Residence on exceptional circumstances (residencia temporal por circunstancias excepcionales) is not a single ground but a whole title of the immigration regulation: it covers five kinds of arraigo, humanitarian grounds, cooperation with the authorities and protection for victims of violence and trafficking. They share one feature: the permit is applied for from inside Spain and no visa is required. Most permits are granted for a year, protection-based ones for five, and almost all of them allow employed and self-employed work.
Below: the full list of grounds with their duration, which of them are genuinely useful to someone with money — above all the “second chance” after a failed renewal and article 128.4 when travelling home for a visa is dangerous — how the application is filed and what it costs, renewal and the switch to an ordinary permit, and how many of these permits are issued each year. The five kinds of arraigo are covered in detail in residence through arraigo, and training arraigo in arraigo socioformativo.
The full list of grounds
| Ground | Who it is for | Term | Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arraigo: second chance (art. 127.a) | Those who held a permit that was not renewed | 1 year | yes |
| Arraigo sociolaboral | With an employment contract and 2 years in Spain | 1 year | yes |
| Arraigo social | With means or a contract and social ties | 1 year | yes |
| Arraigo socioformativo | With enrolment on a course | 1 year | up to 30 hours a week |
| Arraigo familiar | Parents of a Spanish child and family members of a Spaniard | 5 years | yes |
| Humanitarian grounds (art. 128) | Refusal of international protection under specific provisions, temporary protection, victims of certain offences, serious illness, danger in travelling for a visa | 1 year | yes |
| Cooperation and public interest (art. 129) | Those helping the police, the tax agency or the courts; a separate paragraph covers six months of work without a permit | 1 year | yes |
| Victims of gender violence (art. 133–136) | With a judgment or a protection order | 5 years | yes |
| Victims of sexual violence (art. 137–141) | A new chapter of the 2024 regulation | 5 years | yes |
| Cooperation against organised networks (art. 142–147) | Witnesses and informants | 5 years | yes |
| Victims of human trafficking (art. 148–155) | After a reflection period of at least 90 days | 5 years | yes |
| Former unaccompanied minors (art. 174) | Those who were in state care | 2 years | yes |
The general requirements for arraigo are in article 126 of the regulation: two years of continuous presence in Spain (no period is required for family arraigo), not being an applicant for international protection, and a criminal record certificate covering the five years before entry. Since 16 April 2026 there is also an express ban on filing several applications on exceptional circumstances at once. Absences over the two years must not exceed 90 days in total.
What works if you have money
This title is usually read as a route for people who lost their papers. In practice two grounds are useful to a wealthy applicant as well:
- The “second chance” (art. 127.a). This is insurance against a failed renewal. If a permit — say the digital nomad visa or the non-lucrative permit — was not renewed and you have already lived in Spain for two years, you can apply through arraigo, and there is no income or employment requirement here. In 2025 only 697 permits were granted on this ground: few people know about it.
- Article 128.4: a permit without leaving for a visa. If the requirements of an ordinary ground are met but travelling to your country of nationality for the visa would put you at risk, the permit can be obtained in Spain. This is the rule for those who cannot fly home for a visa.
Both routes need careful preparation: the application takes three months, and here silence means refusal, not approval. What to do about a refusal and how it is appealed is covered in refusal of a Spanish residence permit; cancellation is covered in cancellation of a residence permit.
What humanitarian grounds and cooperation actually cover
Two articles of the regulation cover cases that fit neither arraigo nor the ordinary grounds.
- Article 128 — humanitarian grounds. These include refusal of international protection under specific provisions of Act 12/2009 but with leave to remain; beneficiaries of temporary protection; victims of offences against workers’ rights and of hate and discrimination offences; people with a serious illness who need treatment in Spain; and a separate paragraph for cases where travelling to the country of nationality for a visa creates a danger.
- Article 129 — cooperation and public interest. A permit is granted to those who assist administrative bodies, the police, the tax agency or the courts, and on grounds of national security and public interest. A separate paragraph covers six months of work without a permit: for it, neither the two years of presence nor a clean criminal record certificate are required, since the requirements of article 126 do not apply.
- Protection grounds — gender and sexual violence, cooperation against organised networks, human trafficking — are granted for five years and allow work. In a trafficking case a reflection period of at least 90 days precedes the application, during which no removal takes place.
How the application is filed and what it costs
- Where. At the immigration office of your province of residence, in person or electronically through Mercurio; the filing process is covered in Mercurio.
- Form. EX-10 for exceptional circumstances.
- Fee. Form 790, code 052: €38.28 for arraigo and most grounds, €10.94 for protection cases, €16.40 for a renewal and €10.94 for a change of ground (rates under Order PJC/617/2025).
- Time limit. Three months, and in this procedure silence means refusal. You have 15 days to correct an application.
- The card. Once granted, the foreigner’s card is applied for within a month — the process is in the TIE guide.
- The criminal record certificate must cover the countries you lived in during the five years before entry — how to obtain and apostille it is in the criminal record certificate guide.
- Applicants for international protection cannot use arraigo: the protection claim has to be withdrawn first. The exception is cooperation with the authorities under article 129.2.
Renewal and the switch to an ordinary permit
- Renewal is applied for two months before expiry or within three months after it. For the second chance and for work-based and social arraigo, renewal requires active job-seeking; since 2026 there are exceptions for illness, disability and pension age.
- Change of ground (modificación). If the permit ran for less than a year, the switch follows the general requirements and gives one year; if it ran for a year or more and allowed work, the switch under article 80 of the regulation gives four years straight away.
- Not from every ground. The switch is unavailable from the protection chapters (violence, trafficking, networks) and from certain paragraphs of the humanitarian grounds.
- Long-term residence comes after five years of lawful residence, and years spent on exceptional circumstances count towards it.
This title is not an alternative to the ordinary grounds but a safety net and a route for those already in the country. If you are choosing how to move, see all the ways to get Spanish residence.
Why applications are refused
- A break in presence. Arraigo counts two continuous years, and absences of more than 90 days in total break the calculation. Keep documentary proof of your trips.
- Applying while claiming protection. While an international protection claim is pending, arraigo is unavailable: first withdraw the claim, then apply.
- Several applications at once. Since 16 April 2026 the regulation expressly bans parallel applications on exceptional circumstances: an extra application does not improve the odds, it gets in the way.
- A certificate from the wrong countries. You need the countries you lived in during the five years before entry, not only your country of nationality.
- A missed request for documents. You get 15 days to respond, and the notice arrives electronically: an unopened notification counts as served after ten calendar days. How those deadlines work is covered in sede electrónica in Spain.
- Waiting for an answer. After three months, silence means refusal, and the appeal period starts running from that point.
How many of these permits are issued
According to the migration statistics for 2025 (Ministerio de Inclusión):
| Ground | Granted in 2025 |
|---|---|
| All kinds of arraigo | 221,802 (17% of all residence permits granted) |
| — family | 80,258 |
| — social | 53,740 |
| — through education | 53,331 |
| — work-based | 21,921 |
| — training (socioformativo) | 9,083 |
| — second chance | 697 |
| All residence permits granted in 2025 | 1,577,842 |
The one-off regularisation of 2026 deserves a separate note: applications closed on 30 June 2026, with about 1.17 million filed. It is no longer possible to apply through it, leaving the ordinary grounds of this title. The procedure itself is covered in the simplified regularisation of migrants. Ukrainians with temporary protection have their own route — switching from temporary protection and the guide to Ukrainians in Spain.
Frequently asked questions
What is residence on exceptional circumstances?
It is a group of grounds in title VII of Regulation 1155/2024: five kinds of arraigo, humanitarian grounds, cooperation with the authorities and protection for victims of violence and trafficking. The application is filed in Spain and no visa is required.
Do I need a visa for this permit?
No. Under the express provision of the immigration act, no visa is required for these grounds: the permit is applied for while you are in the country.
Can I work on this permit?
Yes, on almost all of them: employed and self-employed work without restriction. The exceptions are applicants below working age and training arraigo, where work is limited to 30 hours a week.
What if my ordinary permit was not renewed?
Check the “second chance” arraigo: it is designed precisely for those whose permit was not renewed, and it requires neither income nor an employment contract. In 2025 it produced 697 permits.
How long does the application take?
Three months. In this procedure the authority’s silence means refusal, so you have to wait for the answer and watch your electronic notifications.
How much is the fee?
€38.28 on form 790, code 052, for arraigo and most grounds; €10.94 for protection cases, €16.40 for a renewal and €10.94 for a change of ground.
Can I file several applications on different grounds?
No. Since 16 April 2026 the regulation expressly prohibits parallel applications on exceptional circumstances.
Can I switch to an ordinary permit later?
Yes, except from the protection grounds and some humanitarian ones. If the permit ran for a year or more and allowed work, the switch is granted for four years at once.
