There are two different situations that are really common but with the same result: cases in which our immigration applicaiton has been filed or “archivado” and you don’t know what to do to continue with the application, and situations in which you want to desist and cancel the process voluntarily.
If you want to know the solution to both situations and how to proceed in each case… Read on!
Generally speaking, the fact that your immigration application is on file or “archivado” means that the administration has asked you for a series of missing documents or requirements, and you have not provided them within the established period.
Thus, the State Secretariat understands that if you have not provided the requested documents, you were actually not interested in continuing with the application, and therefore have given up.
As a consequence, your file is closed.
There is no denying that this status is one of the most common possible ones when checking your application file online.
There are two different ways to end up with an archived file (which we will explore in this article):
- Firstly, the non-voluntary route. You made a mistake in your application and did not provide the remaining documentation in time. But your will has always been to get the procedure approved.
- On the other hand, the voluntary way. That is, when during the procedure you decide not to continue with: you no longer want the residence card.
Let’s look at each of them in more detail to discover what to do in both situations.
Do you have any doubts? Get in touch with our immigration lawyers and receive personalized legal advice and all your doubts solved:
Involuntarily filed application
It’s quite common.
You have prepared all the documentation and requirements for your residence authorization, whether it is an initial card or a renewal.
After submitting your file and waiting a few weeks (the process usually takes 3 months or more), you enter the public administration tool that allows you to verify the status of the file, and if it has already been approved.
But you realize that instead of being approved, the file is “archivado“.
What to do?
Let us first understand the process the file has gone through.
In case you forget any document or if any requirement is missing, the immigration office has the obligation to request it.
To do so, they send a registered letter to the foreigner’s address, indicating the reasons.
The foreigner must respond to the letter by providing the required documentation.
If the documentation is not provided within the established period, the government will file the application for withdrawal.
In other words, it considers that since we have not provided what was requested within the deadline, we are no longer interested in continuing to apply for the residence authorization.
Therefore they cancel the process.
What should I do to get my residence permit if my application has been archived?
Appealing.
It is the only viable solution in these cases.
And, in fact, we have good reason to do so.
The administration often fails to comply with the procedure established by law.
In cases where documents are missing, the foreigner’s office must notify the foreign applicant twice at different times. And if there was no response by mail, it must publish this information in the official state gazette.
The usual thing is that the administration does not comply with all these steps in full, so it may be a reason to appeal.
How do we appeal?
The first step is waiting for the letter or notification that we have already mentioned.
Then, if you are a non-EU citizen, you can file a reversal appeal (“recurso de resposición”), or if you are a member of the European Union, you can file a general appeal (“recurso de alzada”).
Through this appeal you must: 1. explain the reasons why you were not able to submit the documents on time and 2. ask the administration to open a new file so that you can provide the missing documents.
Thus, starting an appeal for your application is the only option to get your application approved.
Archived by withdrawal
It is likely that during the 3 to 6 months that your immigration file is being processed, you decide to cancel the application.
There are many cases in which we are no longer interested in getting the card for which we have submitted a complete application (with all the documents or requirements).
Then we can (and must) cancel our procedure. That is, we would start a process to file our application.
So, as you can see, same result as the prior case, but now for voluntary reasons.
The applicant for the card (either initial or renewal), must submit a written statement making explicit the withdrawal and its reasons (requesting its filing) at the immigration office.
The administration will file it directly.
In which cases is it common to quit your application?
There are at least 4 different situations in which we will want to cancel our ongoing application procedure:
In the case of the arraigo procedure, if during that temporary period we have lost the job offer and therefore the application is no longer valid. We must find a new job, and therefore start a new application, having to cancel the one already started.
Application for a community card, if the couple or marriage is dissolved during the application process (the affective relationship that allows obtaining this residence authorization would no longer exist).
When we decided to stop living in Spain to return to our country but we had sent the renewal for our residence authorization.
In those cases in which we sent the application for renewal, but at the same time, we had the nationality procedure open. If we are finally granted nationality, the renewal is no longer necessary, so we will want to cancel the application.
Get legal assistance with your file
If you are going to notify the administration of the cessation of your will to get your card, and especially if you need to initiate an appeal to submit the remaining documents which were not approved on the first time, doing it in the right way is essential.
Because this is a very specific procedure and, if it goes wrong, it can lead to the final rejection of your application.
Therefore, we recommend that you contact our team of lawyers so that we can take care of it for you.
We will prepare all the documentation and send it to the relevant authority, making sure that your application is finally approved.
Get in touch with our lawyers and let us guide you step by step:
