Arraigo for doctors and nurses without a residence permit in Spain

What is arraigo and which one suits a doctor or nurse?

Arraigo is a residence authorisation on exceptional grounds that the Immigration Regulation (RD 1155/2024, in force since 20-05-2025 and amended by RD 316/2026 from 16-04-2026) grants to people already living in Spain without a residence authorisation. It is not requested at a consulate: you apply at the Immigration Office (Oficina de Extranjería) of the province where you live, without leaving the country.

For a health professional the natural route is the labour arraigo (arraigo sociolaboral): 2 years of continuous stay and one or more contracts adding up to at least the minimum wage (SMI) in proportion to working hours. It works with a contract from a private clinic, a care home, a laboratory or any employer; it does not have to be a doctor or nurse position. That is the practical advantage: the contract regularises your residence while your degree recognition runs its course.

The three tracks are separate and can run in parallel. Degree recognition (homologación) is decided by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and does not require a residence authorisation. Registration (colegiación) is granted by the provincial College and does require a recognised degree and a NIE, TIE or passport. Immigration papers are decided by the Immigration Office. Bookahospi handles the first; Booka, the third.

The 5 arraigo routes of RD 1155/2024 after RD 316/2026

The current Regulation keeps five ordinary arraigo routes. All require being in an irregular situation, not being an applicant for international protection, having no criminal record in Spain or in the countries where you lived in the last 5 years, paying the fee and, under the new article 126 introduced by RD 316/2026, not holding a stay or residence permit or having any grant, renewal or modification procedure pending.

For a health worker the choice is usually between labour (you have a contract), social (no contract but ties or an integration report and means), training (you are enrolled in a master's or regulated course while waiting for recognition) and family (your spouse or child is Spanish). Second chance is for those who held residence and lost it, for example a MIR resident who did not modify in time.

Labour arraigo requirements: the 2 years and the contract

You must prove 2 years of continuous stay in Spain, with absences not exceeding 90 days in that period, and one or more signed employment contracts adding up to at least the minimum wage in proportion to working hours. RD 1155/2024 removed the integration report for this route and, since RD 316/2026, allows several part-time contracts that together reach the minimum pay.

• Stay: proven with dated reliable documents such as municipal registration (empadronamiento), medical reports, enrolments, receipts or any public administration record. Booka builds the month-by-month timeline and spots gaps before filing.
• Contract: signed by the employer with a suspensive condition until approval. It can be a health position if you already hold a recognised degree and registration, or another category if you do not yet.
• Criminal record: certificate from your country and from the countries where you lived in the last 5 years, apostilled or consular-legalised and with sworn translation; consulates require it to be less than 3 months old.
• No other stay, residence, renewal or modification application pending (art. 126 after RD 316/2026).

Approval always depends on the Immigration Office's decision. In practice, files that are refused usually fail on the proof of stay or on contracts below the minimum wage, not on the applicant's profession.

Can I work while the arraigo is being decided?

Yes, under the labour arraigo: from the moment the Immigration Office notifies admission of your file you may start working on the contract submitted, and the employer may register you with Social Security (article 130.5 of RD 1155/2024 as amended by RD 316/2026). Before that notice there is no authorisation to work.

Working without authorisation before admission, or without having filed anything, does not speed up the file and may harm it. The rule Bookahospi applies is simple: contract signed with a suspensive condition, filing, admission notice and, only then, Social Security registration.

If your contract is for a doctor or nurse position, remember that registration with Social Security also requires College membership, and College membership requires a recognised degree. That is why Bookahospi usually recommends filing the arraigo with the contract available and switching to the health category once recognition arrives.

Steps of the labour arraigo, with who does each one and its timing

1. 1

   Diagnosis: which arraigo and from which date

   Bookahospi reviews with you your provable entry date, your absences and whether you have a contract, ties or enrolment, and proposes the right arraigo. Timing: 48 hours from when you share your documents.

2. 2

   Proof of the 2 years of stay

   Booka gathers with you municipal registrations, medical reports, receipts and any dated official document to cover 24 months with no absence gaps above 90 days. You provide what you have; Booka requests what is missing. Timing: 2 to 4 weeks.

3. 3

   Criminal record and passport

   You request the criminal record certificate from your country and from the countries where you lived in the last 5 years, with apostille or consular legalisation; Booka arranges the sworn translation. They must be less than 3 months old at filing. Timing: 2 to 6 weeks depending on the country.

4. 4

   Contract or contracts reaching the minimum wage

   The employer signs the contract with a suspensive condition until approval; Booka provides the template. If there are several part-time contracts, together they must reach at least the minimum wage. Timing: 1 week.

5. 5

   Fee 790 code 052 and filing

   You pay the 38.28 € fee (Order PJC/617/2025). Booka files the application under your representation at the Immigration Office of your province. Timing: the same day the file is complete.

6. 6

   Admission and Social Security registration

   The Immigration Office notifies admission; with it you can start working (art. 130.5) and the employer registers you. Usual timing: days from registration, depending on the office.

7. 7

   Decision within the legal 3-month deadline

   The Immigration Office decides within a legal deadline of 3 months; approval depends on its decision, silence on initial applications is negative, and busy offices may exceed the deadline. Booka answers requests and tracks the file.

8. 8

   TIE card, registration and switch to a health position

   Within a month of approval you apply for the TIE at the Police station (790-012 fee: 16.08 €). With the TIE and a recognised degree you register with the provincial College, which requires an apostilled certificate of good standing less than 3 months old, and the employer can move you to a doctor or nurse contract.

How long does the labour arraigo take and how much does it cost?

The official fee for arraigo, in any of its types, is 38.28 € (form 790 code 052, Order PJC/617/2025, in force since 16-06-2025). The legal decision deadline is 3 months from entry in the register of the competent body, and approval depends on the Immigration Office's decision.

The labour arraigo is granted for 1 year and extended in 1-year periods (article 132 of RD 1155/2024). After 5 years of continuous legal residence you can apply for long-term residence, and if you are a national of an Ibero-American country, after 2 years of legal residence you can apply for Spanish citizenship: arraigo time does count, unlike a study stay.

Can I apply for degree recognition while in an irregular situation?

Yes. Degree recognition is a procedure of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities that assesses your degree, not your administrative status; it does not require a residence authorisation. You can start it today, with a passport, while Booka prepares the arraigo. What does require legal residence, in practice, is College registration (NIE or TIE) and Social Security enrolment as a doctor or nurse.

Two procedures must be told apart: recognition of the undergraduate degree (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities) and recognition of the specialist title (Ministry of Health, RD 459/2010). Without a recognised specialty you can only practise as a general practitioner, in practice in the private sector. Neither promises a fixed timeframe: a draft Royal Decree would have professional colleges issue reports within 10 working days, with public consultation closed on 18-05-2026 and not approved as of this guide.

The sequence Bookahospi recommends for a health worker in an irregular situation is: degree recognition under way from day one, labour arraigo with the contract available, TIE, College registration once recognition arrives and, finally, a switch to a health-category contract. Each step belongs to a different administration and none blocks the previous one.

Is the 2026 extraordinary regularisation still open?

No. The window of the extraordinary regularisation under RD 316/2026 (additional provisions 20 and 21) ran from 16-04-2026 to 30-06-2026 and is closed. It required presence in Spain before 01-01-2026 and allowed provisional work during processing. No new call has been announced and this guide does not assume there will be one.

If you filed within the window, your file is still alive: the extraordinary authorisation lasts 1 year, extendable up to 4, and allows provisional work during processing. If you missed it, the five ordinary routes in this guide remain open, and the labour arraigo is the most direct for anyone with a contract.

After the arraigo: extension, family, long-term residence and citizenship

The labour arraigo is granted for 1 year and extended in 1-year periods (art. 132) as long as you keep working. As a residence holder you can reunite your spouse or partner, your children up to age 26 and your dependent ascendants, proving means of 150 % of the IPREM for two members (900 € per month in 2026, with the IPREM at 600 € per month) plus 50 % for each additional member, according to Abogada de Extranjería, 2025.

• Long-term residence: after 5 years of continuous legal residence; fee 790-052 of 21.87 €.
• Citizenship by residence: 2 years of legal and continuous residence for nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal; 10 years for others (art. 22 of the Civil Code). Fee 790-026 of 104.05 €, according to Cohen y Aguirre, 03-03-2026.
• Leaving Spain: during the arraigo, long absences may affect the extension and the count towards citizenship; check before travelling.
• Switch to a doctor or nurse contract: once you hold a recognised degree and registration, with no new immigration file if you remain an employee.

This guide is general information, last legal review on 04-10-2026 (RD 1155/2024 and RD 316/2026), and does not replace legal advice on your file. Deadlines quoted are legal ones; approval depends on the Immigration Office's decision.

By country of origin

What changes if you come from Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Mexico, Peru or Cuba?

Arraigo requires criminal records from the countries where you have lived in the last 5 years, apostilled or legalised and translated if not in Spanish. They are requested remotely, usually online, from the bodies in the table; start there because it is what takes longest.

• All are Ibero-American countries: Spanish citizenship after 2 years of legal residence (art. 22 of the Civil Code) and exemption from the DELE exam as Spanish speakers.
• Documents must be filed less than 3 months old and with a sworn translation if not in Spanish.

Consular addresses and districts: exteriores.gob.es. Apostille authorities: Hague Conference (hcch.net).