Family Reunification in Spain 2026: who you can bring on a residence permit
Updated: 22 August 2026 · Verified by the EuroGarant team against official sources
In short: bringing your loved ones over on a Spanish residence permit is entirely doable — the procedure is called reagrupación familiar and is filed on form EX-02. The sponsor proves income for two people: €900/month, plus suitable housing; the family member then obtains a national D visa at the consulate. The second route is shorter: include your spouse and children in your own file right away when applying for the DNV or NLV — those have their own income add-ons, and there is no separate procedure to wait for.
Two routes — and why they get confused
In Spanish practice, “bringing your family over” means two different things, and their requirements do not match.
Reagrupación familiar. A separate permit requested by a resident already living in the country — the sponsor (reagrupante). It is filed with Extranjería (the immigration office) at the place of residence; the file concerns the family member, who is abroad and later obtains a D visa.
Accompanying family members (unidad familiar). The spouse, partner and children apply at the same time as the main applicant — this is how the DNV, NLV and student status work. This is not reagrupación: the rules on the sponsor's prior residence do not apply here, but the financial threshold is higher.
As a general rule, by the time of the request the sponsor has already been living in Spain legally and has renewed their card or filed for renewal. The exact minimum period and the list of exceptions are set by the current Reglamento (implementing regulation) RD 1155/2024, which came into force 20.05.2025 — it also relaxed a number of the earlier requirements. We keep a detailed breakdown of the procedure on the family reunification page.
Who you are allowed to bring
Spouse or registered partner (pareja de hecho, registered in the registry of the autonomous community). The marriage must be current and real, not “on paper in the past”.
Minor children — your own, adopted, and the spouse's children where custody is confirmed.
Adult children with a disability who objectively cannot support themselves.
Elderly parents — where financial dependence on the resident is proven; more often available to holders of long-term status.
Wards under legal guardianship of the resident, formalised in documents.
Siblings, nephews, nieces and able-bodied adult children do not fall under reagrupación — they need a status of their own. To compare the options, use our guide to residence permit routes.
Income threshold: how much to prove
The calculation is tied to IPREM — Spain's basic reference income indicator, which in 2026 stands at €600/month. The sponsor's total household income is counted, including the earnings of a spouse living with them.
Family composition
Minimum income
Calculation basis
Sponsor + 1 family member
€900/month
150% IPREM
Sponsor + 2 family members
€1,200/month
200% IPREM
Sponsor + 3 family members
€1,500/month
base threshold + two add-ons
Each additional member
add-on: €300/month
50% IPREM
This is the minimum, not a comfortable level: Extranjería looks at how stable the income has been over recent months and how likely it is to continue. All current figures are collected in the table of all Spain residence permit numbers.
Check your threshold in a minute. The calculator works out the required amount by route and number of people moving — including the add-ons for each additional family member.
The second mandatory proof is housing of sufficient size and condition. The report (informe de vivienda adecuada — adequate-housing report) is issued by the town hall or the relevant body of the autonomous community after an inspection or a document check. You will need a long-term rental contract or an extract from the Registro de la Propiedad (property registry), a current padrón (municipal residence registration) and details of how many people live in the home. Rooms in shared flats and short-term daily rentals almost always lead to a negative report — it is better to arrange the contract in advance; help with that is on the long-term rental page.
How the procedure works, step by step
The sponsor requests the informe de vivienda adecuada and gathers proof of income: employment contract, certificates, tax returns, bank statements.
Form EX-02 is filed, with the fee paid, at the Extranjería office for your place of residence.
After a positive decision, the family member books an appointment at the consulate and applies for the national D visa. Consular fee: 116 €, and the passport must be valid for at least 1 year.
Entry into Spain and application for the resident card. The window to apply for the TIE (the physical residence card): 1 month from the date of entry.
Fingerprinting, tasa under form 790-012 — 16 €, card production: 30–45 days. Details are in our breakdown of the TIE card.
Document checklist for family reunification
Completed form EX-02 and proof of fee payment.
The sponsor's resident card and the passports of everyone involved, with copies of all pages.
Marriage certificate or pareja de hecho registration — with an apostille and a sworn translation.
Children's birth certificates; if the parents live apart — notarised consent of the other parent.
Informe de vivienda adecuada and the rental contract or proof of ownership.
Proof of income for the last several months: nóminas (payslips), employment contract, IRPF tax return, bank statements.
Health insurance for each person moving.
Criminal record certificate for adults and a medical certificate: on the filing date they must be no older than 90 days, and photos for the card are taken in the 32×26 mm.
If you do not have a card yet, filing as a single application saves time. The thresholds grow like this:
DNV. On top of the base income of €2,760–2,850/month you add 75% of the SMI (Spain's minimum wage) for the first family member and 25% of the SMI for each additional one.
NLV. The base is €2,400/month, with an add-on for each accompanying person: €600/month.
Student status. Accompanying family members are counted separately: 75% of IPREM for the first and 50% of IPREM for the rest.
Time on a family card counts toward your overall residence record: long-term resident status requires 5 years — how that works is described on the Spain permanent residence page.
Common mistakes
Counting income “at a single moment”. One large sum in the account does not replace a regular, documented income stream over several months.
Forgetting the add-on. The threshold for three is higher than the base: €1,200/month, and families often file using the figure for two.
Apostille on the wrong document. Russian certificates can only be apostilled in Russia; the sworn translation must be done by a traductor jurado — a regular translation agency will not do.
Expired certificates. A criminal record certificate or medical certificate older than 90 days on the filing date will not be accepted — and re-collecting them takes another month.
Housing “as is”. A room, a sublet without the owner's consent, or a flat without padrón registration results in a negative informe.
Missing the TIE window. After entry, the time allowed for filing is 1 month; missing it turns a formality into a legal headache.
How much are the government fees along this route?
The D visa at the consulate: 116 €, the tasa for the resident card: 16 €. Insurance, translations and apostilles are paid separately.
Find out your route in 60 secondsA free case review: we will tell you honestly which residence permit route fits you and whether your income meets the threshold.