# Residence and work permit renewal

> Page: https://www.usebooka.com/en/tramites/espana/renovacion-residencia-trabajo
> Last reviewed: 2026-09-14

Renewing your residence and work authorisation keeps your legal status in Spain as your card approaches expiry — and the same case file covers the modification from an arraigo into residence and work. Under the current regulation, the renewed card is valid for 4 years.

What complicates most renewals is not the requirements, it is the calendar: filing late or with a rejected document leaves you months waiting on a correction request.

- **Booka fee:** €250
- **Official fees:** 16,40 €. Fee 790-052, heading 2.2.3: €16.40 for the worker, and fee 790-062, heading 3.2.2: €81.54 for the employer (Order PJC/617/2025, in force as of September 2026).
- **Where to apply:** Applied for from within Spain. A fully domestic procedure: applied for from within Spain.
- Under the current regulation, the renewed card is valid for 4 years.

## At a glance

| | |
| --- | --- |
| What it is | Renewal of a residence and work permit, and the modification from an arraigo into residence and work. |
| Who can apply | Holders of a residence and work permit approaching expiry, or holders of a valid arraigo. (As a general rule; the modification from arraigo requires meeting the target permit's own conditions.) |
| Where you apply | From within Spain. No need to leave the country or visit a consulate. |
| Official form | EX-03, application to renew temporary residence and work. |
| Filing window | From two months before the card expires until three months after. (As a general rule; filing outside the window changes the case.) |
| Can you work? | Yes: filing on time keeps your situation covered while the case is processed. |
| Length of the permit | Under the current regulation, the renewed card runs for 4 years. |
| Government fee | 790-052 for the renewal, plus 790-012 for the TIE card. (Paid separately to the administration; the amounts are detailed in your case file.) |

## Who it is for

**This is your procedure if:**

- Your residence and work card expires within two months, or expired less than three months ago.
- You have worked or paid Social Security during your current permit, or can evidence equivalent means.
- You can obtain clearance certificates from the tax office and Social Security.
- You hold a valid arraigo and want to move to a residence and work permit.

**This is not your procedure if:**

- You have never held a Spanish residence permit: there is nothing to renew yet.
- Your card expired more than three months ago and nothing was filed within the window.
- What you want is to bring your family over, which is a different case with its own requirements.
- You have been here 2 years or more with no prior permit: your route is arraigo, not renewal.

See arraigo sociolaboral: https://www.usebooka.com/en/tramites/espana/arraigo-sociolaboral

## Requirements

- **Filing inside the legal window.** The application is accepted from two months before the card expires and, as a general rule, up to three months after. This is the requirement that sinks most renewals, because it has nothing to do with merit and everything to do with the calendar. Past that margin the case changes in nature and is worth studying before you pay for anything.
- **Work activity or means during the permit.** What matters is what happened over the life of your permit: contract and payslips if you are employed, tax registration and self-employed contributions if you work for yourself. Gaps in contributions do not automatically block a renewal, but they do have to be explained with documents — and that is prepared before filing, not when the correction request lands.
- **Clearance from the tax office and Social Security.** Evidenced with clearance certificates from both. They are free and obtained online, but they expire, so they are requested once the rest of the file is on track. An outstanding debt does not always prevent renewal, but it is far better found on day one than at the filing desk.
- **Padrón registration and, with children, school enrolment.** The historical padrón certificate shows where you lived during the previous permit. If minors live in your care, their school enrolment certificate is added too: a child of compulsory school age not enrolled is a genuine problem in a renewal, not a formality.
- **No criminal record arising since the last permit.** What is assessed is whether anything appeared during the life of your previous permit. Unlike an initial application, this does not start from scratch: the administration compares your situation with the one on record when the card was granted.
- **Coming from an arraigo: meeting the target permit.** Moving from arraigo to residence and work is not automatic: it is a modification with its own requirements, those of the permit you are moving into (information sheet 55). That is why the case is studied before it is opened, and why assuming an arraigo simply rolls over is a costly mistake.

## Documents

**Solicitante**

- Formulario EX-03
- Pasaporte completo
- Tarjeta de identidad de extranjero (TIE)
- Certificado de empadronamiento histórico
- Certificado de escolarización de los menores (optional)
- Certificado de estar al corriente con la Agencia Tributaria y la Seguridad Social

**Trabajador por cuenta ajena (si procede)**

- Contrato de trabajo (optional)
- Últimas nóminas (optional)
- Informe de vida laboral (optional)

**Trabajador por cuenta propia (si procede)**

- Alta censal (Modelo 036/037) (optional)
- Justificantes de cotización al RETA (optional)
- Declaraciones tributarias (IVA e IRPF) (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

| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Legal filing window | Two months before expiry to three months after | As a general rule. This deadline governs everything else. |
| Gathering the documents | 2 to 4 weeks | Set by the padrón certificate and the clearance certificates. |
| Review and case preparation | A few days | The file is not submitted until it is complete. |
| Filing | Subject to appointment availability | With the registration receipt visible in your case file. |
| 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 renewal 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 inside the window with a complete file, which is where most of the months are lost.

## Common mistakes

- **Letting the 60-days-before / 90-days-after window pass** — Outside that margin a renewal stops being a renewal and the case has to be studied under another route, with different requirements and a different cost. It is the most expensive mistake and the easiest to avoid: look at the date on your TIE today.
- **Clearance certificates already expired at filing** — They have short validity. Requesting them on day one and filing two months later means requesting them again, and meanwhile nothing is submitted. They go last, once the rest is assembled.
- **Not evidencing school enrolment for children in your care** — If you live with children of compulsory school age and it is not evidenced, a correction request lands and stalls the file for months.
- **Assuming an arraigo renews like an ordinary residence permit** — It is a modification, not an extension: the target permit's requirements must be evidenced. Filing it as a simple renewal invites a refusal with the window already spent.
- **Changing job or work regime just before filing without updating the file** — If the contract and employment history submitted no longer match your real situation, the documents do not add up and a correction request follows. Changing jobs does not prevent renewal; filing an out-of-date file does.
- **Submitting an incomplete passport** — The whole passport is required, not just the photo page. It is the silliest correction request in the file and still one of the most common.

## Next

The renewal grants a 4-year card, so paperwork stops being the next thing on your list for a while. With legal residence accumulating, two routes open up: bringing your family over, or — if you are a national of an Ibero-American country with 2 years of legal residence — starting the citizenship file.: https://www.usebooka.com/en/tramites/espana/nacionalidad-por-residencia

## FAQ

**When should I start renewing my Spanish residence permit?**

As early as your window allows: filing opens two months before expiry and, as a general rule, runs until three months after. Starting early leaves room for the slow documents — the historical padrón, the tax and Social Security certificates.

**What if my card has already expired?**

As a general rule you can still file up to three months after expiry. Beyond that the case changes: tell us before hiring and we will say whether this route is still open.

**Can I keep working while the renewal is decided?**

Filing the renewal in time keeps your situation covered while it is processed. The safest position is always a complete file submitted within the window — which is exactly what the service exists for.

**How long is the renewed card valid?**

Under the current regulation, renewal grants a 4-year card — the most welcome change of the new framework, because it cuts how often you go through this again.

**Is renewing after an arraigo different from an ordinary renewal?**

Yes: it is a modification with its own requirements. You move from arraigo into a residence and work permit by meeting the target permit's conditions (information sheet 55). It is not automatic, which is why the case is studied before it is opened.

**I lost my job. Can I still renew?**

It is not an automatic no. The whole life of your permit is weighed — accumulated contributions, unemployment benefit, your own means, or a new contract — and all of it is evidenced with documents. What does not work is filing without explaining the gap.

**Do I have to leave Spain or go to a consulate?**

No. This is a fully domestic procedure: filed from within Spain, with no consulate involved. At the end there is an in-person fingerprint appointment for the TIE card, once the renewal is granted.

**Does the same file work if I changed employer?**

Yes, as long as the documents reflect your real situation at filing: current contract, latest payslips and an up-to-date employment history report. Changing jobs is not the problem; filing with old paperwork is.

**What happens if they ask me for more documents?**

The administration opens a correction period and you must answer inside it with exactly what was asked. You see it in your case file and we prepare the reply; what cannot be recovered is the time it adds to the procedure, which is why the file does not leave until it is complete.

**How many documents does the renewal need?**

Six core documents from you — form EX-03, full passport, TIE card, historical padrón certificate and the two clearance certificates — plus the block that matches how you work: contract, payslips and employment history if employed, or tax registration and self-employed contributions if you work for yourself.

**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 13, Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration; for the arraigo modification, information sheet 55.: 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.