Tag Archives: Covid-19 Coronavirus

Covid-19: What Happens with Spanish Residence Permits and Visas that Expire During Lockdown?

June 11th, 2020

Coronavirus Covid-19 Spain Immigration Officer Stop Sign

As of time of writing, the state of alarm and subsequent lockdown due to the Coronavirus/Covid-19 crisis has been extended on six occasions, until the 21st of June, and the borders have been closed to travelers. This has had an obvious impact on Spanish immigration procedures. In order to prevent harm to current resident permit and short stay visas holders, the Spanish government has made a number of provisions to cover all the possible situations.

What if my Spanish Resident Permit Expires During Covid-19 Lockdown?

The general rule of thumb is that temporary permits have their expiring date extended six months.

  • Temporary permits that expired three months before the lockdown was announced and those expiring during the lockdown are automatically extended for six months.
    This extension will apply starting on the expiry date of the document.

    • Example: Your residence card expired on March 30, 2020. Your new expiry date is September 30, 2020, and you can either apply for the appointment as soon as the lockdown is lifted or at any time before September 30.
  • Residence cards of relatives of EU citizens are also automatically extended for six months in the same way as temporary residence cards, with the same conditions as explained above.
  • Equally, the expired long-term residence cards (Larga Duracion) are extended for six months.
  • Spanish residents that are currently locked out of Spain, whose visas and residence cards have expired during lockdown, can enter Spain with their valid passports and expired visa or card after the lockdown ends.
    • Question: what about my expired return authorization if I already renewed my card and applied for a new TIE? According to the above, you can enter Spain with your expired card and approach the police station to collect your renewed card once you have been able to travel back.
  • If during lockdown the renewal applications have been filed and approved, the validity date on the renewal will be taken back to the following day after expiry date.

What if my Spanish Stay Visa Expires During Covid-19 Lockdown?

  • Short stay visas are extended for 3 months after lockdown ends.
    • Example: You came on holiday on the 10th of March and were unable to return to your home country. You have stayed since then. If lockdown ends on the 22nd of June, your visa will be valid until the 22nd of September.
  • This extension is limited to the Spanish territory.
  • The extended period will be considered to calculate the maximum time authorized for future stays in Spain.
    • Example: You came on holiday on March 10, 2020 and stayed in Spain until July 10 of the same year. You will have consumed 120 days (30 more than usually allowed) and this means you have used up to 30 days of your second allowed time; that is, you will be allowed to stay 60 instead of 90 days in your next trip.
  • Students on mobility programs with visas that have a validity of less than six months, will be extended for three months if the student is in Spain.
  • Long term visas leading to the TIE application once entering in Spain, are also extended for three months.
  • Entrepreneurs’ residence visas based on Law 14/2013 on supporting entrepreneurs and their internationalization are also extended for three months.
  • Those in the obligation to return to their countries to extend a visa based on a student’s program are allowed to stay with their expired visa during three months after the lockdown is lifted.

What Happens if I Have Been Out of Spain during Covid-19 Lockdown?

Absences from Spanish territory during lockdown won’t be taken into consideration when calculating the minimum stay in Spain (days of actual residence), required to renew subsequent authorizations.

  • Example: You left Spain on the 22nd of February for a long trip of one-month duration and were suddenly locked out in your home country. You have a temporary residence permit and had already been 4 months out of Spain when you left. Your renewal date was the 30th of March and you have returned to Spain on the 25th of June, as lockdown has been lifted on the 22nd of June:
    • Your card has been extended until the 30th.
    • Absences between March 15 and June 22 do not count.
    • You have been out of Spain for 4 months and 3 days, that means you can renew you card as soon as you like before the 30th of September.

The content of this post is based on Order SND/431/2020:

  • Orden SND/421/2020, de 18 de mayo, por la que se adoptan medidas relativas a la prórroga de las autorizaciones de estancia y residencia y/o trabajo y a otras situaciones de los extranjeros en España, en aplicación del Real Decreto 463/2020, de 14 de marzo, por el que se declara el estado de alarma para la gestión de la situación de crisis sanitaria ocasionada por el COVID-19.

 

COVID-19: How are Spanish Immigration Procedures Affected During Lockdown?

March 20th, 2020

In the wake of the current coronavirus pandemic that is affecting Spain, the General Directorate of Migrations has just announced the suspension of deadlines that affect those foreign citizens with ongoing immigration application procedures.

The following scenarios are considered:

  1. Initial or renewal work and/or residence permit applications filed before lockdown came into force, that are currently in process or pending on the positive resolution.There are two possible situations:
    • That there aren’t any other documents required leading to the final resolution of the application.
    • That the application is already approved, only awaiting the approval letter.

    The finalization of the above applications will be immediate, allowing applicants to start, where applicable, a professional activity to avoid any further financial harm on the family unit.

  2. Investor’s Residence Permit (Law 14/2013) applications filed before the lockdown came into force, that meet the 20 days deadline without a resolution. These will be approved based on a positive silence resolution, allowing them to immediately start a work activity
  3. Initial or renewal work and/or residence permit applications filed before the lockdown came into force, that are currently pending on the rejection resolution or being shelved (due to withdrawal, renunciation, failure to provide with requested documentation).The following deadlines are suspended:
    • Applications pending on additional documentation or actions that are subject to administrative deadlines.
    • Those awaiting a rejection resolution letter.

    The administrative deadlines to file appeals will be suspended, with the aim to avoid the defenselessness of the applicants.

  4. Extension of validity of expired documents. Additional documents requested by the immigration authorities that have already expired, will be regarded as valid.
  5. Non-EU citizens holding a short stay visa that has expired (or is about to) but are unable to return to their home countries because of the lockdown, are allowed to stay, being the current limitation suspended. This measure had already been applied to Chinese citizens since the end of February, but in light if the current situation is extended to all nationalities.
  6. Initial or renewal work and/or residence permit applications submitted after the lockdown will be expedited as much as possible, but will not be subject to the normal administrative deadlines suspended by this Royal Decree.

Also to consider:

  • Any additional documentation that is requested will have to be submitted through electronic means, as a substitute of personal appearance.
  • A legal representative (via authorized forms and powers of attorney) will be allowed to submit the following permit applications: Modifications, Extensions, Renewals, Work and residence authorizations as well as Student authorizations, Mobility of students, Non-working visas based in apprenticeships and volunteer work visas.
  • It is important to understand that the administrative authorities are free to stop a procedure if they believe personal appearance is mandatory, which will be required once the lockdown is over.

We must also be aware that once the exceptional situation ends, the immigration office will have a considerable number of files to resolve, unable to finalize all in a timely manner, and further extension requests might be needed.

Download the full announcement