Family unity for refugees and people under temporary protection

If you are a refugee or asylum beneficiary

You can ask for family extension (extensión familiar) of your protection. It covers:

• your spouse or partner,
• your children,
• relatives who depend on you.

If it is granted, your relatives receive the same protection status. They do not need to build a separate case from scratch.

Each relationship is treated differently:

• Spouse: covered; you prove the marriage with a marriage certificate.
• Registered partner: treated as a partner if the partnership is entered in a public register; you prove it with the registration certificate.
• Unregistered partner: no automatic right; you must prove a durable relationship, for example by living together or having a child, and the office decides case by case.
• Children: covered; you prove the link with a birth certificate.
• Dependent parent: covered if you prove the family link and the dependence with documents.
• Other dependent relative: covered only if you prove the dependence, and the office decides case by case.

Ask as soon as your own protection is granted and your relatives are in Spain or can reach it; the asylum rules set no time limit.

If you have temporary protection

Temporary protection is the regime used for people displaced from Ukraine. Family members can be covered under the EU decision that created it:

• your spouse,
• your minor children,
• other close relatives who lived with you in your household.

It runs until 4 March 2027 under the EU extension.

How to apply

Apply at the Oficina de Asilo y Refugio. Bring proof of your own status, the document that proves each family link and, for dependent relatives, documents that prove the dependence. Documents issued abroad: see the route map.

Deadlines after a refusal

After an express refusal, you can ask for reconsideration within 1 month or go to court within 2 months; these are alternatives. If the office does not answer, reconsideration can be filed at any time and court action is open for 6 months.

If a relative does not qualify

A relative outside these categories, for example one who was not part of your household, needs their own residence route (route map).