Extended family of an EU citizen and facilitated entry

Key rules

• Discretionary: Approval is at the authority's discretion, so meeting the conditions does not guarantee a residence card.
• Appeals: After an express refusal, file a recurso de reposición within 1 month or go to court within 2 months (alternatives). After a refusal by silence (no answer in 3 months), the reposición has no deadline and the court appeal is within 6 months.

Who this route is for

Spain can make entry and residence easier for some relatives of an EU citizen who do not count as core family.

Two groups can apply:

• Other relatives, of any nationality, who in their home country depended on the EU citizen or lived in their household. It also covers relatives who need the citizen's personal care for serious health reasons. Typical examples are siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins and in-laws. A dependent parent, or a child aged 21 or over who is dependent, is core family and gets the family card, so does not need this route. A parent or adult child who is not dependent can use this route only if they lived in the EU citizen's household in the home country or need the citizen's personal care for serious health reasons; otherwise they use the general regime for foreigners.
• An unmarried partner with a durable relationship that you can prove, and who is not registered as a couple.

The same discretionary application applies to an unmarried partner or a dependent relative of a Spaniard. A Spaniard's spouse, registered partner, children and parents are core family; see Residence for the spouse, partner and children of a Spanish citizen.

Partners

If you are in a registered partnership (pareja registrada) in an EU state or a Spanish region, and it is equivalent to marriage, you are treated as core family. You do not need this route.

If your partnership is not registered, you can use the facilitated route by proving a durable relationship. The law sets no minimum time together. Offices expect at least one year of living together.

What proof you need

The proof must show dependence on the EU citizen, a shared household, a need for their personal care, or a durable partnership, and it must cover the period before the EU citizen moved to Spain. The dependence must also continue when you apply. Documents from your home country must be legalised or apostilled and translated.

How to apply for facilitated entry

From abroad, apply at the Spanish consulate in the country where you live, with the family-member visa application; the visa is free. In Spain, apply at the Oficina de Extranjería of your province with form EX-19 and the card fee of €10.40 (modelo 790 código 012). Either way you attach your proof of dependency or household membership, the EU citizen's registration certificate and proof that they live in Spain. If the decision is positive, you receive the residence card for family members of Union citizens, valid five years.

How the decision works

The consulate or the Oficina de Extranjería looks at your personal circumstances and takes several months. If it refuses, it must give reasons based on the proof you offered. If it does not answer within 3 months, that counts as a refusal by silence.

Documents you need

• Bank transfer or money-transfer receipts showing the EU citizen supported you in your home country, covering the time before they moved to Spain.

• Proof that you have no income or too little income to live on, if you rely on the EU citizen financially.

• Certificate of residence or household composition from your home country showing you shared an address with the EU citizen, plus utility bills for that address.

• Proof of the EU citizen's own residence in Spain.

• Medical reports showing you need the EU citizen's personal care, if your claim rests on serious health reasons.

• Certificate of cohabitation (empadronamiento, the town hall registration of who lives at an address), if you are an unmarried partner.

• A lease or joint property papers, joint bank accounts, proof of children in common, travel records and messages that show a lasting relationship, if you are an unmarried partner.