From humanitarian residence to four-year residence and work: key points of Instructions SEM 1/2026

Updated on 27 September 2026. Since 12 June 2026 the Ministry of the Interior no longer grants or extends the humanitarian authorisation that used to follow a refused asylum claim, so the modification set out in Instructions SEM 1/2026 is now the way to keep your lawful residence. We have also added the Supreme Court judgment published in the BOE (Boletín Oficial del Estado, Spain's Official Gazette) on 22 September 2026, which affects minor children.

If you hold a temporary residence authorisation on humanitarian grounds (autorización de residencia temporal por razones humanitarias) in Spain granted under Article 128.1.a) of the Reglamento de Extranjería (Immigration Regulations), that is, the one that was granted after your application for international protection was refused or declared inadmissible, your situation has changed a great deal in 2026.

Instructions SEM 1/2026, signed on 17 June 2026 by the Secretary of State for Migration (secretaria de Estado de Migraciones), set out how to move from that authorisation to a four-year temporary residence and work authorisation, without a visa and without having to prove a job contract or financial means. At the same time, the Ministry of the Interior has stopped renewing humanitarian cards. This transition is therefore no longer just one option among others: for most holders it is the way to avoid falling into an irregular situation when the card expires.

What changed in 2026

Until April: a one-year card with no possibility of modification

The Article 128.1.a) authorisation was granted when the Ministry of the Interior authorised you to remain in Spain under Articles 37.b) and 46.3 of Ley 12/2009 (the Spanish Asylum Act). It allows you to live and work, as an employee and as a self-employed person, anywhere in Spain and in any sector, and it lasts one year.

The original text of the Immigration Regulations (Real Decreto (Royal Decree) 1155/2024, in force since 20 May 2025) expressly prohibited modifying any Article 128.1 authorisation into a different type of authorisation (Art. 191.7.b). The only way out was to extend it year after year or look for an entirely different route.

16 April 2026: modification becomes possible

Real Decreto 316/2026, de 14 de abril (Royal Decree 316/2026 of 14 April), in force since 16 April 2026, amended Article 191.7.b). The prohibition now only covers authorisations under letters b) and c) of Article 128.1. Authorisations under letter a) can now be switched to residence and work through the modification procedure in Article 191.

The same Royal Decree also rewrote the Regulations' Nineteenth Additional Provision. Since then, people with temporary protection because of the war in Ukraine can apply for any stay or residence authorisation that can be applied for from within Spain. It is an exception to that prohibition, which we explain below under 'Who can use this route?'.

12 June 2026: the end of humanitarian extensions

On 12 June 2026 the European Pact on Migration and Asylum began to apply. One of its instruments, Regulation (EU) 2024/1347, allows Member States to keep national humanitarian statuses, but requires that they carry no risk of confusion with international protection (Art. 2.2).

On that basis, the Dirección General de Protección Internacional (Directorate-General for International Protection) of the Ministry of the Interior has stated, in an information note from May 2026 that is not a rule published in the BOE, that from that date it no longer grants or renews residence authorisations on humanitarian grounds linked to international protection, even where the asylum application was lodged earlier. Article 128.1.a) is still written into the Regulations, but the Ministry of the Interior has stopped applying it.

In addition, on 25 August 2026 the Council of Ministers approved, at first reading, a draft bill (anteproyecto) for a new Asylum Act. It is not yet law and does not change anything explained here.

In short: if you hold this card, do not count on renewing it. You need to prepare the modification in good time.

Who can use this route?

The First Instruction is addressed to holders of a temporary residence authorisation for exceptional circumstances on humanitarian grounds under Article 128.1.a). Check your decision: the other humanitarian authorisations are not covered by these instructions.

• Cases provided for in the implementing rules of the Asylum Act (Art. 128.1.c): they still cannot be modified under Article 191 (Art. 191.7.b).
• Temporary protection (Art. 128.1.b): the same provision excludes it, except where it was granted to people displaced from Ukraine (Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382). For them, Instructions SEM 2/2026 of 22 June take the view that the Regulations' Nineteenth Additional Provision prevails over that prohibition, so they can apply for the Article 191 modification if they meet that article's ordinary requirements.
• Victims of certain offences, serious illness arising in Spain or danger in travelling to apply for a visa (Art. 128.2 to 128.4): they are not excluded from Article 191 and, in principle, can use it by meeting its ordinary requirements (Arts. 80 or 86).

In all these cases, the Instructions SEM 1/2026 exemptions explained here do not apply.

In addition, to use this route, your Article 128.1.a) authorisation must have completed its first year of validity.

What is required and what is not

Normally, anyone modifying an authorisation that already allowed them to work must meet Article 191.3, which refers to the renewal requirements of Article 80 (employees) or Article 86 (self-employed): continuity of employment, a new contract, registration with Social Security, and so on.

Instructions SEM 1/2026 waive those requirements. In practice, for this route you do not have to provide a contract, a job offer, payslips or proof of financial means.

But the waiver is not total. The authorities will always assess:

• Article 78.1.d): whether false or manipulated documents have been submitted, inaccurate statements made or whether there is bad faith.
• Article 78.1.e): whether you pose a threat to public policy, public security or public health, provided this is established and reasoned in a police report.
• Article 80.5: criminal convictions will be weighed, including sentences already served, pardoned or suspended (they do not in themselves prevent the grant, but they are taken into account), as will any failure to meet your tax or Social Security obligations.

That is why it is not granted automatically: a criminal record, debts with the Agencia Tributaria (Spanish Tax Agency) or with Social Security, or an unfavourable police report can lead to a refusal. If you have a criminal record that can already be expunged, apply for it to be cancelled before you submit.

When to submit the application

Under the First Instruction, paragraph 2, you can submit it:

• During the two months before your authorisation's expiry date.
• During the three months after that date.

If you apply within that window, your lawful status is extended until the procedure is decided. Keep the proof of submission safe: it is what shows your status to your employer, Social Security or the police while you wait.

The first card: a point the instructions do not clarify

The initial authorisation lasts one year. If you apply for the modification in the two months before its first expiry, that first year has not yet fully elapsed, and the instructions do not explain how the two rules fit together. Before you apply, check the approach of your Oficina de Extranjería (Immigration Office). If you are unsure, the option that meets both conditions is to apply as soon as the year is completed, within the three months after expiry and without leaving it to the last minute: between expiry and submission you have no valid document.

Bear in mind too that the instructions do not provide for any penalty for applying after expiry, but in other cases of late filing (for example, Arts. 80.1 and 132.3) the Regulations allow penalty proceedings to be opened for the minor offence in Article 52.b) of the Ley de Extranjería (Immigration Act), punishable by a fine of up to €500 (Art. 55.1.a). It is one more reason to check with your office first.

If your current card is already an extension, the first year has been completed and you can apply from two months before expiry.

If you have already applied for a humanitarian extension

If you applied for the extension in time and it is still pending, you keep your lawful status in the meantime: applying within the time limit extends the validity of your authorisation until a decision is made (Art. 132.3 of the Regulations).

If more than three months have passed without a reply, it can be argued that the extension has been granted by positive administrative silence: the Ley de Extranjería provides for this in applications to extend a residence authorisation (First Additional Provision, paragraph 2), and a grant by silence can only be confirmed afterwards by an express decision (Art. 24 of Ley 39/2015, the Common Administrative Procedure Act). You can ask for a certificate proving the silence (Art. 24.4 of that Act). As the Ministry of the Interior's position is that it no longer renews these authorisations, get legal advice on your case before relying on this argument alone.

In the meantime, do not let the modification window close. To be safe, count it from the expiry date shown on your card and do not wait for the extension decision if the time limit is about to run out. If your extension has been refused, check as soon as possible whether you are still within the three months after your card's expiry.

If you miss the deadline

Once the three months after expiry have passed, this route closes. As the humanitarian card is no longer renewed, you may fall into an irregular situation and would have to consider other routes (arraigo (settlement-based residence), residence as a family member of a Spanish national, etc.), each with its own requirements and generally more demanding ones.

How to apply, step by step

1. Check your decision: that it falls under Article 128.1.a), the date it was granted and the expiry date.
2. Work out your window: two months before and three months after expiry, taking the first year into account.
3. Prepare the documents (see the next section).
4. Pay the fee: the one that in principle applies is the fee for modifying temporary residence to residence and work (item 2.5.2 of Orden PJC/617/2025), €10.94. Afterwards you will pay the fee for the new card.
5. Submit the application to the Immigration Office of the province where you live, in person or electronically. Your employer or an authorised representative can also submit it.
6. Wait for the decision: the general time limit is three months. For applications that are not extensions or renewals, the general rule under the Ley de Extranjería is negative administrative silence: if there is no reply in time, the application can be treated as refused, although the authorities are still obliged to decide.
7. Apply for your Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE, foreign national identity card) within one month of being notified of the grant (Art. 209 of the Regulations).

If your application is refused, the decision ends the administrative route. You can lodge an optional recurso de reposición (request for reconsideration) within one month or go straight to the contentious-administrative courts within two months.

Which documents to prepare

The instructions do not set a closed list of documents. It is sensible to prepare:

• A valid passport or valid travel document. If it has expired, renew it at your consulate if you can, or get advice before you apply.
• Your card and the decision granting the humanitarian authorisation, with its start and end dates.
• The appropriate official application form and proof of payment of the fee.
• An up-to-date certificate of registration on the padrón (municipal register), useful to prove your address.
• The authorisation of representation, if someone else submits it for you.
• Your employment documents, if you have any. They are not compulsory, but they help the office understand your situation.

What authorisation you obtain

The new authorisation is valid for four years. If your card had already expired when it is granted, its effects are backdated to the day after expiry. Otherwise it runs from the date of the grant (Art. 191.3).

Keeping your lawful residence continuous also matters in the long run. EU long-term residence requires five years of lawful and continuous residence (Art. 176 of the Regulations), and nationality by residence requires residence that is lawful, continuous and immediately prior to the application (Art. 22 of the Civil Code). You can run a first check with our Spanish nationality tool.

What about minor children?

For minors, the route is not the Article 191 modification but the authorisations for accompanied minors under Articles 159 and 160 of the Regulations, with more flexible rules (Second Instruction):

• Born in Spain (Art. 159): the application can be submitted at any time. The six-month period in that article starts to run when the parent obtains an authorisation other than the humanitarian one. The child's authorisation lasts five years.
• Not born in Spain or under guardianship (Art. 160): they are exempt from the two years' prior stay, the financial means and the accommodation normally required. Note that the Second Instruction links these exemptions to the child being accompanied by a parent or guardian who holds the humanitarian authorisation.
• Identity: proof of identity is never waived. If the child has no documents, a cédula de inscripción (registration document for undocumented foreign nationals) can be requested (Art. 210).

New in September 2026: Supreme Court judgment 868/2026 of 8 July, published in the BOE on 22 September together with its rectification order (auto de rectificación) of 1 September, annulled the requirement that the children be ‘unmarried’ (Arts. 159.1 and 160.1) and the requirement that the guardianship be established under Spanish law (Art. 160.2). It also annulled the words requiring a child born in Spain never to have left the country: the authorities may require the child to have kept their actual habitual residence here, and temporary and justified absences do not in themselves exclude them. The instructions, which predate the judgment, still mention that the children must be unmarried; now that the Regulations have been corrected, that condition should not be required.

Coordinate the whole family's applications: the deadline for children born in Spain depends on the date on which you obtain the new authorisation and, read literally, the exemptions for children not born in Spain may stop applying if you no longer hold the humanitarian authorisation when their application is submitted. If your children were not born in Spain, consider submitting their application before yours or at the same time (Art. 160.1 allows it to be submitted while the parent's authorisation is being processed) and check your Immigration Office's approach.

Common mistakes

• Waiting to renew the humanitarian card. Since 12 June 2026 the Ministry of the Interior no longer extends it.
• Missing the window of two months before and three months after expiry.
• Confusing types of authorisation: only the Article 128.1.a) authorisation is covered by these instructions.
• Assuming it is automatic: criminal records, the police report and debts with the Tax Agency or Social Security are assessed.
• Forgetting the children, whose documents follow their own rules and deadlines.
• Travelling outside Spain with an expired card and only the proof of submission without checking first.

Conclusion

Instructions SEM 1/2026 give holders of the Article 128.1.a) humanitarian authorisation a direct route to a four-year temporary residence and work authorisation, without a visa and without employment requirements. Since the Ministry of the Interior stopped renewing these cards, it is also the main way to avoid losing lawful residence. The key is the calendar: your card's expiry date, the first year of validity and your children's situation.

If your card expires in the coming months, or you have questions about your deadline, your record or your children's documents, we can review your case with you. You can book an immigration consultation. And if you want to see the other changes made by Royal Decree 316/2026, see our article on the new 2026 immigration rules.

Legislation and sources

• Immigration Regulations, approved by Real Decreto 1155/2024 (consolidated text, BOE)
• Real Decreto 316/2026, de 14 de abril (BOE)
• Instructions SEM 1/2026 of 17 June 2026 (Secretariat of State for Migration)
• Instructions SEM 2/2026 of 22 June 2026 on the transition from temporary protection to other authorisations (Secretariat of State for Migration)
• Supreme Court judgment 868/2026 of 8 July 2026 and rectification order of 1 September 2026, on the Immigration Regulations (BOE of 22 September 2026)
• Information note from the Dirección General de Protección Internacional (Ministry of the Interior) on granting or renewing temporary residence authorisations on humanitarian grounds linked to international protection (May 2026; not published in the BOE)
• Regulation (EU) 2024/1347 of 14 May 2024 (BOE, OJEU)
• Ley Orgánica 4/2000, Immigration Act (consolidated text, BOE)
• Ley 12/2009, Asylum Act (consolidated text, BOE)
• Orden PJC/617/2025 on immigration fees (consolidated text, BOE)
• Código Civil, Spanish Civil Code (consolidated text, BOE)
• Ley 39/2015 on Common Administrative Procedure (consolidated text, BOE)
• Ley 29/1998 on the Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction (consolidated text, BOE)