The decision
How the matter was handled
Our client was living and working in Barcelona without a residence permit. For exactly that situation there is arraigo sociolaboral: the route that turns a life already built in Spain — work, time, roots — into lawful residence with a work permit.
We prepared the application and filed it with the Barcelona Immigration Office in October 2025. Then the thing no file wants happened: halfway through, the entire Regulation changed. Royal Decree 316/2026 came into force with the matter still undecided.
A change of rules mid-course can sink a file or leave it in limbo. This one was decided under the new rules, with their transitional provision applied, and the Government Subdelegation in Barcelona granted the permit in May 2026: 214 days of processing.
The initial permit runs for one year and allows work both as an employee and self-employed, anywhere in Spain. Our client went from being unable to work lawfully to being able to sign a contract.
Every case is unique: it depends on its facts, its evidence and the authority deciding it. The outcome of one matter does not anticipate the outcome of any other, and the timescales given here are the ones that particular file took: they are set by the authorities, not by us.