If you are a legal resident in Spain and would like to stay long-term, you could be interested in this blog post. Because in such case you will have to renew your spain residency card, and that means complying with the deadlines established by the immigration law so that your card does not expire.
In this article we analyze in detail exactly how long you can be outside of Spain without losing your residence. We analyze the differences depending on the type of card you have, and what solutions exist in case you have missed the deadlines.
Maximum time outside of Spain without losing the residence card
Once you have obtained your Spain residency card, you must be careful. Being out of Spain for a long time can mean losing the residence.
Thus, although the Spanish regulations on foreigners allow you to leave the country and travel (for example for Christmas, to visit relatives, etc.), the fact is that it establishes a maximum period of time available to do so before your card is extinguished and you lose it (an extinction that, as we will see later, may mean the impossibility of recovering your residence in the future).
That’s why it’s so important to know and observe these deadlines, even before you start your application (so you can plan ahead).
However, each card has its own peculiarities.
This means that the periods allowed will vary depending on the card you have.
To determine how long you can stay outside of Spain, therefore, the first thing to do is to understand what type of card you have (temporary or long-term), and under what regime (general or community – Régimen General or Régimen Comunitario).
Below we analyze the particular deadlines according to each type of residence.
Temporary Spain residency cards under the general regime
In the first place we find the temporary cards, those that are initially obtained for 1 or 2 years.
These are the largest number of existing residences, such as rooting, non-lucrative visa, regular work permit, etc.
In any of these cases, you can be outside of Spain for a maximum of 6 months within a one-year period.
Thus, if you are outside Spain longer than this period, you will not be able to renew your residence.
As an important fact, keep in mind that the fact of staying these 183 days (at least) in Spanish territory would make you a resident for tax purposes (something different from being a resident at the immigration level, but with important consequences at the tax level).
Spain residency by community regime (temporary)
On the other hand, we find the case of temporary residence by community regime, which behaves somewhat differently from the previous one.
We refer to the card as a family member of a European Community member, which is the residence that is achieved thanks to being a family member of a European citizen.
In this case, even if you have a residence card valid for 5 years, it is not considered a long-term card (but temporary).
Therefore, you also have a maximum of 6 months within 1 year to leave and travel from the country before the card expires.
However, the difference in this case is that these 6 months can be extended up to 12 in some specific cases. We are referring to situations of real need that force you to leave the country, for example:
- For work reasons
- Due to pregnancy
- Transfer of a relative
- Sickness
Permanent community regime
Once the first 5 years have passed and the community regime residence card is renewed, you become a holder of a permanent card under the community regime. Now, you can be out of Spanish territory for a maximum of 2 years until its renewal in 10 years.
Long-term Spain residence
In the case of long-term residence (a residence for 5 years), the permitted period is extended up to 1 year continuously and consecutively, but also taking the EU (and not Spain) as the geographical reference framework.
In other words, to be able to renew this card, you must not be outside the European Union for more than one consecutive year, something that creates much more favorable conditions.
In addition, counting the sporadic departures, within the period of the last 5 years your period outside the territory cannot add up to more than 30 months.
This case is typical in many foreigners.
If you usually find yourself living outside the EU, before the end of the year you should return to Spain or any country within this area, ask for your passport to be stamped, and simply with that act, you could return to your place of habitual residence without problem to renew the card when it expires.
Long-term EU residence
And, finally, we find the case of the long-term EU, another card for 5 years but also with its particularities.
Although it is true that this residence is the door to move and settle in another European country, failure to return to Spain within the established period would cause it to become extinct.
Thus, to avoid losing the long-term EU status, you cannot be outside of Spain for more than 6 consecutive years.
When do these deadlines start counting?
It is fundamental to know exactly when the deadlines start to count.
For the 6 months or 1 year allowed out, when does time start running and when and how does it end?
Again, the answer depends on the type of card we are holders of.
- The case of long-term residences is the simplest. We will start counting from when you left the country, and the period will end when you return and enter Spain.
- On the other hand, in temporary residences you must complete 6 months counting back one year from the current day. That is, we will take the current day, we will go to this same day but in the previous year, and we will make sure not to exceed 183 days within this period.
Can I recover my residence if I have been outside of Spain for more than the allowed time?
Unfortunately, this is a situation that occurs frequently.
In most cases, due to ignorance of the deadlines, many foreigners spend more than the allowed time outside the national territory.
In these cases, the first thing you should keep in mind is that you will be able to return to Spain without any problem. You will not be prohibited from entering at any time, as you are still within the residency period.
However, two things can happen:
- In the first place, if the authorities detect that you have been out for more than the allowed time, they could initiate a procedure for the cancellation of your card. This procedure allows you to make allegations to keep your card (that is, you would have the option of justifying your departures), but if they are not convincing or valid enough, it would be definitively extinguished.
- Also, when you try to renew your residence that you would not be allowed for having exceeded the deadlines.
In either of these two cases, you would lose your card and your residence.
Is it possible to recover a Spain residency? It depends on the residence card:
- If we refer to the long duration, you could recover it without any problem, because what expires or is extinguished is not your right to reside in the country (you have that guaranteed indefinitely), but your physical card. And this is something that you could do both at the immigration office in Spain or at the Spanish consulate if you are in your country.
- But, on the other hand, with a temporary card it does not work the same way. In these cases, if you are away for more than 6 months, the cards expire and cannot be recovered, which would mean that you should restart the application process from zero.
Time outside of Spain and how it affects obtaining nationality
We have seen the deadlines that you must respect if you want to maintain your residence, renew it and stay in Spain long-term legally.
But, be careful.
If your intention is to apply for and obtain Spanish nationality, then you must be much stricter.
Because it is an essential requirement for the application for nationality by residence not to have been abroad for more than 3 months continuously if you want to obtain it.
Also, keep in mind that once obtained, you could lose it if you do not use it within 3 years after the grant.
Asked before on Spainguru:
Check out this related question & answer: “To qualify for Long Term Residency, we can’t be outside Spain more than 10 months in the five years. This includes other EU countries?
