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Official form

EX-19 form: the residence card for family members of EU citizens

The EX-19 is the form for the «tarjeta comunitaria» (EU family member residence card): it is used by someone who is not a national of the EU, the EEA or Switzerland but accompanies or joins a family member who is, to live here for more than three months (RD 240/2007, art. 8). It is also used for permanent residence, renewal, and keeping residence after a divorce or a death. Deadline: three months from arrival. Fee: €12.

Updated on 14 October 2026

3 months

from arrival in Spain to file it (RD 240/2007, art. 8.2)

€12

with tasa 790-012 (item 4.6 of Orden PJC/617/2025)

5 years

validity of the initial card; 10 for the permanent one

2 signatures

the EU citizen's and the applying family member's

Two official files with the same text

There is a flat EX-19, meant for printing, and a fillable one you complete on the computer, with the same content. Its header cites Real Decreto 240/2007, the rules of the EU regime (régimen comunitario), not the general immigration regulation.

The form, on the Ministry of Inclusion website

Who files it: the non-EU family member

The applicant is the family member from another country who accompanies or joins, in Spain, a citizen of another EU or EEA country (art. 8.1) or of Switzerland (hoja informativa 62, the ministry's information sheet). Their right depends on that citizen's, who must work here, have sufficient resources and health insurance, or study and have both (art. 7.1 and 7.2); if the citizen is a student, only the spouse, the registered partner and dependent children qualify (art. 7.4).

Section 2 requires an EU citizen «(NO ESPAÑOL)» (not Spanish); according to information sheets 62 and 63, the family member of a Spanish national only uses the EX-19 if that Spaniard has exercised free movement, and otherwise the EX-24. Requirements and documents are on the procedure page.

Section 5: which box matches each relationship

«Situación en España del solicitante» (the applicant's situation in Spain)
BoxWho it is forArticle
Cónyuge (spouse)Marriage with no annulment or divorce2.a
Pareja registrada (registered partner)Registered in a public register in the EU or EEA, and not cancelled2.b
Pareja estable debidamente probada (duly proven stable partner)Unregistered de facto partner: one continuous year of living together or, with children in common, proven stable cohabitation2 bis.1.b and 4.b
Descendiente <21 años (descendant under that age)Children of the EU citizen, of their spouse or of their registered partner2.c
Descendiente >21 años a cargo (dependent descendant over that age)Those over that age who depend on the EU citizen, or who are legally incapacitated2.c
Ascendiente a cargo (dependent ascendant)Parents, grandparents and so on of either of them who are dependent on them2.d
Progenitor de menor de edad ciudadano de la UE (parent of a minor EU citizen)No letter in art. 2; the general immigration regulation sends this case to the EX-10, as arraigo familiar (residence through family ties)127.e of RD 1155/2024
Otros familiares (other family members)Dependent on the EU citizen or living with them in the country of origin (24 months of this is proof), or needing their care because of serious illness or disability2 bis.1.a and 4.a
Residencia permanente (permanent residence)Five continuous years of legal residence, or less in the cases of art. 1010 and 11
Renovación de tarjeta (card renewal)The rules set no deadline of its own for it (see the note)—
Mantenimiento (keeping residence) · Fallecimiento (death)Already living in Spain as a family member before the death9.2
Mantenimiento · Nulidad, divorcio, cancelación (annulment, divorce, cancellation)Three years of marriage or partnership up to the start of the proceedings, one of them in Spain9.4.a
Mantenimiento · Víctima de violencia… (victim of violence…)Gender-based violence or human trafficking during the marriage or partnership9.4.c
Mantenimiento · Otros (custodia, visitas) (other: custody, visits)Custody of the children, or visiting rights to a minor child who lives in Spain9.4.b and d

Articles of RD 240/2007 unless another rule is given. The first eight boxes sit under «RESIDENCIA TEMPORAL/INICIAL» (temporary/initial residence) and the last four under «MANTENIMIENTO A TÍTULO PERSONAL…» (keeping the right in your own name). Permanent residence is «renovable automáticamente cada diez años» (automatically renewable every ten years) (art. 11.1). In 2010 the Supreme Court struck down two phrases of art. 2: legal separation as a ground for exclusion, and the rule that the partnership register prevents two registrations at the same time.

Page 1: applicant, EU citizen, person filing and notifications

  1. 1 · The foreign national

    The family member applying for the card, as shown in their passport. Its last line, «Representante legal, en su caso» (legal representative, if any), is for example for the father or mother of an applicant who is a minor (note 4): who goes there.

    Where it gets stuckPutting the EU citizen here because they «give the right»: they have their own section.

  2. 2 · The EU citizen who gives access to the EU regime

    Passport, N.I.E. (foreigner identity number), surnames, first name, nationality and address in Spain. It does not ask for a phone number or email.

    Where it gets stuckLeaving their N.I.E. blank: it is on their registration certificate, which is submitted with the application (arts. 7.5 and 8.3.c).

  3. 3 · The person filing on the applicant's behalf

    Only when someone other than the applicant files it (note 5). Its own legal representative line is used, for example, by the sole director of a company (note 4).

    Where it gets stuckMixing up that line with the one in section 1, which belongs to the applicant.

  4. 4 · «Domicilio a efectos de notificaciones» (address for notifications)

    The person who will receive the notifications, with the «CONSIENTO» (I consent) box for the DEHú, the government's electronic notification inbox: how it works and its deadlines. Note (6) says «Ley 39/2014»; the obligation it describes is the one in art. 14 of Ley 39/2015.

    Where it gets stuckTicking «CONSIENTO» when that person has neither a digital certificate nor Cl@ve: the form requires them for the DEHú.

  5. Page 2 · Box, declaration of truth and signatures

    One box in section 5, the declaration of truth (note 8), place and date. Two people sign: on the left, the EU citizen; on the right, the applying family member or their legal representative.

    Where it gets stuckHaving only the EU citizen sign: information sheet 62 asks for the form signed by the family member.

Page 3 asks you to hand in the original and a copy.

Filing, deadline and fee

It must be filed before three months have passed since arrival, at the provincial Oficina de Extranjería (immigration office) for the place where the applicant is going to live or, failing that, at the police station (RD 240/2007, art. 8.2), or through Mercurio, the online filing platform (how to file there).

When you file it you receive a resguardo (filing receipt) that proves your legal stay until you have the card (art. 8.2). The Police document list for this card does not include the EX-17: it asks for the EX-19 itself and payment of tasa 790-012, €12 (item 4.6 of Orden PJC/617/2025), although information sheet 62 still refers to the 790-052. The card must be issued within three months (deadlines and silencio administrativo).

For law firms: the EX-19 in Aproba

  • The Ministry of Inclusion file, with section 1 already filled in. Aproba starts from the official EX-19, byte for byte the Ministry's, and fills in the family member's validated client record: document, birth, nationality, marital status, parents' names, address and contact details. The AI can complete that record by reading the passport or TIE (foreigner identity card) you upload.
  • Your firm in section 3, only if you file it: name or company name, NIF (tax ID), address, phone and email, plus who signs and in what capacity. Otherwise it stays blank.
  • Everything else, as fields to type in: the EU citizen in section 2, «Representante legal, en su caso», the notifications section and the DEHú «CONSIENTO», the boxes in section 5 (none comes ticked), place, date and the DIR3 footer.
  • One service for the whole case file: «Residencia ciudadano UE» brings together the EX-19, the EX-18 to register the EU citizen and the 790-012, and estimates the card's expiry at five years for Renovaciones (renewals). It comes switched off: turn it on in Ajustes (Settings).

Other forms

Frequently asked questions

Can an unmarried (de facto) partner use the EX-19?

Yes, with two boxes. If the partnership is registered in a public register of an EU or EEA country: «Pareja registrada» (registered partner) (RD 240/2007, art. 2.b). If it is not registered: «Pareja estable debidamente probada» (duly proven stable partner), proving one continuous year of living together or, if you have children together, a stable cohabitation (art. 2 bis).

How long does the EU family member card (tarjeta comunitaria) take?

RD 240/2007 allows three months from the application to issue it and, if it is granted, residence counts from your entry into Spain (art. 8.4). If the deadline passes with no answer, the Police state on their Sede Electrónica (official website) that the silence counts as a refusal.

Which box do you tick after five years?

«Residencia permanente» (permanent residence), if the family member has five continuous years of legal residence (art. 10.1). It is filed in the month before the card expires or up to three months afterwards, with a possible fine (art. 11.1). The permanent card is valid for ten years.

What happens to the card after a divorce?

You can keep it. You must report the divorce and prove one of the cases in art. 9.4: three years of marriage (one of them here), custody of the children, gender-based violence or human trafficking, or visiting rights to a minor child who lives in Spain. On the EX-19, the box is «Mantenimiento a título personal del derecho de residencia» (keeping the right of residence in your own name).

Can the EX-19 be filed online?

Mercurio accepts it among initial applications, and the permanent card among renewals, with a digital certificate or, for gestores administrativos, graduados sociales and lawyers, with access through their professional general council. Information sheet 62, however, describes the initial application as made in person by the applicant.

Official sources

Checked on 14 October 2026, unless another date is given.

Keep reading

EX-24 form: residence for the foreign family member of a Spanish national

Tasa 790-012 (police fee): 2026 amounts, form and payment