Social, socio-labour, socio-training or family arraigo: which one is yours and what you must prove

If you have been in Spain for two years or more without authorisation, the useful question is not "which arraigo should I apply for?" but which of the five types fits what you can prove today. Here we go through the ordinary routes in the Immigration Regulations (Royal Decree 1155/2024), which are open all year. This is not the extraordinary 2026 regularisation: its window closed on 30 June, and we explain it in our article on the 2026 reform.

The five types at a glance

Article 125 of the Regulations distinguishes five types of arraigo. All give a one-year authorisation, except the family one, which lasts five years.

What is required in every case

Article 126 sets requirements that must be met cumulatively:

• Two years of continuous presence before the application (family arraigo requires no minimum stay). Instruction SEM 1/2025 clarifies that absences cannot exceed 90 calendar days in those two years.
• Not being an international protection applicant when you apply or during the procedure. Time with an asylum application pending does not count as presence; if you withdraw it, the count starts or resumes from that moment.
• No criminal record in Spain or in the countries where you lived in the five years before you arrived in Spain. A record appearing in the police report does not by itself mean automatic refusal: each case is assessed.
• Not being a threat to public order, security or public health, and not being listed as inadmissible in countries with which Spain has an agreement.
• Paying the fee, which in 2026 is €38.28 for arraigo.
• Not holding another stay or residence authorisation, and not having another procedure pending (letter h, added on 16 April 2026).

You also need a valid passport, registration certificate or travel document recognised in Spain.

Which one is yours

You have a job or an offer: socio-labour arraigo

This is the route for people who can provide one or more contracts that meet these conditions:

• They total at least 20 hours a week overall.
• They guarantee the minimum wage or the collective-agreement salary, in proportion to working hours. In 2026 the minimum wage is €1,221 a month (€17,094 a year) for full-time work.
• If fixed-term, their duration, alone or combined, exceeds 90 days (SEM 1/2025).
• The employer is up to date with the tax authorities and Social Security and has sufficient means to meet the contract.

Self-employment does not qualify. The advantage is that, once the application is admitted for processing, you are provisionally allowed to reside and work as an employee. If it is granted, you have one month to register with Social Security. If you are the one hiring, we also have a guide to hiring foreign nationals lawfully.

You have resident family or have integrated: social arraigo

There are two paths. Either you prove a family tie with your spouse or registered partner, or with first-degree relatives in the direct line who hold a residence authorisation, or, if you do not have one, you provide a favourable social integration report.

In both cases you need financial means: at least 100% of the IPREM (€600 a month in 2026), available in Spain and maintained for as long as the authorisation lasts. With a family tie, SEM 1/2025 asks for 100% for the family member plus 100% for you, that is €1,200 a month. The report is issued by the autonomous community (or the town council, if the community has provided for it) within one month; if it does not arrive in time and you can show this, you may prove your integration by any means.

You are going to study: socio-training arraigo

It applies to training such as the bachillerato, intermediate vocational training, professional certificates at levels 1 to 3, compulsory adult education, or public employment service training for hard-to-fill occupations. Bear in mind:

• If enrolment has an official window, the application is submitted in the two months before that window opens.
• You must prove enrolment within three months of being notified of the grant; otherwise the authorisation lapses.
• It also requires a social integration report.
• It lets you work as an employee for up to 30 hours a week.
• You cannot hold this arraigo more than once in three years.

Your child or the person you support is an EU national: family arraigo

It is for the parent or guardian of a minor who is a national of another EU state, the EEA or Switzerland, or for someone who supports a person with a disability who is, where you live together or your parental obligations are up to date. It asks for no minimum stay and lasts five years. If the minor is Spanish, the route is a different one: family member of a Spanish national.

You held residence and lost it: second chance

It requires having held, in the previous two years, an authorisation that was not granted for exceptional circumstances and that could be renewed. It does not work if the renewal failed for reasons of public order, security or public health (except where proceedings were dismissed or ended in acquittal), or if the authorisation ended through a ground for extinction.

If you fit several, compare what you can prove best, what work each allows and what comes next.

How to prove the two years

The Regulations give no closed list of documents. In practice, the aim is to gather dated evidence, from different sources and spread across the whole period, without long gaps: municipal registration, medical reports, rental contracts, money-transfer receipts or tickets.

Mistakes to avoid

• Absences or gaps: more than 90 days away in the two years, or months with no evidence at all.
• Another file open: applying for arraigo with another application pending may lead to refusal. If you filed for the 2026 regularisation, first see what happens with that authorisation.
• A contract that does not comply: fewer than 20 hours, pay below the minimum wage or the collective agreement, a duration of 90 days or less, or an employer with debts.
• Tight or unmaintained financial means in social arraigo.
• An integration report requested late.
• Criminal record certificates that do not cover the five years before you arrived.
• Incomplete documents: after the request to correct them you have at most 15 days and, if you do not, you are deemed to have withdrawn.

After the grant

You have one month to apply for your foreigner identity card (TIE). To extend, the application is submitted in the two months before expiry (the fee is €16.40). For social, socio-labour and second-chance arraigo you must show active job-seeking and registration with the public employment service, except in cases of illness, disability or retirement age. For socio-training, the school's report on promotion to the second year. After a year of residence you can also consider changing the authorisation to a residence and work one (article 191).

In Madrid

The integration report is issued by the Community of Madrid. According to its website, you must be registered on the municipal register in the region, have lived in Spain for at least two years, show you have taken the "Conoce tus leyes" course and, for social arraigo, pay a €30.60 fee; the socio-training report carries no fee. At the Madrid Foreigners' Office, appointments are requested through the ICPPlus portal or, for some procedures, by first sending the documents by email: check which applies before you file.

How to approach it

If you have been in Spain for two years or more and are not sure which route fits your papers, you can book an immigration consultation and we will review what you can prove before preparing the file. The final decision always rests with the authorities.

Legislation and sources

• Immigration Regulations, approved by Royal Decree 1155/2024 (consolidated text, BOE)
• Royal Decree 316/2026 of 14 April amending the Regulations (BOE)
• Instructions SEM 1/2025 on arraigo authorisations (State Secretariat for Migration)
• Order PJC/617/2025 on immigration fees (consolidated text, BOE)
• Royal Decree 126/2026 setting the minimum wage for 2026 (BOE)
• Annual amounts, including the 2026 IPREM (SEPE)
• Integration reports (Community of Madrid)
• Good-practice guide for requesting appointments at the Madrid Foreigners' Office (Government Delegation in Madrid)