How Spanish immigration deadlines are counted

Terms used

• Requerimiento de subsanación — The requerimiento de subsanación is an official request to fix or complete missing documents in your application.
• Silencio administrativo — Silencio administrativo is what happens when the office does not answer in time; the law treats it as approval or refusal.
• Recurso de reposición — The recurso de reposición is an optional appeal to the same office that made the decision.
• Recurso de alzada — The recurso de alzada is an appeal to the higher body above the office that decided.
• Contencioso-administrativo — A contencioso-administrativo appeal is a court challenge to an administrative decision.

Key rules

• Working days: Day-based deadlines skip Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, so check whether your deadline is in days or months.
• Unopened notices: An electronic notice you do not open within 10 calendar days is treated as rejected, and the process continues.
• Court appeal and August: August does not count towards the two-month court appeal deadline, but it does count for administrative appeals.
• Last day: If the last day falls on a non-working day, it moves to the next working day.

Check the unit first: days or months

Deadlines in days count working days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and start the day after notification. Deadlines in months or years are counted from date to date. Calendar days apply only when the rules say so.

Examples:

• The 10 days to answer a requerimiento de subsanación are working days.
• Renewal windows of 60 or 90 days are generally calendar days.
• Appeals are set in months, not days.

When the clock starts

The count starts the day after you are notified, or the day after the decision is published. When the office never answers, it starts the day after silencio administrativo takes effect.

For a month deadline, the last day is the same day number in the following month, and that last day is included. If you are notified on 15 March, counting starts on 16 March and your last day is 15 April. If the next month has no matching day, the last day is the last day of that month.

If the last day is not a working day, the deadline moves to the next working day.

Electronic notifications

If you must receive notifications electronically, or you chose to, the clock matters from the moment a notice is made available to you. If you open it, the date you open it counts as the date you received it.

If you do not open it within 10 calendar days, it is treated as rejected. The procedure counts as notified and carries on without you. The exception is when you can prove a technical impossibility. Check your electronic mailbox regularly and do not leave notices unopened.

Holidays

The holidays that are skipped are those in the official calendar for your procedure. That means national holidays plus those of your autonomous community and your town. Towns can set up to two local holidays. The calendar is published each year, so check the current one for your region and municipality.

August

For administrative steps, August counts as normal. A reply to a requerimiento or an administrative appeal keeps running through August.

Court appeals differ. August does not count towards the court deadline, although you can still file in August.

Appeal deadlines

Your resolution should print the appeal options. Check it, then use these deadlines:

• Recurso de reposición: optional, one month, filed with the office that decided.
• Recurso de alzada: one month, filed with the superior body, against decisions that do not end the administrative route.
• Contencioso-administrativo court appeal: two months from notification of an express decision.
• If the office never answered: six months after silence takes effect for the court appeal, and three months for reposición or alzada.
• If you filed a reposición: the court deadline runs from its resolution.

Silence can be positive or negative depending on the procedure. Renewals are often positive. Check which applies to yours.

The timeline, the calculator and the FAQ below let you check your own dates. If a deadline is close, ask a lawyer or your local immigration office.

Timeline and deadlines

• Notification received or made available: Day 0. Counting starts the day after notification, never on the day itself.

• Electronic notification you do not open is treated as rejected: 10 calendar days after it was made available; opening it earlier counts as receipt on that date

• Reply to a request for missing documents (requerimiento de subsanación): Within 10 working days, skipping Saturdays, Sundays and holidays

• File a recurso de reposición or recurso de alzada: Within 1 month, ending on the same day number of the next month (for example, notice on 15 March, last day 15 April); if that day is not a working day, it moves to the next working day

• File a contencioso-administrativo court appeal: Within 2 months of notification of the written decision; August does not count for this one

• Court appeal when the office never answered: Within 6 months after silence takes effect

Immigration deadline calculator

Work it out

What you enter

• Days since an electronic notification was made available to you (days): The date shown in your electronic notification inbox, counted up to today.
• Length of your deadline in working days (days): The notification or requirement letter, for example the 10 days to answer a request for documents.
• Saturdays, Sundays and holidays inside your counting period (days): Mark them on a calendar that includes your region's and town's holidays, starting the day after notification.
• Day of the month you were notified (day): The date you opened the notification, or the date it was deemed rejected.
• Length of your deadline in months (months): The notification's appeal instructions, for example 1 month for an appeal to the same office or its superior.
• Number of days in the month where the deadline ends (days): A calendar: the month that is the stated number of months after notification.

Figures used

• Calendar days before an unopened electronic notification is deemed rejected: 10 days (as of 2016)

Worked example (with Days since an electronic notification was made available to you 4 days, Length of your deadline in working days 10 days, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays inside your counting period 4 days, Day of the month you were notified 15 day, Length of your deadline in months 1 months, Number of days in the month where the deadline ends 30 days)

When the sum misleads

• If the last day lands on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, it moves to the next working day: add those days to your non-working count.
• For a month deadline, counting starts the day after notification and ends on the same day number of the month that follows, with that last day included.
• August counts as a working month for ordinary administrative deadlines and appeals to the administration, but not for court appeals, which do not run in August.
• If you open an electronic notification before 10 calendar days pass, the date you open it counts as receipt. Start counting the next day.
• If the notification was already deemed rejected, count from the day after that date, even if you never opened it.

Frequently asked questions

Does August count when I am counting a deadline?

For administrative deadlines and appeals, yes: August counts as normal working time, and only Saturdays, Sundays and holidays are skipped. Court appeals are different. The two-month period for a contencioso-administrativo appeal (the court challenge) does not run in August, although you can still file then.

What happens if I never open an electronic notification?

The notification is treated as rejected once 10 calendar days have passed since it was made available, and the procedure carries on without you. If you open it earlier, the date you open it counts as the date you received it. This applies if you must, or chose to, receive notifications electronically.

Which holidays are skipped when I count working days?

The holidays skipped are national holidays plus those of your region and your town, as set in that year's official calendar. Towns can add up to two local holidays. Check the calendar for where you live or where your case is handled.

How long do I have to challenge an immigration decision?

You have one month for a reposición (asking the same office to review) or an alzada (asking the superior body), and two months for a court appeal after a written decision. If the office never answered, the court appeal can be filed up to six months after silence takes effect. If you file a reposición first, the court deadline runs from its resolution.