and insurance, but which comes with mobility across the EU. In practice, if you're not planning to relocate to another EU country, the national status is enough and considerably easier to get.
Contents
- Two different statuses after 5 years
- Spanish long-term residence
- EU long-term residence
- Already hold EU long-term residence from another country?
Two different statuses after 5 years
Under Spanish law, “permanent residence” isn’t one status - it’s two, with different legal foundations:
- National long-term residence (residencia de larga duración) - article 32 of Organic Law 4/2000, detailed in articles 182-185 of RD 1155/2024. This is what people usually mean by “Spanish permanent residence”: confirmation of years already lived in Spain, with no extra income requirement.
- EU long-term residence (residencia de larga duración-UE) - articles 175-178 of RD 1155/2024, transposing EU Council Directive 2003/109/EC. This is a separate status you apply for on its own, requiring proven income and insurance, but granting the right to reside in other EU member states.
The two procedures follow below, separately - conflating them means either meeting requirements you didn’t actually need, or missing out on mobility rights where they’d matter.
Spanish long-term residence
Who qualifies (art. 183.3) - any one of the following grounds is sufficient:
- 5 years of continuous legal residence in Spain;
- receiving a contributory retirement pension or permanent incapacity benefit from Spanish Social Security;
- born in Spain, having turned 18, with at least 3 years of continuous legal residence;
- having previously lost Spanish nationality;
- at least 5 years under the guardianship of a Spanish public institution;
- recognised statelessness, refugee status, or subsidiary protection, whether recognised in Spain or another EU country;
- a significant contribution to Spain’s economic, scientific or cultural progress - granted at the ministry’s own initiative.
Continuity rule: breaks of up to 6 consecutive months are allowed, provided total absences don’t exceed 10 months across the 5 years; work-related absences get a softer cap of up to 18 months; force majeure situations are assessed individually.
What isn’t required - and this is the key difference from most other residence categories: neither income nor health insurance has to be proven as a standalone condition. Legal residence and a clean criminal record in Spain and your countries of residence over the last 5 years are enough.
Documents and filing
- application on form EX-11;
- copy of a valid passport or travel document;
- fee payment receipt (form 790, code 052, section 2.6);
- proof of school enrolment, if the application concerns a minor in your care;
- criminal record certificate, where relevant to your specific qualifying ground;
- documentation supporting the specific ground you’re claiming (for example, work and residence records for pensioners).
Foreign documents need a sworn Spanish translation and apostille or consular legalisation.
Where to file, deadlines, fee
You can file inside Spain - at the Oficina de Extranjería for your province, or electronically via the Mercurio portal - or abroad, through a Spanish consulate. File within 2 months before your current authorisation expires; filing within that window automatically extends your previous status until the decision. The fee is form 790, code 052, section 2.6, payable within 10 working days of the application being admitted. A decision is due within 3 months; if none arrives, positive administrative silence applies.
The TIE card and its renewal
The long-term resident status itself has no expiry and is never renewed - only the physical card is: every 5 years until age 30, every 10 years after that. You apply for the new card within 2 months before the current one expires, which likewise extends its validity until the decision.
EU long-term residence
This is a separate status you apply for on its own (it doesn’t come automatically alongside Spanish long-term residence), and it adds two conditions the national status doesn’t have:
Income: stable, regular income sufficient for yourself and your family - from 150% of monthly IPREM for a two-person household, plus 50% of IPREM per additional family member (the same formula used for family reunification). Softer thresholds can apply where minors are involved.
Health insurance: public or private cover equivalent to what Spanish citizens are entitled to, with an insurer authorised in Spain.
Alternative route for EU Blue Card holders: if you’ve accumulated 5 years of residence across EU states under an EU Blue Card, a national highly-skilled-worker permit, a researcher authorisation, or international protection status (study/training periods count at 50%), with the last 2 years spent directly in Spain under a Blue Card, a faster path to this status applies to you.
Documents, procedure and fee
- signed application on form EX-11;
- fee payment receipt;
- copy of a valid passport, travel document, or registration card;
- documentation of prior residence in other EU states, if applying via the Blue Card or international protection route;
- proof of income and health insurance;
- criminal record certificate covering Spain and your countries of residence over the last 5 years.
File inside Spain (Oficina de Extranjería for your province, or electronically via Mercurio) or through a consulate abroad. The fee is form 790, code 052, section 2.6, payable within 10 working days of admission. A decision is due within 3 months; administrative silence counts as approval.
Why bother if you’re not planning to relocate: usually you shouldn’t - Spanish national long-term residence is enough to live and work in Spain on equal footing with citizens. The one real advantage of EU long-term residence is the right to relocate and apply for residence in another EU country under that country’s own rules, without starting the immigration process from scratch as a third-country national.
Already hold EU long-term residence from another country?
If another EU country has already granted you EU long-term resident status and you want to relocate to Spain as a resident, that’s a separate, standalone procedure - not a fresh application from zero:
- you confirm your existing EU long-term resident status with documentation from the country that granted it;
- income - the bar here is higher than the standard EU status: roughly 400% of monthly IPREM (about €2,400/month in 2026), plus health insurance, or a valid Spanish employment contract instead;
- you can apply from inside Spain (within 3 months of entry) or from abroad through a consulate before entering;
- a decision is due within 2 months; if you applied from abroad and it’s approved, you have 3 months to enter Spain;
- once approved, you have 1 month to apply for the TIE card, issued for 5 years.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Spanish long-term residence and EU long-term residence?
Spanish long-term residence (larga duración) simply recognises a fact: you've lived in Spain legally for 5 years, full stop - no income or insurance test. EU long-term residence (larga duración-UE) is a separate status under Directive 2003/109/EC: you have to prove stable income (from 150% of monthly IPREM for two people) and health insurance, but in exchange you get the right to relocate as a resident to another EU country under that country's own rules.
I don't plan to leave Spain - why would I bother with EU long-term residence?
Usually you wouldn't - Spanish long-term residence is fully sufficient to live and work in Spain on equal terms with citizens. EU long-term residence only makes sense if you're actually considering relocating as a resident to another EU country - that's its only real advantage.
Do I need to renew long-term residence every few years?
The status itself has no expiry and is never renewed. Only the physical TIE card is renewed: every 5 years until age 30, every 10 years after that. You file for the new card within 2 months before the current one expires.
Does the 5-year count require continuous physical presence?
You're allowed breaks of up to 6 consecutive months, provided total absences don't exceed 10 months across the full 5 years. Work-related absences get a softer cap - up to 18 months across the period. Force majeure situations (illness and similar) are assessed individually.
I already hold EU long-term resident status granted by another EU country - what do I need to move to Spain?
A separate procedure, not a fresh application: you confirm your existing status with documentation from the other EU country and prove income - the bar here is higher, around 400% of monthly IPREM (roughly €2,400/month in 2026) - or show an employment contract. The decision takes 2 months; if you applied from abroad and it's approved, you must enter Spain within 3 months.