LumenHow long does Spain take to decide a long-term residence application, and what happens next?
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Spanish law gives the immigration office three months from receiving your long-term residence application to decide and notify you. If it doesn't, the application counts as granted. After the grant you must ask in person for your foreigner identity card (TIE) within one month. The card is renewed every five years, then every ten from age 30.
Key facts
| What | The law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline to decide | Three months from the application entering the register of the competent body (EU status) or from receiving it (national status) | Real Decreto 1155/2024, arts. 177.6 and 184.6 |
| No answer by the deadline | The application is deemed granted (positive administrative silence) | Real Decreto 1155/2024, arts. 177.6 and 184.6 |
| While you wait | Applying in the two months before your permit expires, or within three months after, extends it until the decision | Real Decreto 1155/2024, arts. 177.2 and 184.2 |
| After the grant | Apply in person for the TIE card within one month of notification | Real Decreto 1155/2024, arts. 177.7 and 184.7 |
| Card on EU status | Shows “Residente de larga duración-UE” | Real Decreto 1155/2024, art. 177.7 |
| Card renewal | After 5 years; then every 5 years until age 30, every 10 years after | Real Decreto 1155/2024, arts. 178.1 and 185.1 |
| When to renew the card | In the two months before it expires (or within three months after) | Real Decreto 1155/2024, arts. 178.2 and 185.2 |
Three months, and silence means yes
The regulation says the competent body must decide and notify within three months, and that once that time passes the application is deemed granted (Real Decreto 1155/2024, arts. 177.6 for the EU status and 184.6 for the national status).
Your current permit while you wait
If you apply in the two months before your current permit expires, it stays valid until the decision. It is also extended if you apply within three months after it expired, but the regulation says a sanction procedure may still be opened for the late application (arts. 177.2 and 184.2).
The card
Once granted, you must ask in person for your foreigner identity card (tarjeta de identidad de extranjero, TIE) within one month of being notified: at the police station or the immigration office for the EU status (art. 177.7), and in person for the national status (art. 184.7).
The status is indefinite, but the card isn’t. You renew the card for the first time after five years, then every five years until you turn 30, and every ten years after that. Apply in the two months before the card expires; applying then keeps the old card valid until the decision, and so does applying within three months after it expires (arts. 178 and 185). The documents are your passport, the fee receipt and a photo.
If you forget to renew the card
Missing the card renewal never, by itself, ends your long-term residence. For the EU status, the regulation says breaking the card rules is subject to the sanctions in Ley Orgánica 4/2000 (art. 178.3). For the national status, the immigration office checks that you still meet the conditions that gave you the status (art. 185.3).
Sources
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