Temporary Protection for Ukrainians in Spain

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Temporary protection remains the fastest legal status for people displaced from Ukraine: a decision within days, the right to live and work in Spain, and validity extended to 4 March 2027. The big 2026 development is Instruction SEM 2/2026, which formally opened the transition from protection to regular residence permits without leaving Spain. On 15 July 2026 EU countries agreed a further extension to 4 March 2028; the formal decision and Spain's implementing order are expected in the coming weeks.

Contents

• What temporary protection gives
• Who qualifies
• How to apply
• Extension and current programme status
• Switching from protection to a regular permit

What temporary protection gives

Temporary protection is the EU’s emergency mechanism under Directive 2001/55/EC, activated on 4 March 2022 by Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382. In Spain the status carries a residence and work permit for as long as the protection lasts: beneficiaries can take up employment or work self-employed as an autónomo with no additional authorisations. It also opens access to the public healthcare system, schooling for children under 18 on the same terms as Spanish nationals, and the state reception system (sistema de acogida) for families without means. The beneficiary’s TIE card is also valid for Schengen travel within the standard 90 days in any 180-day period.

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Who qualifies

Spain applied the protection more broadly than the EU minimum required. The status is open to:

• Ukrainian nationals who lived in Ukraine before 24 February 2022, and their family members (spouses and partners, unmarried minor children, and dependent close relatives who lived as part of the household);
• Ukrainian nationals who were in Spain before 24 February 2022, whether legally (for example, as tourists) or without status, and who cannot return because of the war;
• third-country nationals and stateless persons who resided legally in Ukraine (permanently or, for example, as students) or held international protection there, if they cannot safely return to their country of origin.

Applications are still being accepted: new arrivals can request protection up to 4 March 2027 (and, given the agreed extension, effectively until at least March 2028). One important detail: under the terms agreed on 15 July 2026, first-time applicants who apply after the new decision takes effect will need to show they have fulfilled their military service obligations under Ukrainian law. This does not affect people who already hold the status.

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How to apply

Applications are filed in person with the National Police: at the CREADE reception centres (Madrid - Pozuelo de Alarcón, Málaga, Barcelona, Torrevieja) or at designated police stations in your province - in Asturias, the Gijón and Oviedo comisarías. You will need an identity document (passport or ID card) and, if applying as a family member, documents proving the family link.

At filing, fingerprints are taken, an NIE is assigned, and you receive a resguardo - a filing receipt that already legalises your stay. The decision is normally ready within 24-48 hours and can be downloaded from the Interior Ministry website. Once granted, you apply for the TIE card.

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Extension and current programme status

By Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1460 of 15 July 2025, the EU Council extended temporary protection for another year, to 4 March 2027. Spain synchronised the paperwork through Order INT/96/2026 of 12 February 2026: the validity of all previously issued beneficiary TIE cards was extended automatically to the same date. There is no need to request a new card - the existing one remains valid even where the printed expiry date has passed. The extension has been notified to the EU institutions, so the card is recognised at other Schengen borders too.

The new extension to 2028. On 15 July 2026, EU member states’ permanent representatives agreed, at Council level, to extend temporary protection by a further year, to 4 March 2028. The decision affects roughly 4.38 million people under temporary protection across the EU as of the end of May 2026. The Council still needs to formally adopt the decision in the coming weeks, after which it will be published in the EU Official Journal and enter into force the following day; Spain is then expected to issue its own Interior Ministry order extending TIE card validity, following the pattern of Orden INT/96/2026. Until that publication, the legally confirmed deadline remains 4 March 2027 - but given the agreed extension, it is sensible to plan on a horizon of at least March 2028.

Alongside the extension, a new condition was agreed that applies only to new applicants: from now on, temporary protection will be granted only to those who have fulfilled their military service obligations under Ukrainian law. This restriction does not affect people who already hold temporary protection in the EU - their status continues without additional conditions.

The practical takeaway: there is no reason to panic about an “expiring” status - there is time, and the extension to 2028 has already been agreed at EU level. But the status is temporary and politically determined by design, and it makes sense to prepare a strategy for the period after 2028 well in advance.

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Switching from protection to a regular permit

This is the headline change of 2026. The 19th additional provision of Regulation RD 1155/2024 (as amended by RD 316/2026) allows protection beneficiaries to apply for other stay and residence permits from within Spain, without a visa or exit. Instruction SEM 2/2026 of 22 June 2026 mapped out the routes in detail:

• Work permit (art. 191 of the Regulation). A direct modificación to a residence and work permit for those employed under a contract or active as an autónomo. The art. 191.7 restriction does not apply to protection beneficiaries.
• Arraigo (art. 125). You can apply while still holding protection, and - crucially - time under protection counts in full towards the required 2 years of presence. That opens up all arraigo types: social, socio-labour, and socioformativo for those in training.
• Children. Minors (whether born in Spain or not) can access the permits under arts. 159-160 with significant relaxations: no 2-year prior residence requirement, and under art. 160 no proof of means or housing. Applications can be filed even before the parents change their own status.
• Family routes. Residence as a family member of a Spanish citizen, where such a link exists.
• Ley 14/2013 permits for matching profiles (digital nomad, entrepreneur).
• National long-term residence. Instruction six formally allows direct access from protection, and time under protection counts in full towards the 5 years of continuous legal residence. But the general requirements of the long-term residence chapter still apply - including continuity of residence and absence limits, which matters for those who travelled back to Ukraine. And the arithmetic: the earliest beneficiaries (March 2022) complete 5 years only around March 2027, right at the protection deadline. So for most people the realistic scenario is to move to another permit first, with the periods under protection and under the new permit adding up.

Two warnings. First, the transition is not automatic - every permit has its own requirements (contract, means, criminal record certificate and so on), and the route should be chosen based on the evidence you can actually produce. Second, never renounce temporary protection before the new permit is approved. Under the Instruction, the renunciation is formalised after the new residence is granted, and the renunciation receipt is presented when applying for the new TIE card.

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Author Aleksandr Nazarov