How Coronavirus Affects Your Visa Application in Spain

When Spain declared a state of national emergency on March 14, 2020 to combat the spread of COVID-19, many foreigners visiting Spain either had an application being processed or were here on a tourist visa when their flights were cancelled. Those first days were rather chaotic; laymen and lawyers alike were expecting some kind of immigration instructions from the Spanish government. Those finally came in late March from the Directorate General of Migrations (DGM). 

In its communication, the DGM clarified the application of the recent Royal Decree 463/2020 (Real Decreto 463/2020, de 14 de marzo) regarding immigration procedures in course, in particular guidance to interpret the suspension and interruption of administrative and procedural deadlines established by it.

The following will be useful should any of these cases apply to you:

1. Foreigners in Spain on a Schengen visa or a 90-day visa-free stay:

• The expiry dates of short-term stays are now suspended until the state of emergency is lifted. This means that if your visa or your visa-free period expires during this time and you can’t leave due to the travel restrictions caused by the current coronavirus crisis, you don’t need to formally request an extension of your stay and may remain in Spain until the state of emergency is over.
• This measure was first introduced at the end of February for those residents in China whose return was not possible due to flight cancellations, but the spread of the disease has led to the general extension of this measure to all foreigners.

2. Foreigners who submitted their residence permit applications before March 14, 2020:

• If the immigration office finds that your case does not require any additional documents and you fulfill the requirements for the residence permit requested, you are likely to receive your approval resolution shortly. Bear in mind, however, that if you did not apply online, the delivery document by post may take much longer. 
• If your case requires additional documents the immigration office will send you a letter requiring you to submit the requested additional documents. Normally, you would need to submit them within 10 days, however, Royal Decree 463/2020 suspended all administrative deadlines. Once the state of emergency is lifted, the 10-day submission requirement will again be in place.  
• If you do have the additional requested documents and can submit them online, you may do so at any time. If they are sufficient, the immigration office will send you the approval of your residence permit. 
• If your application is denied and you receive a notice from the immigration office, the counter to appeal will start when the state of emergency is lifted. 
• In some cases, the law grants that residence permits are to be approved if the immigration office doesn’t respond within a specified time period. If your case falls here, and the deadline to respond expired before March 14, 2020, the immigration office is obliged to send you an “approval by administrative silence.” 

3. Foreigners who submitted their residence permit applications after March 14, 2020:

• Currently, applications can only be submitted online, with your own digital signature or through a lawyer. 
• All the rules from point two above will apply.
• If the immigration office finds that you must appear for a personal interview, they will suspend your application and summon you after the state of emergency is lifted.

4. If you had a personal appointment with the immigration office scheduled after March 14, 2020:

• It will be cancelled, and you will receive an exceptional authorization to submit your application online with your digital signature or through a lawyer. 

5. If you had an appointment to get your residence card (TIE) with the immigration police scheduled after March 14, 2020:

• It will be cancelled. So far the immigration police have not yet provided guidance on how or when to reschedule those appointments. Hopefully, reassignment will be done automatically, without requiring applicants to go through the painful process of booking another appointment online. 

If you have any questions regarding your case, do not hesitate to contact us for further clarifications.

Anna Klevtsova is Managing Partner of Klev&Vera with over 18 years of experience in public service and international cooperation projects. Anna leads the corporate and immigration practice, specializing in company formations, investment transactions and immigration strategies. Anna is fluent in English, Russian, Spanish, and also speaks French and Catalan.