Long-term residence

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The long-term residence permit in Spain is governed by the Aliens Act and can be obtained when the following conditions are fulfilled:^[1]

• Having legal residence;
• Not having non-entry bans applied;
• Not having criminal penalties;
• Five years’ legal and continuous residence within Spanish territory;
• Five years’ residence as holder of the EU Blue Card in the European Union, proving that the two last years occurred in Spanish territory;
• Being a beneficiary resident of a contributory pension;
• Being a resident beneficiary of a pension of absolute permanent disability or severe disability, tax, including modality consisting of a lifetime, not capital income, sufficient for its continued existence;
• Being a resident and being born in Spain, and upon the reaching the age of majority having resided in Spain legally and continuously for at least the last three years consecutively;
• Spanish nationals who have lost the Spanish nationality;
• Being a resident that, upon reaching the age of majority, has been under the guardianship of a Spanish public entity during the last preceding five years;
• Being stateless or having refugee or beneficiary of subsidiary protection;
• Having contributed significantly to the economic, scientific or cultural advancement of Spain, or the projection of Spain abroad. (In these cases, it will be the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration holder the granting of long-term residence authorization, following a report from the head of the Ministry of the Interior).

Refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection can request the issuance of a long-term residence permit after the 5-year duration of the refugee or subsidiary protection permit when they meet the aforementioned legal requirements.

The application procedure must be started in the Aliens Offices of the territorial administration in which the applicant has taken up residence. The whole process has a duration of 3 months, after which the administration has to give an answer. There are no systematic or generalised obstacles to obtaining long-term residence permits.

^[1] Article 148 Aliens Regulation.