Temporary protection to a residence and work permit in Spain: EX-26

In short: Moving from temporary protection to a residence and work permit in Spain is requested as a modification under art. 191 of RD 1155/2024, with form EX-26. The First Instruction of SEM 2/2026 allows it for people who hold temporary protection for Ukraine. With 1 year or more, the renewal requirements of art. 80 apply and the new permit lasts 4 years (art. 191.3). With less than 1 year, those of art. 74 apply and the permit lasts 1 year (art. 191.2). This follows from the text of art. 191; Hoja 55 does not mention temporary protection yet (see “What is not confirmed”). The fees are 10.94 € (you pay) and 81.54 € (the employer pays).

It is not automatic: temporary protection stays valid until you renounce it, and the renunciation is filed only after the new authorisation is granted.

In person or by representative? Mixed. The application can be filed by the foreign national or by the employer (art. 191.5). It is filed in person at the Immigration Office (Oficina de Extranjería) of the province where you live or online in Mercurio, according to information sheet 55 (Hoja 55). A representative needs a notarial power of attorney (apoderamiento) or apud acta (Hoja 60). The TIE card is always requested in person, at the police.

Who can apply. Anyone who holds a residence authorisation under temporary protection (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382). The 19th additional provision (DA 19ª) of RD 1155/2024, as worded by RD 316/2026 and in force since 16 April 2026, lets you apply for authorisations that can be started from within Spain. The First Instruction of the SEM Instructions 2/2026, signed on 22 June 2026, clarifies that the limit in art. 191.7 does not apply to this modification. In addition, the decision granting temporary protection already includes a work authorisation (Order PCM/169/2022, art. 5.1).

If you have held temporary protection for 1 year or more (art. 191.3). The art. 80 requirements apply (for self-employment, those of art. 86). Hoja 55 lists, among others, these cases, and one is enough:

• at least 3 months of work per year and, in addition, a contract with a new employer and Social Security registration (alta) when you file, or a new contract under art. 74 that starts after the grant, or a job loss beyond your control with registration as a jobseeker;
• 9 months working and registered in Social Security within a period of 12;
• a contributory unemployment benefit;
• a public welfare benefit for social or work inclusion;
• a family member with enough means to reunite the worker;
• being a victim of gender-based or sexual violence, with the employment relationship suspended or ended.

For self-employment, Hoja 55 lists other cases, such as continuing the activity while meeting tax and Social Security obligations, or having protection for cessation of activity. If a requirement is missing, the office assesses your integration effort, which can be shown, among other ways, with a favourable report from your autonomous community. If you have children of compulsory school age, you must show they are enrolled. The permit lasts 4 years and allows work as an employee and self-employed, according to the EX-26 box. It takes effect once you are registered in Social Security within 1 month of the notification.

If you have held it for less than 1 year (art. 191.2). All the art. 74 requirements must be met. Among them: the national employment situation must allow the hiring (the occupation is in the Catalogue of hard-to-fill occupations or there is a certificate from the public employment service), a signed contract for the whole validity of the permit, an employer up to date with the tax authority and Social Security and with sufficient means, and the required qualification. The permit lasts 1 year and counts as an initial one.

Deadlines, fees and who pays.

• Decision: 3 months from when the application reaches the register of the competent body. No answer counts as a refusal (negative silence). For a refusal, an inadmissibility decision or silence, see what to do.
• Worker's fee: form 790, code 052, heading 2.5.2, 10.94 €.
• Employer's fee: form 790, code 062, heading 3.2.2, 81.54 €.
• When to pay: within 10 working days of admission of the application (Hoja 55). If you file through Mercurio, Order PJC/617/2025 (art. 2.3) says the fees are paid at the moment of electronic filing. The amounts come from Order PJC/617/2025; check the current amount on form 790 the day you pay.

After the favourable decision.

• Social Security registration within 1 month of the notification.
• Renouncing temporary protection, only now and not before (Seventh Instruction; art. 24.1.d of RD 1325/2003 and art. 9 of Order PCM/169/2022). It is done with the withdrawal or renunciation form of the OAR (Ministry of the Interior), through the electronic register, with one communication for each adult. It is addressed to unit EA0054388 (Subdirección General de Instrucción de Protección Internacional y Apatridia), with the subject «RENUNCIA PT» and the temporary protection file number, and with the NIE written without hyphens. Keep the receipt. Details in renouncing temporary protection.
• TIE: within 1 month of the registration, in person, at the police station or police service of your place of residence, with form EX-17 and fee 790-012. The renunciation receipt is also required (Seventh Instruction). Details in how to get the TIE. The previous temporary protection card is handed in (Order INT/96/2026).
• When you renounce, the benefits of temporary protection end automatically (art. 24.1 of RD 1325/2003). If you receive any support tied to it, ask whoever manages it first (see “What is not confirmed”).

Dates of temporary protection. Temporary protection TIE cards are valid until 4 March 2027 (Order INT/96/2026). The EU has extended the protection until 4 March 2028 (Decision (EU) 2026/1912), but as of 3 October 2026 there is no Spanish order extending the physical cards. As long as you do not renounce, the protection stays valid.

Other routes (each has its own card).

• Arraigo (EX-10, 1-year permit): time under temporary protection counts toward the 2 years of residence required (Second Instruction). See arraigo from temporary protection.
• Family member of a Spanish citizen (EX-24, 5-year permit): Fifth Instruction. See family member of a Spanish citizen from temporary protection, EX-24.
• National long-term residence (EX-11): time under temporary protection counts in full toward the 5 years (Sixth Instruction). Order PCM/169/2022 came into force on 10 March 2022, so, counting temporary protection alone, nobody reaches 5 years before 10 March 2027. It is our reading that the count starts from the temporary protection decision, and there is no practice yet. See long-term residence from temporary protection.
• Minor children (EX-25): see residence for a child with temporary protection.
• Law 14/2013 (entrepreneurs, international remote work): it can also be requested from temporary protection (Fifth Instruction). See international teleworker authorisation.

Documents and form. The full official list is in Hoja 55; this page does not repeat it and may be incomplete. In general you need the EX-26 signed by you or by the employer and a copy of the full passport, travel document or cédula in force. You add the documents for the case you rely on and, with children of compulsory school age, proof of their enrolment. Documents from another country need a sworn translation and an apostille or legalisation (Hoja 55). The EX-26 has no box of its own for temporary protection: the application falls under art. 191.3 (or 191.2), and it helps to attach a letter citing the DA 19ª and the First Instruction of SEM 2/2026. It is not an official requirement; it only makes clear what you rely on. If your Ukrainian passport has expired, see Ukrainian passport in Spain. The box-by-box EX-26 walkthrough and the document checklist are in the PDF guide on this page. Other forms are in our EX forms card.

What is not confirmed.

• Which paragraph offices apply. Hoja 55 dates from August 2025 and does not mention temporary protection. We have not found a management criterion or an instruction after SEM 2/2026 on this procedure (search 2026-10-03). We apply art. 191.3 based on the text of art. 191 and Order PCM/169/2022 (art. 5.1). It is not clarified how the “year” and the “3 months per year” are counted with a protection that has been extended step by step, or what counts as a “new employer” when temporary protection was not granted for a job.
• Filing window. Hoja 55 sets no window for this modification, unlike renewal (2 months before expiry, art. 80.1). According to community accounts (see below), some offices treated it as a renewal. No official criterion has been published.
• Welfare benefit. It is not officially clarified whether the Ingreso Mínimo Vital or a regional minimum income counts as a welfare benefit for inclusion in this context.
• Self-employment. Among its cases, Hoja 55 asks you to continue the activity that gave rise to the authorisation, and temporary protection was not granted for an activity. There is no official clarification. Also, Hoja 55 names only heading 3.2.2 of fee 790-062 (employees). Order PJC/617/2025 has a heading 3.3.2 for self-employment, also 81.54 €, but it is not confirmed that it applies to this procedure.
• Fees in 2026. The 10.94 € and 81.54 € are those of Order PJC/617/2025, whose consolidated text was last updated on 16 June 2025; the order provides for annual updating. Check the amount on form 790 the day you pay.
• Ukrainian criminal record certificate. It is not in the document list of Hoja 55, and the office checks Spanish records by itself. Whether an office asks for it varies from place to place (see community). If you are asked for it, a Ukrainian document needs a sworn translation and an apostille (Hoja 55); see how to get the Ukrainian certificate from Spain and how to get the apostille.
• Effective date. Art. 191.3 says the new authorisation takes effect from its grant if the previous one has not expired. There is no official clarification of how this works with temporary protection: check the effective date in the decision.
• What you lose by renouncing. The benefits of temporary protection end (art. 24.1 of RD 1325/2003). Which specific benefits are tied to it, for example the reception system or regional aid, we have not found clarified in an official text.

Steps:

1. Check how long you have held temporary protection and which case of art. 80 you meet (art. 74 if less than 1 year).
2. Fill in the EX-26 (you or the employer signs) and, if you wish, add a cover letter citing the DA 19ª and the First Instruction of SEM 2/2026 (advisable, not required).
3. File it at the Immigration Office of your province or through Mercurio, with the documents for your case.
4. Pay the two fees: 790-052 (you, 10.94 €) and 790-062 (the employer, 81.54 €), within 10 working days of admission of the application (through Mercurio, when you file). Watch your notifications in case the office asks for something.
5. Wait for the decision: 3 months; no answer counts as a refusal.
6. If it is favourable, register in Social Security within 1 month of the notification.
7. Renounce temporary protection with the OAR form through the electronic register (EA0054388, subject «RENUNCIA PT» and your file number) and keep the receipt.
8. Request the TIE in person within 1 month of the registration, with EX-17, fee 790-012 and the renunciation receipt, and hand in the previous card.

Official source: RD 1155/2024, consolidated text (art. 191) · Hoja 55, Migraciones · SEM Instructions 2/2026 (PDF) · EX forms, Migraciones · renunciation form, OAR · Order PJC/617/2025.

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