In short: A residence permit for a child not born in Spain is requested under art. 160 of the Immigration Regulation (RD 1155/2024), with form EX-25. It is for a child who already lives here with a parent who has legal residence. It gives a 5-year permit with no visa. It requires 2 years in a row in Spain, plus economic means and housing as in family reunification. The fee is 10.94 € and the office has 1 month to decide: no answer counts as a refusal. It works for any nationality, except citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland.
In person or by representative? Mixed. One of the parents or the guardian signs the form. It is filed at the Immigration Office (Oficina de Extranjería) of the province where the child lives (appointment). It can also be filed through the electronic office of the Ministry of Territorial Policy, with the parent's electronic certificate or through a gestor administrativo, a graduado social or a lawyer, according to sheet 42. The TIE card is requested in person, with the child and one of the parents. Whether EX-25 can be filed through Mercurio is not confirmed: ask your office which channel to use.
Who can apply.
- A child under 18 not born in Spain, biological or adopted, who is with a foreign parent who has residence in Spain. Age counts on the day of the application: it must be filed before the child turns 18.
- A child with a disability who, because of their health, cannot meet their own needs. Art. 160 also covers them as an adult, and you add the documents that prove the disability.
- A child under guardianship: a person under 18 who is accompanied by the foreign resident in Spain who legally holds their guardianship. The same requirements apply.
- In all cases the child must not have formed a family unit of their own. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, and relatives covered by the EU regime, are excluded.
- The parent (or guardian) with a residence authorisation under the Regulation applies. It can be filed even if that residence is still being processed.
What is required.
- 2 years in a row in Spain before filing the application. You must prove them, but neither the Regulation nor sheet 42 says which documents count: ask what your office accepts.
- Economic means and housing, the same as family reunification asks for (art. 67). Specifically: regular income equal to 150 % of IPREM for two people (the parent and one child), another 50 % of IPREM for each additional member, and adequate housing. IPREM is the public indicator used to set these thresholds; its euro amount changes every year, so check it before you calculate. For housing, reunification asks for a social services report from the place of residence.
- If the child is the son or daughter of only one of the spouses or partners, art. 160.1 also requires the applicant to hold sole patria potestad (legal authority over the child). As for custody, there are two options: exclusive custody, with the child's move to Spain authorised by a judge or by the other parent, or shared custody, with the other holder's consent for the child to live in Spain. Sheet 42 generally asks for a declaration or authorisation from the other parent, unless there is sole custody or a court authorisation.
- School enrolment: if the child is of compulsory school age, you must show enrolment in an authorised official school. Sheet 42 adds a school enrolment declaration form.
Which route is yours.
- Child still abroad: family reunification, with a visa (family reunification).
- Child born abroad who has lived in Spain for 2 years or more: art. 160 and EX-25, no visa. This is the case covered here.
- Child born in Spain: art. 159, on another card (residence of a child born in Spain).
- Child of a person with temporary protection (Ukraine): SEM Instructions 2/2026 remove, in art. 160, the 2 years, the economic means and the housing (residence of a child with temporary protection).
What the Supreme Court judgment changed. Judgment 868/2026 (BOE of 22.09.2026) annulled two phrases of art. 160:
- the word “unmarried” («solteros») in art. 160.1: the child no longer has to be unmarried (the condition of not having formed a family unit of their own still stands);
- the requirement that the guardianship be established under Spanish law (art. 160.2).
The judgment does not annul other parts of art. 160: the 2 years, the means and the housing remain in the text. Sheet 42 dates from May 2025, before the judgment, and still uses both annulled phrases. More detail on the card about the Supreme Court judgment on the Regulation.
Documents
- Form EX-25 signed by the father, the mother or the guardian.
- Full copy of the valid passport, travel document or registration certificate (cédula de inscripción), of the child and of the parent or guardian who applies.
- The child's birth certificate or documents proving the guardianship.
- Proof of payment of the fee.
- School enrolment certificate from an authorised official school, if the child is of compulsory school age.
- School enrolment declaration form for the minors in your care in Spain (sheet 42).
- Proof of the 2 years of continuous stay in Spain.
- Proof of economic means and housing, as in family reunification.
- If applicable: documents on the disability, and the declaration or authorisation of the other parent (or proof of sole custody or of a court authorisation).
- Foreign documents: sworn translation into Spanish or the co-official language of the territory, and an apostille under the Hague Convention of 1961 or legalisation, unless an international convention exempts them.
Copies are submitted and the originals are shown when filing. The list follows art. 160.4 and sheet 42; your office may ask for something more, so check it on the official site.
Deadlines, duration and fee.
- Decision: 1 month from when the application reaches the register of the competent body. No answer counts as a refusal (negative silence). If something is missing, you have 10 days to correct it or the file is closed. Against a refusal or silence see what to do.
- Duration: 5 years from the date of the decision, with no visa. It gives the right to work, with no further steps, when the holder reaches the minimum working age.
- Fee: form 790, code 052, heading 2.1.5, 10.94 € (Order PJC/617/2025). It is paid within 10 working days of filing; if you file electronically, it is paid at the time. The Order provides for the amount to rise each year with the State Budget: check the current amount on form 790 the day you pay.
After the grant. Within 1 month of the notification, the child requests the TIE card in person, with one of the parents, at the competent immigration office or police station (how to get the TIE). The TIE has its own fee (form 790, code 012).
What is not clear.
- Electronic filing. Sheet 42 speaks of filing through the electronic office, but there is no official confirmation that EX-25 is handled through Mercurio. Ask your office.
- Income reduction. In family reunification, art. 67 allows the amount to be reduced in some cases of minor children when the child's interest calls for it. Art. 160 refers to those requirements, but neither it nor sheet 42 clarifies whether the reduction applies here. Sheet 42 cites Instructions DGM 4/2020 on easing the sufficient-means requirement in family reunification; we have not checked whether they remain in force under RD 1155/2024.
- Consent of the other parent. Sheet 42 asks for their declaration or authorisation. We have not found an official template, and the form in which it is submitted is not specified.
- After the 5 years. Art. 159.7 sends the child born in Spain to long-term residence when the permit ends. Art. 160 and sheet 42 say nothing. Long-term residence in general asks for 5 years of legal, continuous residence (art. 183.1). How it applies to this permit, ask your office or a professional.
Official source: RD 1155/2024, consolidated text (arts. 159 and 160) · Sheet 42, Ministry of Inclusion · form EX-25 · Supreme Court judgment 868/2026 (BOE) · Order PJC/617/2025 (fees).
Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.