During the last weeks, there have been many changes due to the State of Alarm in Spain. Here we tell you the latest immigration news.
The coronavirus crisis and the State of Alarm have brought about important changes in the lives of all the inhabitants of the country, and this undoubtedly also affects foreigners.
That is why the government has introduced modifications to the immigration regulations that you should be aware of. Many of them represent great advantages to obtain or renew your residence permit.
In this article we summarize all the changes and main immigration news .
1. Flexibility and facilities to obtain the Social Arraigo
Within the latest immigration news, we begin this section with bad news: no mass regularization process for foreigners without legal papers has been initiated, as many requested.
However, the latest instruction published by the government supposes a series of changes in the Social Arraigo process that will undoubtedly benefit you .
Let’s see the most important ones:
Possibility of providing a new employment contract if your employer can no longer hire you
One of the main requirements for Social Arraigo was to provide an employment contract and until today that was a very common problem.
After submitting the application, having attached the employment contract, it took a long time until a favorable resolution was obtained. So long that just then the employer could no longer afford to hire the foreigner.
And what did that meant? Having to start the application process from the start, invalidating the existing file. But with the new resolution this has changed.
Now, if your application for the Social Arraigo is favorable and at that time your employer cannot hire you, it is possible to find and provide a new employment contract and your file will continue to be maintained .
You will have 45 business days to find a new job (enough time). And, once the new contract has been provided, your file will have higher consideration and will be resolved within a maximum period of 10 days.
Economic resources to be demonstrated by the company
Another key point to get your residency by Social Arraigo is the ability of the company that is going to hire you to demonstrate its economic viability and availability of financial means to hire you. If they are not enough, the employment contract would not be valid.
However, with the current crisis derived from the coronavirus, this has become somewhat complicated as businesses that have not been forced to close are experiencing great financial hardship and that complicates the demonstration of a solid economic solvency.
But the government has made it easy in that sense. Well, only the viability of the company before the start of the current crisis will be taken into account and not the current situation.
Of course, once the file is resolved as favorable, the employer still has a month to register you with Social Security.
Reduction of financial means for renewing the Social Arraigo without a work contract
This was something that we already knew: It is possible to renew your residence due to exceptional circumstances without having an employment contract.
But for this it was essential to have other economic resources that could sustain you in the country. We are talking, for example, about being financially dependent on a relative.
The difference comes from the exact monetary amount that you had to demonstrate in order for the renewal to be accepted in this way. Until today it was equivalent to the financial requirement for family reunification (150% of the IPREM), but now the amount can be less.
We do not have an exact figure: each case will be analyzed independently and will depend on the circumstances of the foreigner in particular. This undoubtedly makes the process much easier.
Previous appointments are over, one of the best new features of the system
We will say goodbye to one of the most tedious steps when obtaining a residence permit. In the past, to present the documentation to apply for residence you had to request a prior appointment and go in person to deliver your documentation.
This is now over so you will no longer have to make an appointment. The only prior appointment that you must request is for taking your fingerprints once your application is approved, at which time you pick up your card.
However, for initial applications or renewals it will not be necessary. and this will certainly save you a lot of time.
We all know the previous process: go in to see if there is availability for an appointment (usually there was not), once you find it, wait 3 or 4 months until you can go to the office… a tedious process.
Now everything has changed and this is thanks to the next point.
Possibility of submitting your paperwork online
We had already seen in one of our latest articles how the vast majority of procedures could be carried out online.
Well, one of the novelties of immigration paperwork in Spain is that now the list of procedures has been drastically expanded. You can submit any application for a residence permit or renewal online, whatever it is.
You simply have to talk to our lawyer, let us prepare all the documentation for you, and we will send it as quickly as possible online through a professional registry without ever having to set foot in an immigration office!
This has great advantages:
- First of all, you will get much faster response and resolution.
- The process becomes easier for you, you only have to sign the documents while a lawyer prepares everything.
- You will gain more security and a greater probability of success in the application by having a professional by your side who will take into account all the necessary details.
Beginning of the extension of expired visas and residence permits
One of the latest immigration news that the end of the State of Alarm in Spain left was the automatic extension of all expired visas and residence permits .
Well, from June 21 (date of end of the State of Alarm), this extension began. And remember, for regular residence cards it is 6 months, and for tourist or student visas 3.
New residence card format
Until now we had four different types of Foreigner Identity Card (TIE). Well, as of now, 3 of them have been unified and now, the police have started issuing a new format of residence cards.
It is a unified model within the entire European Union for citizens of countries outside the Union.
A much safer model that aims to prevent counterfeiting, in addition to unifying the cards of the member states of the EU.
This new card contains a chip with the biographical data and image of the foreigner, being a much more modern and secure system.
Flexibility of financial resources for family reunification
The latest news on immigration is, as you already know, to request family reunification it is necessary to demonstrate that the resident in Spain has the financial resources to support the foreigner who requests it.
More specifically, the general rule was 150% of the IPREM for a family member and an additional 50% for each additional family member that we bring to Spain.
From now on, the minimum amount required is made more flexible, both for the time of application and for the following year in which we have to maintain the economic means and that is so in the case of reunifying minor children.
Thus, it is now possible to reunify minor children by demonstrating income equivalent to the SMI (Interprofessional Minimum Wage) in Spain, equivalent to €950 per month.
Do you need more information about immigration procedures in Spain?
If you want to do any immigration procedure, make sure it has an expert team in the field.
At Entre Trámites we invite you to know all our immigration services here. Fill in our contact form and we will call you to help you as soon as possible, schedule a free online consultation or just text our WhatsApp.
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