Long-term residence in Spain for Ukrainians on temporary protection: 5 years and EX-11

In short: Long-term residence (larga duración, the national one) is also open to Ukrainians on temporary protection: all the time spent on temporary protection counts towards the 5 years of legal, continuous residence (SEM 2/2026, Sixth Instruction). With temporary protection alone, the 5 years are not completed before March 2027. It is requested with form EX-11, the fee is 21.87 € and, if the office does not answer within 3 months, the application is deemed approved.

In person or by representative? Mixed. The application is filed at the Immigration Office (Oficina de Extranjería) of your province (appointment) or online through Mercurio, according to sheet 49. A representative can file it with a notarial power of attorney (apoderamiento) or apud acta (sheet 60). The TIE card has to be requested in person (art. 184.7).

What counts, and from when.

• All the time on temporary protection. The Sixth Instruction says the time as holder of the temporary-protection residence authorisation counts fully towards the 5 years and is added to the time under any permit you move to later. If you have already moved to another permit, for example residence and work with EX-26, the two periods add up.
• From which date. The Instruction speaks of the time you were holder of the authorisation. That authorisation is included in the temporary-protection decision (Order PCM/169/2022, art. 5.1), which was to be issued within 24 hours. Our reading: the 5 years run from the date of that decision, which appears on your temporary-protection decision, and not from the day you entered Spain. There is no published official criterion and no cases yet.
• First possible date. The order that sets the procedure came into force on 10.03.2022. With temporary protection alone, the 5 years are not completed before March 2027 (our calculation from that date).

Requirements (sheet 49; arts. 183 and 184 of RD 1155/2024).

• 5 years of legal, continuous residence immediately before filing the application (art. 183.1).
• Absences that do not break continuity (art. 183.2): up to 6 months in a row and a maximum of 10 months in total within the 5 years. If they are for work, up to 6 months in a row and 18 in total. Justified force majeure is assessed by the office case by case, and irregular departures do break continuity. Any departure from Spain counts, including a trip to Ukraine.
• No criminal record in Spain or in the countries where you have lived in the last 5 years, for offences that exist in Spanish law, and not being a threat to public order, security or public health.
• Not listed as inadmissible in countries with an agreement with Spain, and not within the period of a non-return commitment after a voluntary return.
• Not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen.
• Children of compulsory school age: a report proving they are enrolled (art. 184.3.c). If it is not proven, the office warns the education authorities and gives 1 month: without the report, the permit is not granted (art. 184.4).
• Proof of income and health insurance are not required. Neither arts. 183 and 184 nor sheet 49 ask for them for national long-term residence. EU long-term residence does require them (art. 176; sheet 50).

When to file.

• Directly on temporary protection, without first moving to another permit (Sixth Instruction, paragraph 1).
• From the day you complete the 5 years. Art. 184.2 asks to file in the 2 months before the permit expires. That rule does not apply to someone with a permit in force who already meets art. 183 (sheet 49). If you file before completing the 5 years, you do not meet art. 183.1.
• The card calendar. The temporary-protection TIE is valid until 04.03.2027 (Order INT/96/2026). The EU extended the protection until 04.03.2028 (Decision (EU) 2026/1912), but as of 03.10.2026 there is no Spanish order extending the cards. The first 5 years are completed a few days after 04.03.2027. What offices will do with a card that has expired on the filing day is not confirmed.

Form EX-11. The same form covers national and EU long-term residence, and it has no box for temporary protection. The box-by-box walkthrough is in the PDF guide on this page. Download EX-11 and see the list of EX forms.

Documents. Form EX-11, a valid passport, proof of fee payment and, where applicable, a criminal-record certificate (art. 184 and sheet 49). The full list and the step-by-step are in the PDF guide on this page.

Fees and deadlines.

• Application: form 790, code 052, heading 2.6, 21.87 € (Order PJC/617/2025). According to sheet 49 it falls due when the application is admitted for processing and is paid within 10 working days.
• TIE: form 790, code 012, heading 4.5, 21.87 €.
• Decision: 3 months from when the application reaches the register of the competent body. With no answer, it is deemed approved (art. 184.6). In other transition routes, such as arraigo or the change to residence and work, silence means refusal.

After the grant.

1. Renouncing temporary protection. This is done once the long-term residence has been granted, not before (Seventh Instruction). The express renunciation ends the benefits of temporary protection (art. 24.1.d of RD 1325/2003). It is filed with the withdrawal or renunciation form of the OAR (Ministry of the Interior) through the electronic register, and the receipt (resguardo) is shown when requesting the TIE. More in renouncing temporary protection.
2. TIE. Within 1 month of the notification, in person, at the police station or police service of your place of residence, with form EX-17, proof of the fee 790-012 and the renunciation receipt. The temporary-protection card is handed in (Order INT/96/2026). More in how to get the TIE.
3. What you have afterwards. A permit to live and work with no end date, on the same terms as Spaniards (sheet 49). The card is renewed after 5 years, then every 5 years until age 30 and every 10 years from then on (art. 185). Not renewing the card does not end the permit, but the office checks that the conditions still hold. The permit is lost, among other cases, after 12 months in a row outside the EU (art. 201.1.c). General rules: long-term residence.

EU long-term residence: not directly. The Sixth Instruction speaks only of the national permit. Directive 2003/109 does not apply to people authorised to reside under temporary protection (art. 3.2.b, text on BOE). EU status also requires stable, regular resources and health insurance (art. 176; sheet 50), and it gives the possibility of obtaining residence in other EU countries on the conditions each one sets. There is no official Spanish clarification on whether the years of temporary protection count later, once you hold another permit.

What is not confirmed.

• Start date of the 5 years. The text does not give it in those words. Our reading (the date of the decision) has no official criterion or cases behind it. The time between applying for protection and the decision (provisional stay, art. 3 of the Order) is not mentioned.
• Ukrainian criminal record certificate. Art. 184.3.e and sheet 49 ask for it if applicable, from the country of origin or the countries of residence in the last 5 years. If you lived all 5 years in Spain, the Ukrainian one may not be required, but the text does not clarify (for arraigo there is an express exemption, art. 130.2). If they ask for it, see how to get it from Spain.
• A TIE that expires on 04.03.2027. What offices will do with an application filed with the expired card, if no Spanish order comes out.
• EU long-term residence after temporary protection. Whether the years of protection count has not been clarified officially.
• Sheets 49 and 50 not updated. Both date from May 2025, before the Instruction, and do not mention temporary protection. The EX-11 form has no box for it either.
• Fee in 2026. The 21.87 € is the amount in Order PJC/617/2025, whose consolidated text was last updated on 16.06.2025; the order provides for annual updating. Check the amount on form 790 the day you pay.

Other routes from temporary protection: arraigo, relative of a Spaniard, EX-24 and minor children, EX-25. A PDF guide on this procedure is available on this page.

Steps:

1. Check the date of your temporary-protection decision, add 5 years and review your departures from Spain in that time.
2. Gather the documents and the sworn translation of anything that comes from Ukraine.
3. Fill in the EX-11: section 4, general case of art. 183.1.
4. File the application at the Immigration Office or through Mercurio, from the day you complete the 5 years.
5. Pay the fee 790-052 (heading 2.6, 21.87 €) within the 10 working days after the application is admitted for processing.
6. Wait for the decision: 3 months; with no answer, it is deemed approved.
7. With the grant, renounce temporary protection and request the TIE within 1 month (EX-17, fee 790-012, heading 4.5, 21.87 €).

Official source: RD 1155/2024, consolidated text (arts. 183 to 185) · SEM Instructions 2/2026 (PDF) · sheet 49 · EX forms, Migraciones.

Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.