Arraigo in Spain (2026): the appointments you need and how to get them

What arraigo is, in short

Arraigo is a residence authorisation for exceptional circumstances, for people already living in Spain without a permit. Since the new immigration regulation took effect in May 2025, the main figures are social, socio-labour, socio-training, family and second-chance arraigo, and for most of them the general stay requirement dropped from three years to two. The exact requirements differ per figure and keep evolving — always check the official page for your procedure before acting.

What never changes is the mechanics: paperwork, and appointments. These are the ones you will need.

The arraigo appointments, step by step

Filing the application. Filed at the extranjería office of the province where you are registered (empadronado). With a digital certificate or Cl@ve — yours or a representative's — you can file online and skip this appointment entirely; it is the best time investment in the whole process. Without one, you need a filing appointment, among the most contested on the portal.
Fingerprints (toma de huellas). Comes after approval: an appointment at the police station serving your province of residence. No online shortcut exists — fingerprints are always in person.
TIE card pickup. At the same office where you gave fingerprints, with its own appointment. We cover the two TIE appointments in detail here.

Where it actually gets stuck

The typical case does not get stuck on requirements — it gets stuck on step 2, the fingerprint appointment. Demand concentrates on the same police stations that handle every other procedure, and in the big provinces each batch of slots disappears in minutes. Scarcity is not uniform, though: check your province's real availability pattern — days with availability and the most frequent time bands, updated hourly — before assuming there is nothing.

Getting each appointment without losing weeks

The rules are the same as for any cita previa: search your whole province rather than one office, spread your attempts over your province's strong time band, and have your details ready so a found appointment is not lost while you type — here is the full guide to booking fast.

The watching part you can delegate: create a monitor for your province and procedure, and when our checks detect available appointments you get an alert by email or Telegram. You book it yourself on the official portal, free, as always — the service does not book for you and cannot guarantee an appointment.

A note on the "extraordinary regularisation"

Arraigo under the regulation and the 2026 extraordinary regularisation are different processes. The regularisation (Royal Decree 316/2026) had its filing window between April and 30 June 2026, now closed. If you did not file in time and your case fits arraigo, this is the ordinary route that remains open; for news about the closed process, trust only official channels, not what circulates on social media.