Request for documents from Spanish immigration: how and when to reply

A request for documents (requerimiento) is not a refusal: it is the Immigration Office telling you that something is missing from your application and giving you time to provide it. As a rule that is ten working days; if you do not answer, you are deemed to have withdrawn and the file is closed.

Answered well, a request usually ends in a grant. Answered badly or late, it means starting again. Here is what you need to know.

How long you have

• General rule: ten days to remedy the defect or attach the documents (article 68 of Law 39/2015).
• Arraigo and other exceptional circumstances: the period is the one stated in the notification, up to fifteen days (article 130.3 of the Immigration Regulation).
• Your notification governs. Read the exact period it states and assume no other.

How the days are counted

Under article 30 of Law 39/2015:

• Periods in days are working days: Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays do not count.
• They start the day after notification.
• If the last day is a non-working day, the period runs to the next working day.

National holidays, those of your region and the local ones of the municipality where the processing body sits all count. If in doubt, count without the local holidays and you will have margin.

When you are deemed notified

This is where most people lose the deadline without knowing.

• Paper notification: the day you receive it or someone at your address accepts it.
• Electronic notification: the moment you access its content. But if ten calendar days pass from when it was made available without you opening it, it is deemed rejected and the procedure continues as if you had been notified.

If you filed online or authorised electronic notifications, check the inbox often. Do not wait for an email alert: the alert is a courtesy and its absence does not invalidate the notification.

Step by step

1. Read the whole request and list what is asked, point by point.
2. Note the deadline, counting working days.
3. Gather exactly what is asked. No less, and no random documents: each point needs its answer.
4. Write a short letter with your name, NIE or passport, the file number and a numbered list of the documents attached. If one needs explaining, do so in two lines.
5. File in time through a channel that leaves proof:
   • the official online office, under the procedure for adding documents to an open file, if you have a digital certificate or Cl@ve;
   • the registry of the Immigration Office or of any other public authority;
   • a post office (Correos), asking them to stamp your copy with the date.
6. Keep the receipt showing date and time.

While your reply is pending, the Administration's period to decide is suspended, so a request lengthens the wait.

If you cannot get the document in time

This often happens with home-country certificates. Do not let the period lapse in silence:

• Ask for an extension before it expires. The law allows the period to be extended by up to five days where providing the documents presents special difficulties. Granting it is at the office's discretion.
• Reply in time anyway with what you have and with proof that you requested what is missing: consulate slip, request receipt, emails.
• Say when you expect to receive it.

There is no guarantee it will be accepted, but a file with a reasoned reply has far more chance than one with none.

If you missed the deadline

• File anyway, as soon as possible. The law accepts action by the applicant if it occurs before or on the day the decision declaring the period expired is notified.
• If the file has already been closed for withdrawal, consider what suits you better: appealing or filing a complete new application. The second is often quicker, provided you still meet the requirements and have not lost a deadline that cannot be recovered, such as a renewal.

What is usually requested

• Criminal records that are expired, not apostilled or without sworn translation.
• Incomplete passport: pages missing or about to expire.
• Evidence of stay with gaps.
• Fee receipt, or a fee paid under the wrong item.
• Employer's documents: debts, lack of means or unsigned contract.
• Integration or housing report.

Common mistakes

• Counting calendar days and believing the period is over, or miscounting and overrunning.
• Not opening the electronic notification.
• Answering only part of the request.
• Filing without proof of submission.
• Sending other documents "just in case" and forgetting the one requested.

Frequently asked questions

Does a request mean I will be refused?

No. It means the file is incomplete or something needs clarifying. Many files with a request end in a grant.

Do Saturdays count?

No. Saturdays are non-working days for administrative deadlines.

Can I reply by email?

No. It must be filed through a registry — electronic or in person — or by post with the formalities of administrative mail.

I was asked for something I already submitted. What do I do?

Submit it again and state in your letter on what date and with which receipt you filed it. Arguing saves no time; documenting does.

What about my right to work during the request?

If your application gives you a provisional authorisation, it continues while the procedure is alive. It is lost if the file is closed or refused.

Your next step

If you have received a request, photograph it and show it to Resi: it will tell you exactly what is asked and when it expires. If you have not filed yet, the free test helps you submit a complete file first time.