Arraigo Social (Rooted Residence)
Temporary residence authorisation granted under exceptional circumstances via arraigo social (Spain's rooted residence permit based on social integration). For people who have lived continuously in Spain for at least 2 years.
⚠️ May 2025 reform: Since May 2025, arraigo social no longer requires an employment contract. If you have an employment contract, your route is arraigo sociolaboral (a new category introduced by RD 1155/2024).
General requirements
Prove at least 2 years of continuous residence in Spanish territory. Absences must not exceed 90 days during that period.
No criminal record in Spain or in your country of origin. You must provide certificates from the Spanish Registro Central de Penados (Central Criminal Records Office) and from your country of origin, duly apostilled.
You must not be subject to an active return order, expulsion order, or entry ban.
Not always required. Art. 127.c of RD 1155/2024 asks for it when family ties are not proven: your integration effort is then assessed through a favourable report from your Autonomous Community (or your town council, where the region has arranged it that way). If you can prove the family ties, you do not need the report.
Two cumulative requirements, not alternatives: family ties with foreign nationals holding a residence permit (spouse or registered partner and first-degree relatives in the direct line) AND means of at least 100% of the IPREM available in Spain. Without those ties, the fallback route is the integration report. Since May 2025 arraigo social no longer requires an employment contract: with a contract, the route is arraigo sociolaboral.
Complete valid passport, or document proving your identity and nationality.
Required ties
Arraigo social is not a "pick one" list: art. 127.c of RD 1155/2024 requires family ties AND financial means. If you do not have those ties, the route is proven social integration. How it actually works:
Family ties (the main route)
Family ties with other foreign nationals who hold a residence permit. The rule is specific about who counts: your spouse or registered partner and first-degree relatives in the direct line (parents and children). Having a Spanish relative is a different matter: that falls under the family-member-of-a-Spanish-national permit, a separate procedure.
Financial means (ALWAYS required, not an alternative)
You must show sufficient means of support. Watch the amount — this is where most people get it wrong: on the family-ties route TWO amounts add up, the 100% of the IPREM proven by the resident relative plus 100% for the applicant, which is where the "200%" you hear about comes from. On the integration-report route, without ties, it is 100%. The funds must be available in Spain and may come from those relatives.
No family ties: proven social integration
If you cannot show those family ties, your integration effort is assessed instead. You prove it with a favourable social integration report from your Autonomous Community (or your town council, where the region has arranged it that way). The report covers how long you have lived at your usual address, your financial means, and your participation in social, work and cultural inclusion programmes.
Your means may come from self-employment
If you meet the conditions of art. 84 of the regulation, you may argue that your financial means come from self-employment. This is not a separate fourth route: it is one way of proving the means.
How to prove your residence
Ways to prove 2 years of continuous stay in Spain:
📄 Empadronamiento (municipal registration): historical certificate of empadronamiento — the single most important piece of evidence
📄 Health card: record of use of the public health system
📄 Money transfers: receipts for remittances (Western Union, Ria, etc.)
📄 Receipts and bills: rent, utilities (electricity, water, gas, internet)
📄 NGO reports: attendance records from Cruz Roja (Spanish Red Cross), Cáritas, Accem, or other organisations
📄 Children's schooling: school enrolment certificates
📄 Any dated official document: police report, hospital care, etc.
Step-by-step process
⚖️ Diferencia con arraigo sociolaboral
RD 1155/2024, in force since May 2025, created arraigo sociolaboral (rooted residence with employment) as a separate category.
| Arraigo social | Arraigo sociolaboral | |
|---|---|---|
| Requirement | 2 years of stay + ties (family, own means, or self-employment) | 2 years of stay + employment contract |
| Employment contract | NO employment contract required | YES, employment contract required (minimum 1 year, full-time or equivalent) |
| Duration | 1 year | 1 year |
Before May 2025, arraigo social did require a contract. Now the contract determines which type of arraigo to apply for.
Mistakes that get applications refused
⚠️ Having been outside Spain for more than 90 days over the 2-year period
What happens: Denial for failure to prove continuous stay
What to do: Track your trips. If you exceed 90 days, you may need to wait longer to complete the 2 continuous years.
⚠️ Not being empadronado, or having gaps in your empadronamiento history
What happens: Difficulty proving the 2 years of stay
What to do: Register (empadrónate) as soon as possible. If there are gaps, back them up with other evidence (bills, health card, NGO reports).
⚠️ Submitting a criminal record certificate older than 3 months
What happens: Invalid document, triggering a subsanación (correction) request that delays the process
What to do: Obtain the certificate as close to the submission date as possible. Maximum validity: 3 months.
⚠️ Applying for arraigo social when you have an employment contract
What happens: Your application will be denied because the category does not match your employment status
What to do: If you have an employment contract → arraigo sociolaboral. If you don't → arraigo social, proving ties/means.
⚠️ Not requesting the informe de arraigo from social services
What happens: Incomplete documentation
What to do: Request the report at least 2 months in advance. If the Ayuntamiento fails to issue it within 30 days, you can file the application without it.
⚠️ Assuming that administrative silence is positive
What happens: Thinking your application has been approved when in fact it has been denied
What to do: Administrative silence for arraigo social is NEGATIVE. If you receive no reply within 3 months, the application is deemed DENIED. You can file a recurso de alzada (administrative appeal).
Which documents you need
This list comes from the Ministry's official sheet (Hoja 28). The first five are always required; the rest depend on which route you use to prove your ties.
- Form EX-10, completed and signed.
- Valid passport or travel document, complete.
- Proof of two years of continuous residence (the historical padrón certificate is the strongest piece).
- Criminal record certificate from your country and from any other where you lived in the last 5 years.
- Proof of payment of the fee: form 790, code 052.
- Marriage or registered-partnership certificate, up to date.
- Birth certificate or another document proving the family relationship.
- Financial means: 100% of the IPREM for the household plus 100% of the IPREM for the applicant. That is the "200%" people mention: not a different threshold, just the two amounts added up.
- Favourable social integration report from your Autonomous Community (or your town council, where the region has arranged it that way).
If your means come from self-employment: the licence or authorisation for the activity, your professional training or qualifications, and documentation of the planned investment.
Every foreign document needs a sworn translation into Spanish plus an apostille or consular legalisation. This is what delays applications most — start here, not at the end.
Who files it and where
- You file it yourself; if you are a minor or legally incapacitated, your legal representative does.
- In person at the Immigration Office of the province where you live, or online through the electronic office (Mercurio system).
- The administration has three months from the date the application enters the competent body's register. If that passes with no reply, silence is negative: it counts as refused.
- If granted: one month to register with Social Security where the permit includes work, and one month to apply for the TIE from the notification.
- If they ask you for missing documents, the deadline is the one stated in the notice and cannot exceed fifteen days. That one really is lost if you miss it.
Official sources
Última actualización: 2026-08-27