Your permit or visa expires while your file is still undecided

Terms used

• Justificante de presentación — The justificante de presentación is the stamped or electronic receipt showing your file number and filing date.
• Resguardo — The resguardo is the receipt you get when you file an application or attend an appointment.
• TIE — The TIE is the residence card issued to foreigners in Spain.
• Oficina de Extranjería — The Oficina de Extranjería is the immigration office that handles foreigners' permits.
• Subdelegación — The Subdelegación is the local government office that can handle immigration files.
• Huellas — The huellas appointment is where your fingerprints are taken for the new TIE.
• Arraigo — Arraigo is a route to residence based on ties to Spain.

Key rules

• Filed on time: Your permit stays valid until the decision, so you can stay and keep working.
• Late renewal: A renewal can still be filed up to 90 days after the permit expires, but the automatic extension then does not apply and a fine may follow.
• Travel: An expired card does not guarantee re-entry, so avoid leaving Spain until the new card is issued.
• Refusal: If the renewal is refused, your right to work ends once you are notified.

If you filed on time, you stay legal while you wait

When you file your renewal before the permit expires, your permit stays valid until the authorities decide. You do not become irregular on the expiry date. The extension runs for the whole procedure, not just a few months.

Can you keep working?

Yes, if you filed on time. Any work authorisation attached to your permit continues until the decision.

Employers and Social Security usually ask for the stamped filing receipt (justificante de presentación or resguardo) and your file number. Some accept it only with a certificate of extended validity. Ask the Oficina de Extranjería or Subdelegación for that certificate if anyone hesitates.

If the renewal is refused, your right to work ends once the refusal is notified to you.

Can you travel?

Avoid it if you can. An expired TIE is not valid for entering the Schengen area, and a filing receipt does not guarantee you can re-enter. This applies to other Schengen countries too.

Some people do leave and return with their passport, proof of the extension and the receipt. Border police can still refuse entry, and if your nationality needs a visa you may need one. If you must travel, first ask the Oficina de Extranjería for written confirmation that your permit is extended.

How to prove your status

Keep the filing receipt, your expired TIE and your passport together. The checklist below lists everything worth saving, including status-page screenshots and your fingerprint appointment receipt (huellas). Banks, employers and police do not all accept the same papers, so ask the immigration office for a certificate early.

If the permit has already expired

You can still file a renewal up to 90 days after the permit expires. The automatic extension then does not apply, and a fine may follow. In practice the fine is usually the lowest level, but outcomes vary.

After those 90 days it is no longer a renewal. You would need a new application, or a route such as arraigo. The decision and timeline below help you choose.

Choosing between options

What should you do now that your permit is expiring or has expired while your file is undecided?

• Stay in Spain and keep working: You filed the renewal on time. Your permit and work authorisation stay extended until the decision.

• Travel and return: Only if you cannot avoid it. Carry your passport, expired card, receipt and proof of extension, and expect that border police may still refuse entry.

• File a late renewal: Your permit has expired but it was less than 90 days ago. You get no automatic extension and may be fined.

If you filed on time, you stay covered and can work; if not, file within 90 days after expiry, and avoid leaving Spain until the new card arrives.

Timeline and deadlines

• File your renewal so your permit stays valid until the decision: during the validity period or within the permitted 90-day window before expiry

• Apply as a new application or an arraigo-type route instead of a renewal: after more than 90 days have passed since expiry

Documents you need

• Stamped or electronic filing receipt (justificante de presentación or resguardo) showing your file number and filing date, issued when you file the renewal

• Your expired TIE (residence card), kept together with the receipt

• Your passport, needed alongside the receipt and the expired card, especially if you travel

• Certificate of extended validity or status record from the Oficina de Extranjería or Subdelegación, which some employers and Social Security ask for in addition to the receipt

• Receipt from your fingerprint appointment (huellas), which covers the period until the new card is made

Proof to keep while your file is unanswered

• Save the stamped or electronic filing receipt (justificante de presentación or resguardo) showing your file number and filing date.

• Keep your expired TIE (residence card) and your passport together with the receipt.

• Download the filing record from the electronic office and check your status with the file-number query.

• Take dated screenshots of the status page showing the date, time, web address and the full page. Save them with your original files.

• Ask the immigration office (Oficina de Extranjería or Subdelegación) for a certificate or status record of your pending file.

• Keep the official notification of any decision. Once approved, it proves your status until the new card is made.

• Keep the receipt from your fingerprint appointment (huellas) for the period before the new TIE arrives.

• If you hold a certificate of silence, keep it with your other records. Show it to employers and public bodies, and expect banks to ask for the TIE.

What to watch out for

• Travelling with an expired card: An expired card is not valid for Schengen entry, and a pending renewal does not guarantee you can come back. Border police may refuse entry, and this also applies to other Schengen countries. Avoid travel until the new card is issued, or ask the Oficina de Extranjería for written confirmation of the extension before you go.

• Filing after the permit has expired: A renewal filed after expiry does not extend your validity, and you may face a sanction proceeding for being irregularly in Spain, usually a fine at the lowest level. File within the 90 days after expiry at the latest, and better still before the permit expires.

• Work stops if the renewal is refused: Your work authorisation ends once a refusal is notified to you, and an employer may also hesitate over a receipt alone.

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep working after my permit expires if I renewed on time?

Yes, you can keep working legally if you filed the renewal on time, because your permit and any work authorisation attached to it stay extended until the decision.

What do I do if my employer or Social Security will not accept my receipt?

Ask the Oficina de Extranjería for a certificate showing your validity is extended, because some employers and Social Security accept the receipt only with that certificate. Show it together with your receipt and file number.

Can I travel outside Spain and come back with an expired card?

Travel is risky, because an expired card is not valid for Schengen entry and a pending renewal does not guarantee you can re-enter. Border police may refuse entry, and you may need a visa if your nationality requires one. The safest choice is to wait for the new card or ask the Oficina de Extranjería for written confirmation of the extension.

What if I file my renewal after my permit has already expired?

Yes, you can still file up to 90 days after expiry, but the automatic extension does not apply and a fine may follow, usually at the lowest level. After 90 days it is no longer a renewal but typically a new application or an arraigo-type route.