# Arraigo sociolaboral

> Page: https://www.usebooka.com/en/tramites/espana/arraigo-sociolaboral
> Last reviewed: 2026-09-14

Arraigo sociolaboral is a temporary residence authorisation on exceptional grounds in Spain (form EX-10, art. 125 of the Immigration Regulation). It is designed for people who have lived in Spain for at least 2 years and hold one or more job contracts adding up to 20 hours per week. Its most useful feature: once the application is admitted for processing, it allows you to work provisionally, without waiting for the final decision.

The case file consists of eight documents and moves through four stages. What delays an arraigo most is not the administration — it is filing an incomplete application.

- **Booka fee:** €440
- **Official fees:** 38,28 €. Fee 790-052, heading 2.3.1: €38.28 under Order PJC/617/2025, in force as of September 2026. The TIE card fee is paid separately at the end.
- **Where to apply:** Applied for from within Spain. A fully domestic procedure: applied for from within Spain.
- You can work provisionally from the moment the application is admitted for processing.

## At a glance

| | |
| --- | --- |
| What it is | Temporary residence authorisation on exceptional grounds (arraigo). |
| Who can apply | People who have lived in Spain for at least 2 years and hold a job contract. (As a general rule; the count is evidenced with the historical padrón certificate.) |
| Where you apply | From within Spain. No need to leave the country or visit a consulate. |
| Official form | EX-10, ticking the arraigo box. |
| Can you work? | Yes, provisionally, from the moment the application is admitted for processing. |
| Length of the permit | 1 year, renewable afterwards as residence and work. |
| Government fee | 790-052, heading 2.3.1 — 38,28 € (as of 2026). (The 790-012 TIE fee is paid separately, at the end.) |

## Who it is for

**This is your procedure if:**

- You have lived in Spain continuously for 2 years or more.
- You hold one or more job contracts adding up to at least 20 hours per week.
- You can obtain a historical padrón certificate covering those 2 years with no gaps.
- You have no criminal record in Spain or in the countries where you lived over the last 5 years.

**This is not your procedure if:**

- You have been in Spain for less than 2 years: the required residence is not met yet.
- You have no contract or job offer — this route is built on the contract.
- You already hold a valid residence permit: yours is a renewal, not an arraigo.
- Your time here is as an international protection applicant, which does not count until finally decided.

See the other arraigo routes: https://www.usebooka.com/en/tramites/espana/arraigo

## Requirements

- **Two years of continuous residence.** Article 126.b) of the Immigration Regulation requires continuous presence in Spain for at least the 2 years before the application — it used to be 3. The regulation sets no tolerated number of days abroad, so each absence is assessed within the file. In practice presence is evidenced mainly with the historical padrón certificate, the document worth requesting on day one: it is the slowest and the one that springs the most surprises, since a gap of a few months forces you to prove residence by other means.
- **A job contract of at least 20 hours per week.** It can be one contract or several adding up to that, with pay proportional to the minimum wage or the applicable collective agreement. This is what sets arraigo sociolaboral apart from the other routes: here the contract is not an extra, it is the piece the whole file is built on.
- **Proven solvency of the employer.** The company provides its tax and employment documentation (income tax, VAT or corporate tax as applicable, plus the company's employment history report). This is the part that stalls most often when the employer has not been briefed, which is why we ask for it early and with the exact list of what is theirs to provide.
- **No criminal record.** Certificates are required from every country where you lived during the last 5 years, not only your own. They are usually valid for a short time, so they are requested once the rest of the file is on track: asking too early means asking twice.
- **Identity documents in order.** A complete, valid passport and form EX-10 with the arraigo box ticked. A passport close to expiry does not prevent filing, but it complicates the later TIE card, so it is checked when the case is opened.

## Documents

**El expediente**

- Empadronamiento histórico (mínimo 2 años)
- Contrato o contratos de trabajo
- Solvencia del empleador (IRPF / IVA / IS / VILE)
- Formulario EX-10, marcando «Arraigo»
- Tasa 790-052 (epígrafe 2.3.1, arraigo)
- Certificado de antecedentes penales de los países donde hayas residido los últimos 5 años
- Presentación y cita (Mercurio)
- Alta en la Seguridad Social, cita y tasa 790-012 para la TIE

## Stages of the file

1. **Application.** You upload your documents to the portal. We tell you what is missing and what will not work before any deadline starts.
2. **Review.** Booka reviews the complete file before filing it. This is the step that keeps it from being returned.
3. **Filed.** Booka Legal, as your representative, files the application on the Mercurio platform of the Public Administrations e-office, with a digital certificate. You need no certificate or Cl@ve. You see the date and the receipt in your case file.
4. **Decision.** The Immigration Office decides and notifies through DEHú (also visible in Carpeta Ciudadana). The next steps towards the TIE card are explained in your case file.

## Timelines

| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gathering the documents | 2 to 6 weeks | Set by the padrón certificate and the criminal records from your country, not by us. |
| Review and case preparation | A few days | The file is not submitted until it is complete. |
| Filing | Subject to appointment availability | Once admitted for processing, you can already work. |
| Decision by the administration | Legal period of 3 months | That is the legal period, not a forecast: each immigration office moves at its own pace. |
| TIE card (fingerprints and card) | After a favourable decision | Appointment and the 790-012 fee separately, with the permit already granted. |

The administration's timelines are nobody else's to promise, and pretending otherwise would be a lie. What is in our hands is everything before: filing complete and first time, which is where most of the months are lost.

## Common mistakes

- **A padrón history with gaps** — If the record does not cover 2 unbroken years, residence is not evidenced and the file falls. We catch it early, while there is still room to gather alternative proof.
- **Criminal record certificates expired by filing time** — They arrive with short validity: requesting them at the start and filing three months later means requesting them again, with the legalisation all over.
- **The employer provides half of its documentation** — Without proven solvency the administration issues a correction request and the file stalls for months — contract signed, and unable to start.
- **A contract below 20 hours per week** — It does not meet the minimum for this route. Sometimes a second contract fixes it; better to know before signing, not after.
- **Filing without the sworn translation or legalisation required** — A foreign document that is not properly legalised counts as not submitted. It is the most common correction request, and the most avoidable.

## Next

Arraigo grants 1 year of residence and work. Before it expires you renew, and that procedure costs less than the arraigo itself and grants a 4-year card. From there, if you are a national of an Ibero-American country, 2 years of legal residence open the door to citizenship.: https://www.usebooka.com/en/tramites/espana/renovacion-residencia-trabajo

## FAQ

**Can I work while my arraigo sociolaboral is being decided?**

Yes, as an employee. Article 130.5 of the Immigration Regulation, as amended by Royal Decree 316/2026, states that once the application is admitted for processing and until the procedure is decided, the applicant is provisionally allowed to reside and work as an employee, and the notice starting the procedure says so. It covers employed work only: registering as self-employed comes with the granted permit (art. 131). One catch at the end: once granted, the permit's effect is conditional on being registered with Social Security within one month of notification.

**How long must I have lived in Spain?**

Article 126.b) of the Immigration Regulation requires continuous presence in Spain for at least the 2 years before the application. The regulation sets no specific number of tolerated days abroad, so any absence is assessed within the file; in practice presence is evidenced through the historical padrón certificate. Request it early and check it has no gaps. If you were an international protection applicant, the time that application was pending does not count.

**What does the price include?**

Booka's fee covers document review, case preparation, filing and follow-up until the decision. Official fees are paid by you directly to the administration: the 790-052 arraigo fee is 38,28 € (as of 2026) and the 790-012 TIE fee is separate.

**Do criminal records from my home country work?**

Records are required from every country where you lived during the five years before you entered Spain — that is the exact wording of art. 126.d), not «the last five years» — and not only your nationality. They are not required from a third country if you have been continuously present in Spain for the last 5 years, or if you already evidenced this in an earlier application within that period and have not left since. An entry in the police report is not an automatic refusal either: article 130.2 requires a case-by-case assessment.

**How long does a decision take, and what if there is no answer?**

The maximum period to notify a decision is 3 months from the day after the application enters the register of the competent body (seventh additional provision of the Regulation). If those 3 months pass with no notification, silence is negative: the application is deemed refused (eighth additional provision, referring to the first additional provision of Organic Law 4/2000). That does not close the case — it opens the appeal window.

**What do I do if it is refused?**

The decision ends the administrative route (ninth additional provision of the Regulation), so there are two paths. One: an optional appeal (reposición) before the same body within 1 month if the refusal is express (arts. 123 and 124 of Law 39/2015); if you file it, you cannot go to court until it is decided or deemed refused. Two: a direct judicial appeal, within 2 months from the day after notification, or 6 months where there was only silence (art. 46.1 of Law 29/1998). These are short, non-extendable deadlines.

**They asked me to supply missing documents. How long do I have?**

The notification sets the deadline and it cannot exceed 15 days (art. 130.3 of the Regulation). If you miss it you are deemed to have withdrawn and the file is closed — not refused, closed, which means starting again. That is why we review the complete file before filing.

**Can I apply if I already hold another permit or have another case open?**

No. Since the Royal Decree 316/2026 reform, article 126.h) requires that you do not hold a stay or residence permit and are not a party to another procedure for granting, extending, renewing or modifying one. An open case has to be resolved first.

**How long does the permit last and what happens next?**

One year (art. 132.1 of the Regulation). Once granted it allows employed and self-employed work with no geographic or occupational limit (art. 131). To extend it, art. 132.2.a) requires evidence of active job-seeking and registration with the public employment service, unless justified circumstances prevent access to work, such as illness, disability or having reached legal retirement age. The extension is requested in the two months before expiry (art. 132.3).

**Can I pay in two instalments?**

Yes, with no interest or surcharge: the total is identical either way. The first half opens your case and starts the document review; the second is paid when we file your application — if we have not filed, you do not pay it. You request it from your case file and someone from the team confirms it within 24 working hours.

**Are official government fees included?**

No: Booka's fee covers review, preparation, filing and follow-up. Government fees are paid directly to the administration, and we tell you which ones apply and when inside your case file.

**How do I know this is not a scam?**

Three things you can check: the price is published before you pay, payment is online with an invoice, and the second half is only charged once your application has been filed, with the official registry receipt visible in your case file. No informal intermediary gives you those three proofs.

## Official source

Official source: information sheet 29, Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, and articles 125-132 of the Immigration Regulation (RD 1155/2024) as amended by Royal Decree 316/2026 of 14 April.: https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2024-24099

## What the fee includes

Document review, case preparation, filing and follow-up until the decision.

## Notice

Booka's fees cover the professional handling of your application only and do not include official government fees, which are paid separately to the relevant authority. Approval of any permit rests solely with the competent administration and depends on the applicant meeting all legal requirements. The information on this page is for guidance only, may change as regulations evolve, and does not constitute individual legal advice.