What to Do If Your Immigration Case Is Not Resolved

Written by Equipo legal Con Fines

Filing Deadlines and Real Processing Times Don't Always Match

In immigration matters, the general maximum deadline to resolve and notify a decision on an authorization application is three months, counted from the day after it is registered with the competent body — although some procedures have different, specific deadlines.

This is established by the First Additional Provision of Organic Law 4/2000 on Immigration, and further developed by the Seventh Additional Provision of Royal Decree 1155/2024, which approves the Immigration Regulation.

Check Organic Law 4/2000 on Immigration

Check the Immigration Regulation (Royal Decree 1155/2024)

However, the legal deadline and the actual processing time don't always match, and in practice some cases can take longer to resolve.

How Can I Know What Filing Date Immigration Is Currently Resolving?

Some Immigration Offices publish, on a monthly basis, indicative resolution dates for each type of immigration procedure.

For example, they may indicate that they are currently resolving arraigo applications filed in a certain month, while renewals, initial residence-and-work authorizations, family reunifications or other procedures may be at different dates.

This gives a much closer reference point for the actual pace of processing for each procedure at that particular Immigration Office.

So, if you filed your application several months ago and it still shows "In progress," we can check whether the competent office is already resolving cases of the same type filed after yours, or whether it is still working through earlier applications.

It's important to keep in mind that these dates are indicative. They don't mean that every application filed on a given date will be resolved at the same time, nor do they replace the legally established maximum deadlines. Each case may require different checks, and its processing may be affected by, among other things, requests for additional documentation.

Also, not every Immigration Office publishes this information, and how and how often it's shared can vary by province.

What Happens Once the Three Months Have Passed?

In many immigration procedures, once the maximum deadline passes without a decision, what is known as negative administrative silence occurs.

But be careful: negative silence is not the same as an explicit denial.

The First Additional Provision of Organic Law 4/2000 and the Eighth Additional Provision of the Immigration Regulation govern the effects of the deadline passing in these procedures.

In addition, Article 24.2 of Law 39/2015 on the Common Administrative Procedure establishes that a rejection through administrative silence allows the interested party to file the corresponding administrative or judicial appeal.

And even after negative silence has occurred, the Administration remains obligated to issue an explicit decision. Articles 21 and 24.3 of Law 39/2015 establish this obligation and allow a decision to later be issued that isn't bound by the negative outcome implied by the silence.

That's why a case can keep showing "In progress" after the three months and later end with a favorable decision.

There are also immigration procedures where the regulations themselves establish positive administrative silence, so it's always necessary to check the specific procedure.

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

Can a Request for Documents Affect the Deadline?

Yes.

Article 22 of Law 39/2015 sets out several situations in which the maximum resolution deadline can be suspended.

One of them is a request to the applicant to correct deficiencies or provide necessary documents, which can suspend the deadline for the period between the notification of the request and its fulfillment, within the legally established limits.

That's why, to know whether the maximum deadline has genuinely passed, it isn't always enough to simply count three months from the filing date.

Can I Keep Working If the Three Months Have Passed?

This question is especially relevant for people who applied for an authorization under the 2026 extraordinary regularization and received provisional authorization to reside and work while their application was being resolved.

Royal Decree 316/2026, which introduced the 20th and 21st Additional Provisions into the Immigration Regulation, expressly regulates this provisional authorization and sets a maximum resolution deadline of three months.

Afterwards, the Directorate-General for Migration Management clarified that, in these procedures, the passing of the three months and the occurrence of negative administrative silence does not, by itself, mean the loss of the provisional authorization to reside and work.

It remains in effect until an explicit decision exists and is notified.

Interpretive Criterion of the Directorate-General for Migration Management of July 22, 2026 — pending confirmation of an official public source before this can be cited (see note below).

So What Can I Do If My Case Is Taking Too Long?

Before taking any action, it's important to check:

- the procedure filed and its maximum resolution deadline;

- the exact filing date;

- whether any request for documents may have affected the deadline;

- what effect administrative silence has for that specific procedure;

- and, when the relevant Immigration Office publishes this information, what indicative resolution dates it currently has for that type of procedure.

Depending on the case, it may be advisable to keep waiting, submit a formal request to the Administration, or consider the available appeal options.

At Con Fines, We Review Where Your Case Stands

If your application has been taking longer than expected, at Con Fines we review your case, the applicable legal deadline, and — when official information is available — the indicative resolution dates published for your type of procedure by the competent Immigration Office.

This gives us a reference point for the real pace of processing and lets us assess whether the time your case is taking is in line with similar procedures.

We also check whether administrative silence has occurred and what options you have in your case.

Because three months passing doesn't mean your case has been denied, or that you have to keep waiting without knowing what's happening.

Has your case been "in progress" for months? [Contact Con Fines](/en/contact) and we'll review your situation.

A Note on Sources

The official sources cited above are Spanish government publications (BOE) and are only available in Spanish, as is standard for Spanish legislation. Where possible, we've linked directly to the official consolidated text.

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