Refusals and appeals

It is for anyone who has had, or fears getting, a refusal of a visa or residence permit for Spain. After reading it, you will know what the letter says, which deadline is running and which response is worth your time and money.

Start with "How to read a Spanish residence refusal and the deadlines it starts". It shows you where to find the grounds and the appeal notice in your letter, and how to count the time you have left.

From there, the other articles cover the appeal routes, the choice between appealing and reapplying, your right to stay, work and travel, visas refused from abroad, common refusal reasons, files that are closed without a decision, and the effect of a criminal record.

Key rules

• Court deadline: A court challenge (contencioso-administrativo) must be filed within two months from the day after you are notified, and August does not count for court deadlines.
• Reposición deadline: An optional administrative appeal (recurso de reposición) must be filed within one month, counted date to date from the day after you are notified.
• Effect of appealing: Filing an appeal does not automatically suspend the refusal, so your permit is not restored while you wait.
• Clock start: Your deadline starts the day after you were notified, not on the date printed on the resolution.
• Electronic notice: An electronic notice you never open counts as delivered after 10 natural days.

Refusals and appeals: the whole process, step by step

From refusal letter to appeal

• Read the refusal letter for the ground, the issuing office and the appeal paragraph (see: How to read a Spanish residence refusal and the deadlines it starts): As soon as you are notified

• Work out your start date: the clock runs from the day after notification, not from the date on the letter. An electronic notice you do not open counts as notified after 10 natural days (see: How to read a Spanish residence refusal and the deadlines it starts): Right away, before you count any deadline

• Decide whether to appeal or reapply, depending on whether the ground can be fixed (see: Appeal or reapply after a refusal: how to decide, and Common refusal reasons and whether you can fix them): In the first days after notification, well before the first deadline

• File the optional administrative appeal (recurso de reposición) with the office that refused you (see: Appealing a refusal: administrative appeal (recurso de reposición) and court review): Within one month, counted date to date from the day after notification

• Wait for the answer to your reposición. If the office stays silent, it is treated as rejected (see: Appealing a refusal: administrative appeal (recurso de reposición) and court review): The office has one month to answer; after that, silence means rejection

• Go straight to court instead (contencioso-administrativo), skipping reposición (see: Appealing a refusal: administrative appeal (recurso de reposición) and court review): Within two months from the day after notification; August does not count

• Go to court after a reposición: the two months run from the day after the express answer is notified. If the reposición was treated as rejected through silence, you have six months from the day after the month ends: After the reposición is answered or deemed rejected

• Plan your stay, work and travel while you wait, because an appeal does not restore your permit (see: Your status, work and travel after a renewal refusal): From the day you are refused until a final decision

• If your visa was refused from abroad, follow the same one-month and two-month limits, counted from when the refusal reaches you (see: Consular visa refusal versus residence refusal: how the appeal differs): From the day after the refusal is notified

• If your file was inadmitted, archived or withdrawn, check whether it can be appealed or restarted (see: Inadmitted, archived or withdrawn file: is it a refusal?): Within one month for reposición or two months for court, from notification

• If you reapply, fix the weak points first and check how any criminal record or police contact may count (see: Common refusal reasons and whether you can fix them, and How a criminal record or police contact affects your residence): After a curable refusal, or when an appeal is not worth it

Documents you may need

Income and work

• Proof of funds that you have rebuilt — Appeal or reapply after a refusal: how to decide
• Proof that tax or Social Security debts are paid — Appeal or reapply after a refusal: how to decide

Guarantees

• Insurance that meets the requirements — Appeal or reapply after a refusal: how to decide, Common refusal reasons and whether you can fix them

Translations and legal papers

• Foreign documents with an apostille and a translation — Appeal or reapply after a refusal: how to decide, Common refusal reasons and whether you can fix them

Other documents

• Certificate of no debts from the Agencia Tributaria — Common refusal reasons and whether you can fix them
• Certificate of no debts from the Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social — Common refusal reasons and whether you can fix them

Refusals and appeals: questions that cross several articles

When does the appeal clock start after a refusal?

The clock starts the day after you are notified, not on the date written on the letter. An electronic notice you never open counts as delivered after 10 natural days, so the clock starts then. Read How to read a Spanish residence refusal and the deadlines it starts, then Appealing a refusal: administrative appeal (recurso de reposición) and court review.

Can I go straight to court without a reposición?

Yes, most immigration refusals from government delegations end the administrative route, so you can go directly to court or file the optional reposición first. You cannot do both at once. The wording in your notice decides which appeals are open to you.

Is it better to appeal or to reapply?

It depends on the ground: missing documents, translations, insurance or fixable funds can be corrected in a new application, while a criminal record, a public-order finding or a non-qualifying profile cannot. Compare both routes before the first deadline runs out.

Can I wait to decide until after the deadline passes?

No, you should not wait, because a one-month reposición window and a two-month court window run from the day after notification. Even if your notice leaves out the appeal details, filing within those limits is the safest course.