Family reunification
Family reunification
For many people, bringing their family over is the reason for everything else. It is also a demanding application in which very concrete things are assessed: your housing, your income and the stability of your situation.
Family reunification allows a foreign national with legal residence in Spain to bring over certain relatives. It is not an automatic right: you must evidence that you can support and house them in adequate conditions, and that evidencing is where the real difficulty of the file sits.
Who you can bring
- Spouse or registered partner, provided there is no separation in fact or in law and the marriage was not entered into in fraud of the law. Or anyone who can prove a relationship analogous to marriage.
- Children under eighteen, or adult children with a disability who are objectively unable to provide for their own needs.
- Minors over whom you hold legal representation.
- Direct ascendants, in defined cases requiring justification of the need to authorise their residence in Spain.
The two causes behind most refusals
Adequate housing
You need a report certifying that your home is adequate for the number of people who will live in it. It is issued by the town hall and assesses floor area, number of rooms, habitability and occupancy conditions. It is a preliminary step with its own timescales: request it early, because without it a favourable decision is not possible.
Sufficient means
You must evidence stable, sufficient income to support the family once reunited. The amount required is calculated from the IPREM index and the total number of household members, and stability and the likelihood of that income continuing are assessed — not just last month’s payslip. Irregular income or very short contracts complicate the file even when the amount is sufficient.
Updated
Frequently asked questions
How long do I need to have been resident here?
As a general rule you must have resided legally for one year and have obtained authorisation to reside for at least another year — that is, a renewal granted or in progress. There are particular cases with their own rules, so it is worth confirming yours rather than assuming the general rule.
Can my relative work when they arrive?
The residence permit through reunification for a spouse and for children of working age carries permission to work without a further application. It is a change many people are unaware of and it changes the household arithmetic from the first month.
We married outside Spain. Does that count?
Yes, provided the marriage is valid under the applicable law and properly documented: a legalised or apostilled certificate translated by a sworn translator. In some cases it is also worth registering it in the Spanish Civil Registry, and doing that in parallel can save time.
What if I am refused on income grounds?
It is the most common ground for refusal and often fixable with time. Sometimes a few months of stable employment and a stronger reapplication is enough; other times the refusal rests on a questionable calculation of the IPREM or of the household, and an appeal is worth it. We assess it by reading the actual decision.