Checking your Spanish immigration file status

Terms used

• DNI — The DNI is the national identity card of Spanish citizens.
• Mercurio — Mercurio is the Ministry's online tool for checking the status of immigration files filed in Spain.
• NIE — The NIE is the identification number Spain gives to foreigners.
• Cl@ve — Cl@ve is the government's electronic identification system for logging in to online services.
• TIE — The TIE is the residence card for foreigners in Spain.
• Requerimiento — A requerimiento is an official request from the office for missing documents or clarification.
• Silencio administrativo — Silencio administrativo means the office missed its legal deadline, which for most residence applications counts as approval.

Key rules

• Consulate files: There is no single national tracker for visas filed at a consulate, so use that consulate's own channels.
• Status labels: A label in a tracking tool does not replace the official notification.
• Requests: Answer a requerimiento within the deadline, normally 10 working days, or your file can be closed.
• Silence: If the legal period has passed, ask for a certificate of silencio administrativo.

Which tool to use

The right tool depends on where you filed.

• You filed in Spain (at Extranjería or the Delegación/Subdelegación del Gobierno): use the Ministry's online file status query, known as Mercurio. Your provincial Extranjería office may also have its own status page.
• You filed at a consulate: there is no single national tracker. Check the consulate's website, then email its visa section with your passport number and application date. If the consulate uses an outsourced application centre, use that centre's tracking page. Some consulates send an email or SMS when your passport is ready.
• Some work visas are decided by Extranjería in Spain. Track those through the Spanish file, not the consulate.
• Any file filed electronically with the State administration: Carpeta Ciudadana shows your files, notifications and documents. Electronic notifications also arrive through a single electronic mailbox.
• Nationality files have their own status query on the Ministry of Justice's electronic office. Asylum has a separate channel.

Tool names and web addresses change, so find the current page through the official sites of the Ministry and the government's general access point.

What you need to log in

• Basic status query: your file number (or the receipt or registration number you got when you filed), plus your NIE or passport number. Some queries also ask for your date of birth or nationality. No certificate is needed.
• Carpeta Ciudadana and electronic notifications: you must identify yourself electronically with a digital certificate, an electronic DNI or Cl@ve. If you have a NIE, you can register in Cl@ve, which includes an identity check.
• Consulate and outsourced centre pages: your application reference and passport number, sometimes your date of birth.

What the statuses mean

Labels vary by tool and office. These are the common ones.

• En trámite: your file was received and is being processed. You do nothing.
• Requerimiento (requerido): the office wants missing documents or clarification. Answer within the deadline, normally 10 working days, or the file can be closed.
• Pendiente de resolución: checks are done and the decision awaits signature.
• Resuelto favorable: approved. Take the next step, usually the TIE fingerprint appointment within one month, or collecting your visa.
• Resuelto desfavorable (denegado): refused. You can file a recurso de reposición within one month, or go to court with a contencioso-administrativo appeal within two months.
• Archivado or desistido: the file was closed, often because a request went unanswered.
• Inadmitido a trámite: the application was not accepted for processing.

A status label is not the official notice. Always check your electronic notifications too.

If nothing moves

Most residence applications filed in Spain have a legal limit of three months to be decided, shorter for some fast-track cases. Wait until that period has nearly run before chasing, because offices rarely answer sooner. Then write to the office's information email or web form, or ask at the registry.

If the period has expired, ask the office for a certificate of silencio administrativo. For most initial and renewal residence and work applications, silence means approval. For a few cases it means refusal. A lawyer or gestor can file a formal petition for you. Keep proof of every filing and every message you send.

The decision, timeline, documents and checklist below help you with the next step.

Choosing between options

What should you do next, given the status your file shows?

• Wait: The status is 'en trámite' or 'en tramitación', or 'pendiente de resolución'. The file is being processed or awaits signature, and no action is needed.

• Answer the office: The status is 'requerido' or 'requerimiento'. The office wants missing documents or clarification, and you must reply within the deadline in the notice.

• Take the next step after approval: The status is 'resuelto' or 'resuelto favorable'. Book the TIE fingerprint appointment, usually within 1 month, or collect your visa.

• Appeal the refusal: The status is 'resuelto desfavorable' or 'denegado'. You can file a recurso de reposición within 1 month or a contencioso-administrativo appeal within 2 months.

• Ask why the file closed: The status is 'archivado', 'desistido' or 'inadmitido a trámite'. The file was closed or not accepted, so ask the office why and what you can do next.

Read the status, then confirm it against the formal notification before acting, because the label alone does not replace the notice.

Timeline and deadlines

• Wait for the office to decide on your residence application filed in Spain: up to 3 months for most residence authorisations; 20 days for certain fast-track cases

• Start chasing the office through its email, web form or the status checks: once the legal period has nearly run

• Answer a request for more documents (requerimiento) shown in your status: normally 10 working days, as set out in the notice itself

• Ask the office for a certificate of silencio administrativo, which is positive for most initial and renewal residence and work applications: after the legal period to decide has expired

• Attend the TIE fingerprint appointment, or collect your visa, after a favourable decision: usually within 1 month of the decision

• File a recurso de reposición against a refusal: within 1 month of the refusal

• Go to court with a contencioso-administrativo appeal against a refusal: within 2 months of the refusal

Documents you need

• Your file (expediente) number or the receipt or registration number you were given when you filed. The office that took your application issues it, and the status query for files filed in Spain asks for it.

• Your NIE or passport number, which the status query asks for next to the file number. Some queries also ask for your date of birth or nationality.

• A way to identify yourself electronically for Carpeta Ciudadana and electronic notifications: a digital certificate, an electronic DNI, or Cl@ve (Cl@ve PIN or permanent). If you have a NIE, you can register in Cl@ve after verifying your identity.

• Your application reference and passport number, with your date of birth in some cases. Consulates and their outsourced visa centres use these to find a visa file.

• A certificate of silencio administrativo, which you request from the office if its legal period to decide has expired. The office must issue it.

Checklist

• Work out whether you filed in Spain (Extranjería or the Delegación/Subdelegación del Gobierno) or at a consulate abroad.

• Find your file number or registration number and your NIE or passport number.

• Run the Ministry's file status query (Mercurio) if you filed in Spain, or check your provincial Extranjería office's own status page where it has one.

• Register in Cl@ve with your NIE so you can open Carpeta Ciudadana, which shows files, notifications and documents.

• Check your electronic notifications as well as the status label, because the label does not replace the formal notification.

What to watch out for

• A status label is not the official notice: A label such as 'en trámite' or 'resuelto' on a tracking tool can differ from what the office has formally notified, and the label does not replace that notification. You can miss a deadline if you only watch the label. Check your electronic notifications and Carpeta Ciudadana as well, and act on the notice itself.

• An ignored request can close your file: If the status shows 'requerido', the office is asking for missing documents or clarification. If you do not answer in time, the file can be archived and shown as 'archivado' or 'desistido'. Answer within the deadline in the notice, and keep proof of what you sent. The deadline rules are set out in the article on requests for more documents.

• A refusal has short appeal periods: A status of 'resuelto desfavorable' or 'denegado' means a refusal, and the appeal periods are short: 1 month for a recurso de reposición and 2 months for a contencioso-administrativo appeal. Read the notice the day you see the refusal and decide on the appeal route straight away. A lawyer or gestor can file for you.

• Not accepted for processing: 'Inadmitido a trámite' means the office did not accept your application for processing, so nothing is moving even though a status shows. Read the notice to see why, and ask the office or a lawyer how to correct and refile.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a digital certificate to check my file status?

No, the basic file status query only asks for your file number or registration number plus your NIE or passport number, and sometimes your date of birth or nationality. Carpeta Ciudadana and electronic notifications are different: they need a digital certificate, an electronic DNI or Cl@ve.

Is there one website to track a visa filed at a Spanish consulate?

No, there is no single national tracker for visas filed at a consulate. Start with the consulate's own website, then email its visa section with your passport number and application date. If the consulate uses an outsourced visa centre, track the file in that centre's portal with your reference number.

When should I chase my file if nothing has moved?

Wait until the legal period for your procedure has nearly run before chasing, because offices rarely answer earlier. For most residence authorisations filed in Spain that period is three months.

Can I rely on the status label instead of the official notification?

No, a status label on a tracking tool does not replace the formal notification of your file. Keep checking Carpeta Ciudadana and your electronic notifications as well. Act on the notification itself.