Family reunification is the route for a foreigner already legally residing in Spain to bring their spouse, children or, in some cases, parents, to live with them. Since May 2025 the process is governed by Spain's new immigration regulation (RD 1155/2024). The bottleneck usually isn't the economic requirements, but the foreign civil certificates proving the family relationship — and getting them properly apostilled and translated before the resolution deadline passes.
Who can reunify whom
- Spouse or registered common-law partner — no minimum prior residence requirement beyond the general one.
- Children under 18 or dependent children with a disability.
- Parents or parents-in-law — only if the sponsor is a long-term resident, requiring a minimum of 5 years' legal residence in Spain.
The sponsor must have legally resided in Spain for at least 1 year and have their residence authorisation renewed or applied for at least one more year.
General file documents
- Valid passport or travel document of the sponsor.
- Proof of employment and/or sufficient economic means.
- Adequate housing report — issued by the relevant regional or municipal body after a visit or review of the property.
- Health insurance, if the reunified family member isn't covered by the public system.
Documents you need to translate: the ones proving the relationship
These are almost always what causes delays, because they're foreign documents and need apostille + sworn translation before submission:
- Marriage certificate, to reunify a spouse.
- Birth certificate of each child, or of the sponsor themselves (to prove the link with parents, in ascending reunification).
- Registered partnership certificate, if applicable instead of marriage.
- Certificate of life and civil status, requested by some consulates to confirm the family situation is still current at the time of application.
- Criminal record certificate of the family member being reunified, if required by the consulate handling the subsequent visa.
How to submit it
The application is submitted at the Immigration Office (Oficina de Extranjería) of the sponsor's province, preferably online through the Mercurio electronic office. Immigration has an official deadline of 45 working days to resolve it. Once reunification is approved, the family member must apply for the family reunification visa at the Spanish consulate in their country — that's where the apostilled and translated certificates are requested again, alongside the visa application.
Common mistakes
- Submitting the marriage or birth certificate without an apostille, when the country of origin isn't covered by EU Regulation 2016/1191 (which only exempts apostille between EU member states).
- Non-sworn translation. Immigration and the consulate require a MAEC-accredited sworn translator-interpreter.
- Expired certificates — some bodies require the birth or marriage certificate to be no older than a set period (usually 3-6 months) since issue.
- Not renewing the sponsor's residence authorisation in time before submitting, which invalidates the "current residence" requirement.
- Confusing family reunification with an EU citizen family member visa, which follows a different procedure (faster, with fewer economic requirements) when the sponsor is an EU national.
Related pages
- Submitting documents to Spain's Immigration Office
- TIE modification for marriage or a child
- Medical certificate for Spanish visa: the IHR-2005 explained
- Sworn translation in Madrid · Sworn translation in Valencia
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