Today we will talk about one of the Spanish immigration procedures that, for sure, you will be interested in. Why? Well, would you like to bring your family to Spain so that they can legally reside with you? If so, the procedure to achieve this is family reunification.
If you meet the conditions, this would be a simple process for you.
In this article we will explain everything you need to know to regroup your relatives step-by-step.
The family reunification visa is the immigration procedure through which a non-European citizen with a residence permit in Spain can bring their relatives to the country; granting them a residence and work permit.
It is important to keep in mind that only those foreigners in Spain who have renewed their initial residence authorization are eligible to begin this process.
That is, if you have been legally in Spain for less than a year, you still cannot regroup your family members. You must have a renewed residence permit.
In addition, and as a general rule, you need to demonstrate that the relative you want to bring to Spain depends economically on you. Later on this article, we will see how this is done exactly.
How to bring your family to Spain
Let us answer one of the most frequently asked questions by foreigners: Can I bring my whole family to the country? The answer is simple: no.
You can only regroup your parents or parents-in-law (ascendants), bring your children or the children of your partner (descendants), and your spouse or common-law partner.
But how to do it?
The general procedure to regroup relatives is always the same.
The only difference lies in the specific requirements or documents that are requested according to the family member we wish to regroup.
So let’s explore all the different possible cases, one by one.
Here you can find a complete guide with the 5 ways to bring your parents to Spain.
How to regroup your children
It is very important to keep in mind that we can only regroup children under 18.
If you are a Spanish or EU citizen, you can regroup children who are up to 21 years old. This is because the process is the family member of an EU citizen visa, which falls under the Community regime.
For the family reunification visa, the only time it will be possible to regroup children over 18 years old, if the child is disabled, and needs his or her parents to be in charge of him or her.
To regroup your children, it will be essential to demonstrate that they are economically dependent on you (father or mother). It would not be possible to bring them if they have a job contract.
To prove economic dependence, you can show how money transfers have been realized during the past years. You can also show how you pay for their expenses; for example, education.
Furthermore, you must prove that your child is truly your child. The necessary document here is the birth certificate.
Take note that it is not possible to regroup grandchildren.
Do you have any questions? Get personalized advice from one of our immigration lawyers:
How to regroup your husband or wife
Article 53.b. of the Immigration Law allows you to regroup both your spouse (husband or wife) and any person with whom you have a similar relationship bond. That is, it is also possible to regroup your civil partner (pareja de hecho).
Same sex partnerships or marriages are also accepted for reunification.
The most important thing to keep in mind to bring your partner or spouse is to present the marriage certificate or civil partnership registration. This is the document that validates the affective bond.
Additionally, it will also help to present a registrataion certificate (empadronamiento) or rental agreement that shows both parties are living together.
Make sure that neither individual is already registered as married or in a civil union with another person. Additionally, if one of you was married before, you will need a judicial resolution explaining the situation and nullification of the previous union.
Authorities simply want to make sure that the current partnership or marriage is not fake or born out of convenience.
How to regroup your father or mother
Regrouping parents or in-laws can become one of the most complex procedures. That is because the requirements are quite strict.
The ascendants to be regrouped (parents or in-laws), must be over 65 years of age. You as the regrouper must be in charge of them, and there must be sufficient reason to regroup them (for example, they need intensive care due to their old age).
Again, to demonstrate economic dependence, it will be necessary to demonstrate that during the past months the regrouper has transferred money to the regrouped or has been in charge of his or her significant expenses.
However, you, as the regrouper must also meet certain requirements to be able to regroup your parents.
In this particular case, you must have a long-term residency or long-term EU card. This means, you must have resided in Spain for a minimum of 5 years to be able to regroup your parents.
Then, what is the necessary document? At the time of the application, you must provide your birth certificate to prove that they are indeed your parents.
Or, alternatively, if the in-laws are the ones being regrouped, the marriage certificate with your spouse and their birth certificate.
How to regroup your brother or sister
It is not possible to bring your brother or sister to Spain. Or at least not through the family reunification process.
In order to bring your brother or sister to the Spanish territory, you must complete the process of family reunification under the Community Regime by extended family.
This procedure allows you to regroup family members other than those we have already seen (first-degree ascendants and descendants and direct, spouse or common-law partner): nephews, grandchildren, grandparents, and siblings.
Family Reunification Under the European Regime
As we have mentioned, the family reunification visa is a procedure initiated by a non-European citizen to bring another non-European citizen to Spain.
But what happens if the expat in Spain is European? In that case, the so-called European/Community family reunification will be carried out.
But we must be careful here.
Why? Because, to be accurate, there is no such thing as community regrouping. The correct term for this is the residence permit as a family member of an EU citizen. Thus, the applicable law is not the General Foreigners Law, but the Community Regime.
Spain family visa requirements
Let’s now discover what the general documents and requirements are for your application.
Remember that this following list goes hand-in-hand with the specific documents that are required of each relative (which we have already mentioned above).
For this, we will give you a general overview:
- Lack of criminal records, in case the relative you bring to the country is over 18 years old
- You can’t be in Spain under an illegal situation at the moment of the application
- Both the one regrouping and the regrouped cannot be European citizens. That is, neither can be a citizen of any European Union or EEA country; or be from Switzerland
- The applicant must have been living in Spanish territory for at least 12 months, and has obtained the first renewal of her initial residence card
- Demonstrating you have adequate housing, showing that your house is suitable and meets the minimum conditions so that your relative can live in a dignified way
- Demonstrate the possession of sufficient financial means to be economically in charge of your family member when she comes to Spain
- Hiring medical insurance or proof of subscription to the Spanish social security system. You can access a complete guide with all the relevant info about medical insurance contracts here
Money transfers to your country of origin
The main and key requirement for this procedure is that we must be able to show that our relative needs our monetary contributions to be able to cover his or her basic needs.
we should think of a reasonable amount according to the country of residence of the regrouped person.
That is, the monthly amount transferred must be sufficient so that, taking into account the purchasing power of the money in that country, the regrouped person can achieve the minimums of subsistence: be able to buy food, have light and water, etc.
To avoid a rejected application, we recommend that the transfer is at least 150 or 200 euros per month.
It is essential that the holder of the account that receives the money is the one being reunified.
For how long does the dependency relationship must take place?
Here will use the rule that the more, the better.
Nevertheless, to give you a general idea, bear in mind that a minimum of 2 years would be reasonable.
Showing past bank movements
Another important requirement will be to show the bank account movements that both regrouper and regrouped have experienced in recent months.
This will verify that there really is an economic dependency relationship.
But, in addition, this serves for the administration to verify another crucial point: that the person we want to bring to Spain has no means for living in the country of origin by herself.
In other words, she does not receive any subsidy, pension, benefit, salary, or equivalent fixed monetary amount.
If this is the case, it will be clear that this person needs the financial support of the foreigner in Spain.
Demonstrating proper housing
Furthermore, you must demonstrate that the reunifying individual has a suitable house so that the reunified (and he/she) can live there properly.
That is, a house with good enough conditions so that the family can live under established minimums.
For this, you must request an adequate housing report; issued by the town hall where you live.
In some regions, as in the case of Catalonia, even if requested by the municipality, the certificate will be issued by the regional government (in Catalonia the Generalitat).
This report takes into consideration:
- How many people live in the house
- How big the house is
- The number of rooms and what each one is used for
- The general conditions of that house
Demonstrate the possession of sufficient economic means
Once we can prove that we have been in charge of our relative in his home country for the past few months, we must prove that we will be able to support him once he arrives in Spain as well.
That is to say, the salary or economic income of the Spanish resident must be sufficient to maintain the family unit in the Spanish territory.
That is one of the most crucial requirements when bringing your spouse or fiancé to Spain with you.
Otherwise, the application will be rejected.
To demonstrate the economic means you must demonstrate, basically, an amount equivalent to or greater than 150% of the IPREM when regrouping one relative.
That would be the case of bringing a single relative, for example, your husband or wife.
But, in case you want to bring more than one, you must add 50% to that amount for each relative.
In addition, you will also have to provide a work contract (minimum for one year, and better if it is undefined) and the last 6 payrolls.
If you are self-employed (that is, you are an autónomo), you must provide the latest income tax statement.
And if the applicant does not have a job at the moment and therefore does not receive an income, she will have to prove that he has a minimum amount of money in his bank account, in the form of savings.
We are talking about a figure of more than 5,000 euros.
Necessary documents
Now that we have explored the requirements you must meet for a successful application, which documents must you prepare?
Basically, your file must include the following:
- Criminal records certificate
- Passport and residence card of the person who regroups; and the regrouped passport
- Adequate housing report
- Health insurance
- Document that demonstrates the kinship bond with the relative you are bringing to Spain, which can be:
- Spouse. The marriage certificate will be necessary (it can be a copy, and legalization is not required).
- Civil partner. In this case the registration of the de facto couple will be the required document.
- Children. The birth certificate of your children so you can prove that they really are your descendants.
- Parents. In this case, the birth certificate (of the reunifying individual) is also required.
- Inlaws. Birth certificate of your spouse, plus marriage certificate.
How to book a Spain family reunification visa appointment?
As we have explained before, one of the first steps of the whole process involves obtaining your appointment to obtain your family reunification visa.
This visa will allow you to travel and enter Spain, and once in the country, obtain your residency card.
This appointment is made with the Spanish consulate or Embassy located in your country of origin.
The process will differ from consulate to consulate, so our recommendation is to check on the official website to understand their rules.
Neverhteless, usually the options will be via email or phone, or even trough an online appointment system when the consulate offer that option.
Differences with the Family Member of an EU Citizen Visa
There is another, very similar residence permit that many foreigners tend to confuse: the family member of an EU citizen visa.
While both options allow you to bring your relatives to Spain and require you to demonstrate the possession of sufficient funds to do it, both are completely different permits.
Here’s a summary of the main differences between a family reunification visa and an EU family member card:
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Eligibility based on applicant’s country of origin:
- Family Member of an EU Citizen: Applicable if the main applicant is a Spanish or EU citizen, following the EU Regime
- Family Reunification: Applies to non-EU residents in Spain under a residence authorization, regulated by the General Immigration Regime
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Eligible relatives:
- Family Reunification: Allows bringing a spouse, partner, children under 18, and parents over 65 if justified (dependency demonstrated)
- EU regime: Allows bringing a spouse or partner, children under 21 (or over 21 if financially dependent), and financially dependent parents
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Duration and validity of the residence authorization:
- Community Regime: Relative’s residence permit is valid for 5 years, with eligibility for permanent residency afterward.
- Family Reunification: Permit duration aligns with the main applicant’s permit length (e.g., 2 years if the main applicant holds a 2-year permit).
-
Economic means requirement:
- Community Regime: Requirements are less stringent; applicants need only show employment or self-employment status, regardless of income
- Family Reunification: Specific income thresholds apply (e.g., 175% of the IPREM for one relative, increasing with additional relatives)
-
Minimum Time Lived in Spain by Applicant:
- Family Reunification: Applicant must have lived in Spain for at least 1 year (5 years if bringing parents).
- Community Regime: No minimum residency period is required for the applicant.
Spain family visa processing time
The procedure to get the family reunification visa generally takes about 6 months from beginning to end. However, the total time will depend on many factors such as how long does it takes for the immigration office to give you an appointment or how long it takes for the consulate to respond to the visa application.
Thus, it will be very useful for us to understand the procedure step-by-step so you can define exactly how long it will take for you.
The first thing you should do (as the relative who is already in Spain) is to get an appointment at the immigration office and start the legal application. To do this you must fill out and submit the EX-02 model with all the other documentation that we have mentioned in this article.
The immigration office will have 3 months to give you an answer, considering the request denied in case of administrative silence after that time. More on administrative silence (silencio administrativo) for your immigration application here.
Once you receive a positive response, the relative who is abroad but wants to come to Spain must apply for a visa at the Spanish consulate located in their country of origin.
After 2 months of waiting (maximum), the regrouped will receive the visa and must enter Spain within 3 months. Once in Spain she will have 1 month to apply for your residence card or TIE.
Remember that all foreign documents must be translated into Spanish and duly legalized or apostilled.
If you need one of our lawyers to answer all your questions or accompany you step by step throughout the process, do not hesitate to contact us:
Get in touch with our lawyers and let us guide you step by step:
13 Replies to “Family Reunification Visa in Spain”
In order to be able to assess what would be the best option for you, ideally we would like to have a consultation with you so that one of the lawyers can advise you on your case. You can send an email to [email protected].
My husband is a citizens in Spain, I want to go and meet him over there, what are the process?
Your baby will be registered at the Civil Registry as he will be Spanish so as his dad is.
In case you cannot get a residence permit though your couple you will be able to do it once your baby is born.
You can directly contact us [email protected] so one of our lawyers can explain you the different options you have.
Hi. I currently have work permit in Sweden that will be expired on August but I think it has been revoked due to I left my job because I am pregnant and came here in Spain to give birth (because the father of my baby is here). I thought I ws n maternity leave, didn’t know they’ll cancel my contract. Also, the father of my baby can’t help get me visa: lack of economic income, we are not married (not in a plan), we lived together but we are not registered in the same address. And, I gave birth here in Madrid. I badly need to be able to stay legally here for my baby to be registered and so I can work legally. Are there any possibility I can apply for a permit? Thank you.
Please sir. how can you help me if they denied my family reunión visa.thanks
The immigration office has 3 months to issue their response. If you don’t get any news after that, the application has been denied.
Good day sir.my name is Sunday from nigeria but am living in Spain,and i have parmanet residente and i wanted to bring my wife and my kids to spain.almost two months now my wife has surmited all the documents for family reunión visa at embassy but up till now will didnt hear Anything please i just want to know how long will take to give them visa.thanks
If you would like to initiate the reunification procedure, send us an email at [email protected] and we will help you out 🙂
Hi im a filipina and my husband is EU citizens from norway. And he want to bring me in spain for good together with my filipna daughter. What can i do.
Yes, we can help you out. Just send us an email at [email protected] and one of our lawyers will guide you step by step.
Hi Mr Sears,
Yes sure! Our team can help you with that. Just send us an email at [email protected] detailing which is your current situation, and one of our lawyers will start handling your case.
Hi me and my parter are from the u k we have a property in Spain we have both got our nie numbers but looking to get resedenvy permits is this something you can do for us to act on our behave regards mr sears
Please help me I am interested in to come to Spain but I don’t know what to do I am here in Italy and I have Italy residence permit but I will like to come to Spain and get a job and start my life over there can you help me to come to Spain and get a job i really need job please thanks,