# Family reunification in Spain > Page: https://www.usebooka.com/en/tramites/espana/reagrupacion-familiar > Last reviewed: 2026-09-14 General-regime family reunification (form EX-02, RD 1155/2024) is started by the resident in Spain — the sponsor — to bring their spouse or partner, children or, in limited cases, dependent parents. Once authorised, the family member requests their visa at the consulate and travels. Two requirements decide most cases: sufficient income measured against the current IPREM index, and adequate housing evidenced with a report from your region or town hall — the slowest document in the whole file. - **Booka fee:** €395 - **Official fees:** 10,94 €. Fee 790-052, heading 2.1.2: €10.94 (Order PJC/617/2025, in force as of September 2026). Financial means are measured against the IPREM: 150% for a two-person household, plus 50% for each additional member. - **Where to apply:** Applied for from within Spain. Started by the sponsor from within Spain; the family member then processes their visa at the consulate. ## At a glance | | | | --- | --- | | What it is | Residence authorisation through general-regime family reunification (RD 1155/2024). | | Who can apply | The sponsor: a legal resident in Spain applying to bring a family member over. (As a general rule, one year of prior legal residence plus authorisation to reside for at least another year.) | | Who can be brought over | Spouse or registered partner, minor children or children with a disability, and dependent parents in limited cases. | | Where you apply | The authorisation in Spain, by the sponsor; the visa afterwards, at the consulate in the family member's country. | | Official form | EX-02, application for temporary residence through family reunification. | | Can they work? | Reunification authorises residence; whether the family member may work depends on the specific case and their age. | | The requirements that decide | Sufficient means against the current IPREM index, and adequate housing evidenced by a regional or municipal report. | | Government fee | 790-052 for the authorisation, plus the family member's consular visa fee. (Paid separately to the administration and the consulate; detailed in your case file.) | ## Who it is for **This is your procedure if:** - You reside legally in Spain and your permit runs for at least another year. - You want to bring your spouse or registered partner, your minor children or a dependent parent. - You can evidence stable income meeting the IPREM-referenced scale for your household size. - You live in a home for which your region or town hall can issue the adequacy report. **This is not your procedure if:** - Your relative is a Spanish citizen: relatives of Spanish nationals follow a different route with its own rules. - You have just received your first card and do not yet have a year of legal residence. - Your relative is already in Spain and you hoped to regularise them from here with this case. - Your child is coming for a school year on an exchange programme, not to settle with you. See the student mobility route for minors: https://www.usebooka.com/en/tramites/espana/movilidad-alumnos-menores ## Requirements - **Prior legal residence of the sponsor.** As a general rule you need at least one year of legal residence in Spain plus authorisation to reside for at least another year. The second half is the one people forget: a year behind you is not enough, the card also has to give you runway ahead. If your renewal is pending, the order of the two procedures matters and is worth checking first. - **Sufficient means against the current IPREM.** You evidence income on a scale referenced to the current IPREM index, which rises with the size of the household once reunited. It is not a snapshot of one month: stability and the prospect of keeping it are what count, shown through payslips, tax returns and contracts. When we review your case we give you the figure that applies, referenced to the current year — never a figure without a date. - **Adequate housing report.** Issued by your region or town hall, it states whether the home is sufficient for the people who will live in it. It is the slowest document in the whole file and sometimes involves a visit, so it is requested on day one, not at the end. If it comes back unfavourable, far better to know before anything has been set in motion in your relative's country. - **Family relationship evidenced and legalised.** Marriage, registered-partnership or birth certificate as applicable, with the sworn translation and the legalisation or apostille the country of origin requires. This is where correction requests concentrate: a correct certificate that is not legalised counts as not submitted. For parents, proof of financial dependence is added — the most demanding scenario of the whole route. - **The family member's own documents.** Full passport, medical certificate and, for adults, criminal record certificates from their countries of residence. They expire quickly, so they are requested once the rest of the file is on track — asking too early means asking twice, with the legalisation all over again. - **For a child with another parent: their consent.** Where parental responsibility is shared, the other parent's authorisation or the custody ruling is required. It is a child-protection requirement, not a formality, and without it the file does not move no matter how perfect the rest of it is. ## Documents **Solicitud (la presenta el reagrupante en España)** - Formulario EX-02 - Pasaporte completo del reagrupante - Tarjeta de identidad de extranjero (TIE) - Certificado de empadronamiento colectivo - Documentación acreditativa de disponer de vivienda adecuada - Documentación acreditativa de medios económicos - Pasaporte completo del reagrupado - Certificado de antecedentes penales del reagrupado (mayores de edad) - Certificado médico del reagrupado - Certificado de matrimonio, pareja registrada o nacimiento, según corresponda - Documentación acreditativa de la dependencia legal o económica (optional) - Autorización del otro progenitor o documentación sobre la patria potestad o custodia (optional) ## Stages of the file 1. **Document collection.** You upload your documents to the portal. We tell you what is missing and what will not be accepted before any clock starts. 2. **Internal review.** The team reviews the complete file before filing. This is the step that prevents it from being returned. 3. **Official fees.** Government fees are paid directly to the administration, with the receipt stored in your case file. 4. **Filing.** 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. 5. **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 | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | Adequate housing report | Weeks, depending on your region or town hall | The slowest document in the file: requested on day one. | | Gathering the rest of the documents | 3 to 6 weeks | Set by the certificates from your relative's country and their legalisation. | | Review and case preparation | A few days | The file is not submitted until it is complete. | | Filing and decision on the authorisation | Depends on the competent immigration office | The decision rests solely with the administration; we publish no forecasts. | | The family member's consular visa | Depends on the consulate concerned | Each consulate moves at its own pace and may ask for additional documents. | | Entry into Spain and TIE card | After the visa is granted | The family member applies for their card in Spain, with a separate appointment and fee. | The timelines of the administration and of each consulate are nobody else's to promise, and pretending otherwise would be a lie. What is in our hands is everything before: requesting the housing report on day one and filing a complete case, which is where most of the months are lost. ## Common mistakes - **Requesting the housing report last** — It is the slowest document in the file and sometimes needs a home visit. Leaving it to the end means everything else expires while you wait, and criminal records and medical certificates have to be requested again. - **Mixing up the route for relatives of Spanish citizens with the EX-02** — They are different regimes with different requirements and forms. Filing under the wrong one means starting from scratch, with the fee already paid. - **Relationship certificates without sworn translation or legalisation** — A foreign document that is not properly legalised counts as not submitted, however real and obvious the relationship. It is the most common correction request in this file. - **Evidencing income with one good month** — What is weighed is stability and the prospect of maintaining the means, not an isolated peak. A case built on one exceptional payslip ends in a refusal for insufficient means. - **The family member travelling to Spain before holding the visa** — The sequence is authorisation first, consular visa second, entry last. Breaking it speeds nothing up and puts the case itself at risk. - **Not providing the other parent's consent for a child** — With shared parental responsibility the file does not advance without it. It is among the slowest correction requests to resolve, because it depends on a third person who is sometimes in another country. ## Next Once the authorisation is granted, your relative applies for their visa at the consulate, enters Spain and requests their TIE card. From then on that card runs on its own calendar: the first renewal is the next procedure, and its expiry date is worth watching from day one.: https://www.usebooka.com/en/tramites/espana/renovacion-residencia-trabajo ## FAQ **Which relatives can I bring to Spain under family reunification?** Your spouse or registered partner, minor children (or adult children with a disability) and, in limited cases with proven dependence, parents. Relatives of SPANISH citizens follow a different route with its own rules — if that is your case, we tell you before opening anything. **How long must I have lived in Spain first?** As a general rule, at least one year of legal residence plus authorisation to reside for at least another year. If you are not there yet, we tell you when you will be — free of charge. **What income do I need to prove?** Sufficient means under the scale referenced to the current IPREM index, which depends on your family size. When we review your case we give you the figure that applies to you, referenced to the current year. **Can my family wait in Spain while it is decided?** This procedure works the other way round: the authorisation is decided first and the family member then applies for their visa at the consulate in their country. That is the route that protects the case. **Can I bring my parents to Spain?** Parents can be included in limited cases: you must evidence that they are dependent on you and that there are reasons justifying their residence in Spain. It is the most demanding scenario of the EX-02 in terms of financial proof, which is why it is studied before the case is opened. **Can my spouse work once they arrive?** Reunification authorises residence. Whether the reunited family member may work depends on the specific case and their age, and it does not switch on simply because they have arrived. We tell you what applies in your case and, if a further procedure is needed, which one. **How long does the adequate housing report take?** It depends entirely on your region or town hall, which issues it, and it sometimes includes a home visit. That is why it is the first thing requested: the rest of the file is assembled while the report is processed, not afterwards. **Does my unmarried partner count as a spouse?** A registered partner can be brought over, evidenced with the registration in the relevant register. Living together without registering is not equivalent to marriage for these purposes, and it is one of the misunderstandings that most often starts a case off wrong. **What happens if the authorisation is refused?** The decision rests solely with the administration and nobody can guarantee it. If a refusal arrives, we explain the specific ground and what options exist — appeal or a fresh application — which are separate procedures with their own cost. **Do I pay a fee for each family member?** Fee 790-052 covers the authorisation, and each family member's visa carries its own consular fee, which varies by country. None of them is included in the professional fee: they are paid directly to the administration and the consulate, and we tell you which apply and when inside your case file. **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 8, Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.: https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/migraciones/hojas-informativas ## 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.