Arraigo socioformativo 2026: requirements, valid training, documents and steps
Arraigo socioformativo (residence through training) gives one year of residence to people who have lived in Spain for two years in a row and are training in something on the official list: bachillerato (upper secondary school), basic or intermediate vocational training (FP), a professional certificate, adult education or a public employment service course. It requires an integration report, the fee is €38.28 and it lets you work up to 30 hours a week.
Updated on 14 October 2026
Arraigo socioformativo (residence through training) is one of the five arraigos in Spain's immigration regulations, the Reglamento de extranjería (Real Decreto 1155/2024, art. 125.1.d), and the successor to the old «arraigo para la formación» (arraigo for training). What it shares with the others — proving your time in Spain, the criminal record, the card — is on the arraigo social page (residence through social ties). Here is what is specific to it: which training counts, when to enrol, how much you can work and what happens at the end.
2 years
in a row in Spain before applying, with no more than 90 days away
€38.28
tasa 790-052 (government fee), heading 2.3.1
30 hours
a week of work as an employee, at most
3 months
from the day you are notified that it has been granted, to hand in your proof of enrolment
Which training counts
Art. 127.d refers to two paragraphs of the article on students and adds two routes of its own; Annex II of the Instrucciones SEM 1/2025 (the Secretary of State for Migration's instructions) spells them out:
| Route | What it includes | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Post-compulsory secondary education | Bachillerato; intermediate-level FP cycle (grado medio); intermediate-level art education in plastic arts and design; intermediate-level sports education; professional music and dance education; FP specialisation course (Especialista qualification) | Art. 52.1.b; LO 2/2006, on Education, art. 3.4 |
| Professional certificate (certificado profesional) | Full training, neither modular nor partial, at grade C of the vocational training system, at levels 1, 2 or 3 | Arts. 52.1.e.5.º and 127.d; LO 3/2022 |
| Compulsory education for adults, in-person provision (over 18) | Initial education (2 years); Compulsory Secondary Education for Adults, ESPA (2 years); basic-level FP training cycles (grado básico) | Art. 127.d; LO 2/2006, art. 68 |
| Public employment service training | Courses promoted by the Servicios Públicos de Empleo (public employment services) and aimed at occupations on the Catálogo de ocupaciones de difícil cobertura (list of hard-to-fill occupations); committing to take them is enough | Arts. 127.d and 75.1 |
Annex II of the Instrucciones SEM 1/2025 (13/05/2025) and information sheet 30 of the Ministerio de Inclusión (April 2026). The list of hard-to-fill occupations is published by the SEPE (Spain's public employment service) every quarter, by province.
The conditions the course must meet
- An authorised centre, listed in the national register of non-university schools (Registro estatal de centros docentes no universitarios) or in the relevant official register (art. 52.1.b and e).
- Full time for post-compulsory studies: enrolment in at least 90% of the programme (art. 52.2). Compulsory work placements in the cycle count as studies.
- At least 50% in person; adult education must be entirely in person (art. 52.1; Instrucciones SEM 1/2025, fifth instruction, point 2; the Ministry's frequently asked questions). An online-only course does not qualify, even though the EX-10 has an «a distancia» (distance learning) box.
- The public employment service course is given by an organisation listed in the Registro Estatal de Entidades de Formación (national register of training organisations). To take it, you register as a demandante de servicios previos al empleo (applicant for pre-employment services) once you already have the arraigo and your NIE (Instrucciones SEM 1/2025, fifth instruction).
University, higher-level FP (grado superior) — “not included in the new arraigo socioformativo”, as the instructions put it — and language courses do not count.
When to apply, depending on your enrolment
You do not need to be attending classes yet: it is enough to be enrolled, already studying or to have submitted your application for admission (Instrucciones SEM 1/2025, fifth instruction, point 1). The school's calendar decides:
- Already enrolled or studying: whenever you like.
- Enrolment with an official application period: in the two months before that period opens, with your application for admission (art. 127.d; frequently asked questions). If it opens on 1 July, you apply in May or June.
- Period closed but places still available: if the school admits you, you apply with your enrolment (the Ministry's frequently asked questions).
- Day 0
Entry in the register
The office has three months to decide.
- Notification
Permit granted
One month to apply in person for the TIE (foreigner identity card) (art. 130.6).
- 3 months later
Proof of enrolment
At the Oficina de Extranjería (immigration office) where you applied. Not handing it in is grounds for the permit to end (art. 127.d).
- Last 2 months of the year
Window for the extension
Before the permit expires (art. 132.3).
Enrolling in a different course from the one planned is accepted in justified cases, if the new training is also on the list (art. 127.d). For the public employment service course, you must prove that you have completed it; if not, that is also grounds for the permit to end.
Requirements
- Two years of continuous stay in Spain before applying, with no trips abroad adding up to more than 90 days; months spent as an asylum seeker do not count (art. 126.b; Instrucciones SEM 1/2025, first instruction).
- The requirements common to all arraigos: not being an applicant for international protection, having no criminal record, not being listed as someone to be refused entry, and paying the fee (art. 126). The details are on the arraigo social page.
- No stay or residence authorisation, and no other application of that kind in progress (art. 126.h, since 16/04/2026): with a valid student stay, you cannot apply.
- Enrolment, a course in progress or an application for admission to a course on the list, or the commitment to take the public employment service course (art. 127.d).
- Social integration report (art. 127.d).
No job contract or financial means are required: neither art. 127.d nor information sheet 30 asks for them. And no one can hold this arraigo more than once in three years (Instrucciones SEM 1/2025, fifth instruction, point 3).
The informe de integración social (social integration report)
For arraigo social it is only needed if you have no family members living here legally; for arraigo socioformativo, always (art. 127.d). It is the same report, under the rules of art. 127.c, which Real Decreto 316/2026 rewrote in April 2026:
- Who issues it: your comunidad autónoma (regional government) or, if it has decided so, your ayuntamiento (town hall). What counts is the address on your padrón (town hall registration) (SEM 4/2025).
- What it covers: how long you have lived at your address, the financial means you have and your participation in social, work and cultural integration programmes. Whoever issues it also sends it to the Oficina de Extranjería electronically (art. 127.c).
- Time limit and validity: they have one month to issue it; it is free and expires after six months (art. 127.c; SEM 4/2025).
- If it doesn't arrive: once the month has passed, prove that and provide other evidence of your integration. If you don't attach it, your application is not simply rejected as inadmissible: you are given up to fifteen days to provide it (SEM 4/2025; art. 130.3).
Documents
- EX-10 signed by you, with section 6 filled in.
- Full copy of your valid passport or travel document.
- Proof of the two years in Spain, ideally issued by a public authority (padrón, public health service).
- Criminal record certificates from the countries where you lived during the five years before entering Spain, unless you have spent five years in a row here (art. 130.2).
- Social integration report.
- Enrolment, admission or proof that you are already taking the course; for the public employment service course, a written commitment or the one on the form itself.
- Proof of payment of the 790-052 fee.
Copies, with the originals available to show. Foreign documents need a sworn translation and must be legalised or apostilled, unless an agreement applies (sheet 30). What most often gets applications sent back is covered in document errors.
The EX-10, the fee and where to apply
In section 7 of the EX-10 you tick «Residencia inicial» (initial residence) and «Arraigo socioformativo (art. 127.d)». Section 6, «Centro de formación» (training centre), is only for this arraigo: type of training (four boxes, the four routes in the table), the organisation and its NIF (tax number), course name and code, address and province, hours, start and end dates, and mode of study.
The tasa 790-052 goes under heading 2.3.1, the one for all arraigos: €38.28 (Orden PJC/617/2025). You pay it yourself: on paper, within ten working days of applying; online, at the same time as you apply (sheet 30; art. 2 of the order). You apply at the Oficina de Extranjería in your province (sheet 30) or through Mercurio, which accepts the EX-10.
Time limit for a decision, silence and the card
The office has three months, counted from the day after the application enters its register. With no reply, the application can be taken as refused: silencio administrativo negativo (no reply means refusal) (additional provisions 7 and 8; sheet 30). Once the arraigo is granted, you apply for the TIE in person with the EX-17 and the tasa 790-012 of €16.08 (heading 4.2 of the order). The authorisation lasts one year (art. 125.2).
Working while you train: 30 hours
The authorisation lets you work only as an employee and up to 30 hours a week across all your jobs, earning at least the minimum wage or the collective agreement wage in proportion to your hours (art. 131.b). In 2026 the minimum wage is €1,221 a month for full-time work; with fewer hours, it is paid pro rata (Real Decreto 126/2026). While the application is being processed, you cannot work: the provisional permission to work belongs only to arraigo sociolaboral (art. 130.5).
When the course or the year ends
| Your situation | What you can apply for | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Basic or intermediate-level cycle, and you move up to the second year | One-year extension, with the school's report certifying that you have moved up | Art. 132.2.b |
| You finished the training before the year was up | One-year extension, with your qualification or certificate and registration with the public employment service as actively seeking work | Art. 132.2.b |
| You want to work without limits and have held the permit for less than a year | Initial residence and work as an employee, for one year: job contract and the requirements of art. 74, including the national employment situation | Art. 191.2 |
| You want to work without limits and have held the permit for a year or more | Residence and work as an employee or self-employed, for four years, with the renewal requirements | Arts. 191.3, 80 and 86 |
| You don't hand in your enrolment or don't take the public employment service course | Nothing: it is grounds for the authorisation to end | Art. 127.d |
Extension (prórroga): in the two months before expiry, or up to three months after with a possible fine, and a 790-052 fee of €16.40 (art. 132.3; heading 2.4). Change of permit (modificación): with the EX-26 (sheet 55).
How it differs from the other arraigos
- [Arraigo social](/tramites/arraigo-social): family members living here legally or an integration report, plus financial means; it does not require you to study and lets you work with no limit on hours (arts. 127.c and 131).
- [Arraigo sociolaboral](/tramites/arraigo-laboral): one or more job contracts adding up to at least 20 hours a week; you can work from the moment the application is admitted for processing (arts. 127.b and 130.5).
- Arraigo de segunda oportunidad (second chance): for anyone who, in the previous two years, held a residence permit (not for exceptional circumstances) that was not renewed for reasons unrelated to public order, public security or public health (art. 127.a).
- Arraigo familiar (through family ties): for the parent or guardian of a minor from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, or someone who supports a relative with a disability from those countries; no minimum time in Spain, and for five years (arts. 125.2, 126.b and 127.e).
- Hoja informativa 30 (information sheet): arraigo socioformativoinclusion.gob.es ↗Ministerio de Inclusión, April 2026
- Instrucciones SEM 1/2025 on arraigos (Annex II: the training courses)inclusion.gob.es ↗Secretaría de Estado de Migraciones, 13/05/2025
- Instrucciones SEM 4/2025 on the social integration reportinclusion.gob.es ↗Secretaría de Estado de Migraciones, 10/07/2025
- Catálogo de ocupaciones de difícil cobertura (hard-to-fill occupations)sepe.es ↗SEPE, one list per quarter
Links checked on 14/10/2026.
Frequently asked questions
Which courses count for arraigo socioformativo?
Bachillerato, basic or intermediate-level FP, intermediate-level art and sports education, a full professional certificate at levels 1 to 3, in-person adult education and public employment service courses for hard-to-fill occupations. University and higher-level FP do not.
Does an online course count?
No. The training must be at least 50% in person, and adult education entirely in person.
Do I have to prove financial means?
Neither the Reglamento (art. 127.d) nor information sheet 30 asks for them. The integration report does, however, record the means you have.
How many hours can I work with arraigo socioformativo?
Up to 30 a week in total, only as an employee and earning at least the minimum wage or the collective agreement wage, in proportion to your hours (art. 131.b). While it is being processed, none.
Can I apply if I hold a valid student stay?
No. Since 16 April 2026, no arraigo is open to anyone who already holds a stay or residence authorisation or has an application of that kind in progress (art. 126.h).