Keeping your residence if you leave an abusive partner or sponsor

Key rules

• Complaint: Reporting gender violence should not lead to expulsion; any sanction for irregular stay is suspended while the criminal case runs.
• Evidence: You need a protection order or a prosecutor's report finding indications of violence to get the provisional permit.
• Definitive permit: It depends on a conviction or a court decision confirming gender violence.
• Other abuse: If the abuse is not gender violence, a different route applies and you should ask the Oficina de Extranjería.

The short answer

If you are a woman suffering gender violence from a partner or ex-partner, you can get or keep residence in Spain, even if you have no papers. Reporting the abuse should not lead to an immigration sanction. Which route fits you depends on who is abusing you and how you came to Spain. The decision block below helps you choose.

If you have no papers and report gender violence

You can apply for a residence and work permit for exceptional circumstances. You apply at the Oficina de Extranjería, or at the Delegación or Subdelegación del Gobierno.

• While the case runs: any sanction procedure for irregular stay is suspended until the criminal case ends.
• If you get a permit: the sanction procedure is closed.
• If the case ends without a conviction: the sanction procedure can restart.

Filing a complaint does not in itself lead to expulsion.

What evidence you need

You need one of these:

• a protection order (orden de protección) from the court, or
• an informe del Ministerio Fiscal, a report from the public prosecutor that finds indications of gender violence.

With either one, you are granted a provisional residence and work permit. It lets you work.

From provisional to definitive permit

The definitive permit is granted when the criminal case ends with a conviction or a court decision confirming gender violence. Keep the final judgment.

If the case ends without a conviction, the provisional permit is refused. You would then need to regularise through another route, so ask the Oficina de Extranjería early about your options.

Your children can be included. This covers minor children and adult children who depend on you.

If you came as a reunified spouse

You do not have to wait for the usual period of residence. With a protection order or a prosecutor's report finding indications of violence, you can apply for your own independent residence and work permit. You do not need to show the normal period or work conditions.

If your spouse is an EU or Spanish citizen

If you are a non-EU spouse and the abuser is an EU or Spanish citizen, you can keep your right of residence after divorce, annulment or the end of the partnership. The usual conditions on length of marriage or cohabitation do not apply.

You must show the violence with a court decision, such as a protection order or a conviction. You must also show that you work or have enough money to live on.

If the abuse is not gender violence

The special permit is for gender violence only. If the abuser is a parent or sponsor, other routes may apply:

• a criminal protection order,
• a permit for exceptional circumstances or arraigo,
• the protection route for trafficking victims, which includes a reflection period and a residence permit,
• a permit as a victim of another serious crime, such as a hate crime.

The rules for these routes changed recently. Ask the Oficina de Extranjería which one fits your case.

Next steps

Follow the checklist below. Read the warnings before you file.

Choosing between options

Which protection route fits the abuse you are suffering?

• Permit for victims of gender violence: The abuse is by a partner or ex-partner and you are a woman: apply for a residence and work permit once you have a protection order or a Fiscalía report.

• Permit for exceptional circumstances or arraigo: The abuse is by a parent or sponsor and is not gender violence: ask about a permit for exceptional circumstances or arraigo, together with a criminal protection order.

• Trafficking-victim route: The abuse involves trafficking: you can get a reflection period and a residence permit under the specific route for victims of trata.

Start with who is abusing you and what kind of abuse it is: partner or ex-partner violence uses the gender-violence permit, and every other case uses the routes above.

Check which route fits you with the Oficina de Extranjería, the immigration office.

Checklist

• Get a protection order from the court, or a Fiscalía report (from the public prosecutor) that finds indications of gender violence.

• Apply for the residence and work permit for exceptional circumstances at the Oficina de Extranjería or your Delegación or Subdelegación del Gobierno, even if you have no papers.

• Include your minor children, or adult children who depend on you, in the application.

• If you came as a reunified spouse, apply for your independent permit using the protection order or Fiscalía report, without waiting for the usual period.

• If your spouse is an EU or Spanish citizen, apply at the Oficina de Extranjería to keep your residence, with a protection order or conviction as proof of the violence.

• Show that you work or have enough money to live on if you apply to keep residence as the spouse of an EU or Spanish citizen.

• If the abuse is not gender violence, ask the Oficina de Extranjería about a criminal protection order, a permit for exceptional circumstances or arraigo, or the trafficking-victim route.

• Keep the final judgment or court decision, because it is needed for the definitive permit.

What to watch out for

• The provisional permit can be refused if there is no conviction: Your provisional permit becomes definitive only when the criminal case ends with a conviction or a judicial decision confirming gender violence. If the case ends without one, the permit is refused. Ask the Oficina de Extranjería about another way to regularise before the case ends, and keep every court document.

• The sanction for irregular stay can come back: If you have no papers, the sanction proceeding for irregular stay is only suspended while the criminal case runs. It resumes if the case ends with no conviction. Do not let a complaint go unsupported: get legal advice early and plan another route in case the case does not end in a conviction.

• You need a protection order or Fiscalía report: Without a protection order, a Fiscalía report or a judgment, you cannot show the violence and the permit is not granted. Ask the court or a victim support service how to request a protection order or a Fiscalía report.

Frequently asked questions

Does filing an abuse complaint get me expelled if I have no papers?

No, filing a complaint of gender violence does not itself lead to expulsion if you are in an irregular situation. Any sanction proceeding for irregular stay is suspended until the criminal case ends. If you are granted a permit it is closed, but it resumes if the case ends with no conviction.

What happens to my permit if the criminal case ends without a conviction?

If the case ends without a conviction, your provisional permit is refused and you must regularise through another route. The sanction proceeding for irregular stay also resumes. Ask the Oficina de Extranjería which other route fits you before the case closes.

Can my children get a permit too if I am a victim of gender violence?

Yes, your children who are minors can also receive a permit, and so can adult children who are dependent on you. This applies when you are a foreign woman victim of gender violence by a partner or ex-partner.

Do I need to wait a set period to get my own permit if I came as a reunified spouse?

No, a reunified spouse who is a victim of gender violence can get an independent residence and work permit without waiting for the usual period. You need a judicial protection order or a Fiscalía report (from the public prosecutor) finding indications of violence.

What can I do if the abuse comes from a parent or sponsor and is not gender violence?

The special gender-violence permit does not cover abuse by a parent or sponsor, so you use other routes. These include a criminal protection order, a permit for exceptional circumstances or arraigo, and a trafficking-victim permit if trafficking is involved.