What to do if your immigration application is taking too long

Written by Equipo legal Con Fines · Last updated: 2026-09-20

What to do if your immigration application is taking too long

You submitted your application months ago, you check its status and it still says “En trámite” (In progress). Does that mean there is a problem with your application?

Not necessarily.

The legal deadline and the actual processing time are not always the same

As a general rule, Spanish immigration authorities have a maximum period of three months to issue and notify a decision on an immigration application, calculated from the day after the application is received by the competent authority. However, some procedures are subject to different specific deadlines.

This is established in Additional Provision One of Organic Law 4/2000 on the rights and freedoms of foreign nationals in Spain and further developed in Additional Provision Seven of Royal Decree 1155/2024, approving the Immigration Regulations.

Read the official Organic Law 4/2000 on Immigration

Read the official Immigration Regulations (Royal Decree 1155/2024)

However, the statutory deadline and the actual processing time do not always coincide. In practice, some applications can take longer to be decided.

How can I find out which applications the Immigration Office is currently processing?

Some Immigration Offices publish estimated processing dates for different types of immigration applications, usually on a monthly basis.

For example, an office may indicate that it is currently processing arraigo applications submitted during a particular month, while renewals, initial residence and work permits, family reunification applications or other procedures may be at a different stage.

This information can give you a much more realistic idea of the actual processing times for your specific procedure at that Immigration Office.

If you submitted your application several months ago and it is still shown as “En trámite”, we can check whether the competent office is already processing applications of the same type submitted after yours, or whether it is still working through earlier applications.

These dates are only indicative. They do not mean that every application submitted on a particular date will be decided at the same time, nor do they replace the statutory deadlines. Each application may require different checks, and processing times may also be affected by requests for additional documents.

In addition, not every Immigration Office publishes this information, and the way in which it is provided may vary from one province to another.

What happens once the three-month deadline has passed?

In many Spanish immigration procedures, if the maximum statutory period expires without a decision being notified, negative administrative silence (silencio administrativo negativo) applies.

However, this is important: negative administrative silence is not the same as receiving an express refusal.

The effects of the expiry of the statutory deadline are regulated by Additional Provision One of Organic Law 4/2000and Additional Provision Eight of the Immigration Regulations.

In addition, Article 24.2 of Law 39/2015 on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrationsprovides that a deemed rejection resulting from administrative silence allows the applicant to pursue the applicable administrative or judicial appeal.

Even where negative administrative silence applies, the Administration remains legally required to issue an express decision. Articles 21 and 24.3 of Law 39/2015 establish this obligation and allow the Administration to subsequently issue a decision without being bound by the negative effect of administrative silence.

This is why an application can remain “En trámite” even after three months and later receive a favourable decision.

There are also certain immigration procedures in which the applicable legislation provides for positive administrative silence, so the rules must always be checked for the specific procedure concerned.

Read Articles 21, 22 and 24 of Law 39/2015

Can a request for additional documents affect the deadline?

Yes.

Article 22 of Law 39/2015 provides for several circumstances in which the maximum period for issuing a decision may be suspended.

These include situations where the applicant is asked to correct deficiencies or provide documents required to process the application. In these circumstances, the calculation of the deadline may be suspended between notification of the request and compliance with it, subject to the limits established by law.

This means that determining whether the statutory deadline has actually expired is not always as simple as counting three months from the date the application was submitted.

Can I continue working if more than three months have passed?

This is particularly relevant for people who applied under Spain’s 2026 extraordinary regularisation process and were granted provisional authorisation to reside and work while their application was being processed.

Royal Decree 316/2026, which introduced Additional Provisions 20 and 21 into the Immigration Regulations, expressly regulates this provisional authorisation and establishes a maximum processing period of three months.

The Directorate-General for Migration Management (Dirección General de Gestión Migratoria) subsequently clarified that, for these applications, the expiry of the three-month period and the resulting negative administrative silence does not, in itself, terminate the provisional authorisation to reside and work in Spain.

That provisional authorisation remains valid until an express decision is issued and formally notified.

Read the Interpretative Guidance issued by the Directorate-General for Migration Management on 22 July 2026

So, what can I do if my application is taking too long?

Before deciding what action to take, it is important to check:

• the type of application submitted and its statutory processing deadline;
• the exact date on which it was submitted;
• whether you received any request for additional documents that may have affected the calculation of the deadline;
• the effect of administrative silence for that particular procedure; and
• where the competent Immigration Office publishes this information, the current estimated processing dates for your specific type of application.

Depending on your circumstances, it may be appropriate to continue waiting, submit a formal written request to the Administration, or consider the available administrative or judicial remedies.

The information on this page is indicative and updated in line with current regulations. Timing largely depends on the competent authority.