Child Support Guarantee Fund in Spain 2026: 300 Euros and Requirements

If you have custody of your children and the other parent does not pay the child support that the court ordered, the Spanish State can advance part of that money to you. It does so through the Child Support Guarantee Fund (Fondo de Garantía de Pago de Alimentos), and in 2026 its rules have changed a great deal: Royal Decree-Law 31/2026, published in the BOE (Spain’s Official State Gazette) on October 21, 2026, raises the maximum advance from 100 to 300 euros a month per child, removes the 18-month limit, calculates the income limit with the minimum wage and reduces from five to two years the legal residence required of foreign minors.

In this article we explain what changes, how much you can receive, which requirements you have to meet and how to apply. If you have questions about your case, you can write to Fernanda Vargas on WhatsApp or book an appointment on Calendly.

Daniela’s Example: Two Children and Child Support That Never Arrives

Daniela is Colombian, lives in Madrid with a residence and work permit and has two children aged 7 and 10, who have also been legally resident in Spain for three years. The divorce judgment of a Madrid court set child support of 250 euros a month for each child. Her ex-husband has not paid anything for more than a year.

Daniela asked the court to enforce the judgment, but it has not been possible to collect anything or to seize any assets. She works as a shop assistant and earns about 21,000 euros gross a year. A friend told her that “the State pays the child support if the father doesn’t”, but also that “it’s only 100 euros and for a year and a half”. With the October 2026 reform, that information is no longer correct. Let’s go through her case step by step. Daniela is an example to explain the rules, but her situation is very common.

What the Child Support Guarantee Fund Is

The Child Support Guarantee Fund is regulated by Royal Decree 1618/2007, of December 7, which Royal Decree-Law 31/2026 has just amended. Its purpose is set out in article 2.2 of that regulation:

“The purpose of the Child Support Guarantee Fund is to guarantee to minor sons and daughters the payment of recognized and unpaid support established in a court-approved agreement or in a court decision in proceedings for separation, divorce, annulment of marriage, filiation or support, by paying an amount that will be treated as an advance.”

Two key ideas follow from this article. First: there must be child support recognized by a judge (in a judgment or in a court-approved agreement) that is not being paid. Second: what the State pays is an advance. It is not a non-repayable grant: the amounts paid by the Fund are advances (article 3.2). The State advances the money to the children and takes over (is subrogated to) their right in order to claim it from the debtor parent (article 24.1).

In addition, article 2.4 requires the decision recognizing the support to have been issued by the Spanish courts. A judgment from another country, on its own, does not give access to the Fund.

What Royal Decree-Law 31/2026 Changes: Before and After Table

Royal Decree-Law 31/2026, of October 20, is a broad regulation that also covers, among other matters, the survivor’s pension for unmarried partners (you can read more about the survivor’s pension for unmarried partners and other changes in the decree). As regards the Fund, these are the main changes:

Aspect	Before	Since Royal Decree-Law 31/2026
Maximum amount of the advance	100 euros a month per child	300 euros a month per child
Maximum duration	18 months	For as long as the support obligation exists
Income limit	Annual IPREM multiplied by 1.5 with one child	Minimum wage (SMI) multiplied by 1.75 with one child
Residence of non-EU foreign minors	5 years of legal residence, 2 of them immediately before	2 years of legal residence immediately before
Reciprocity requirement with the minor’s country	Yes	Removed
Managing body	Ministry of Economy and Finance	Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration

The royal decree-law came into force on the day it was published, October 21, 2026, and the changes to the Fund apply from that day. The new maximum amount applies to advances that were already being paid from November 1, 2026, as we will see below.

How Much You Receive: Up to 300 Euros per Child per Month

The advance is, in principle, the monthly amount the judge set as child support (article 8.2). But it has a cap, and that is what has changed. The new article 8.3 says:

“However, the maximum amount of the advance to be received by a beneficiary is set at 300 euros a month. If the family unit includes several beneficiaries, this limit will apply to each of them.”

And if the judgment sets less than 300 euros, the advance is the amount in the judgment (article 8.4). In practice:

• If the judgment sets 250 euros a month per child, the advance is 250 euros per child.
• If the judgment sets 400 euros a month per child, the advance is 300 euros per child, which is the maximum.
• If there are two children entitled to support, the 300-euro cap applies to each of them separately.

In Daniela’s case, each child has child support of 250 euros. Under the previous rule, the Fund would have advanced her 100 euros per child, 200 euros a month in total. Under the new one, the advance can reach 250 euros per child, that is, 500 euros a month, provided she meets the other requirements.

The money is received by the person who has care and custody of the minor, in monthly payments in arrears, and the payments start on the first day of the month after the application (article 10). That is why it is best not to delay the application: the months before you apply are not advanced.

Income Limit: From IPREM to the Minimum Wage

The advance is only granted if the income of the family unit does not exceed a limit. Until now that limit was calculated with the IPREM (Spain’s public income indicator). The new article 6 calculates it with the minimum interprofessional wage (salario mínimo interprofesional, SMI):

“The resources and economic income of the family unit, calculated annually, may not exceed the amount resulting from multiplying the amount of the Minimum Interprofessional Wage in force at the time of the application for the advance by the coefficient that corresponds to the number of minor sons and daughters in the family unit.”

The coefficient is 1.75 if there is one child and rises by 0.25 for each additional child: 2 with two children, 2.25 with three, and so on. It used to be 1.5 with one child. The change is twofold: the SMI is higher than the IPREM and the coefficient has also gone up, so many more families fall below the limit.

The 2026 SMI, set by Royal Decree 126/2026, is 1,221 euros a month in 14 payments, that is, 17,094 euros a year. Using the annual figure, the approximate calculation is as follows:

Children in the family unit	Coefficient	Approximate annual income limit (2026 SMI)
1	1.75	29,914.50 euros
2	2	34,188 euros
3	2.25	38,461.50 euros

There is an important nuance: the new article 6 refers to “the amount of the Minimum Interprofessional Wage” without saying expressly whether it is the annual or the monthly amount. Since income is calculated annually and the previous wording referred to the annual amount of the IPREM, the logical reading is the annual figure, but the table is approximate until the managing body confirms its criterion.

For the calculation, all the income of the members of the family unit is added together, including pensions and benefits, public or private (article 7.1, letters e and f), and the income you have or expect to have in the calendar year in which you apply for the advance is taken into account (article 7.2). With about 21,000 euros gross a year and two children, Daniela would be below the approximate limit of 34,188 euros.

Who Is Part of the Family Unit

The family unit is made up of the father or mother and the minor children with recognized and unpaid support whom they have in their care, or of those minors and the person who has been granted their care and custody. The reform adds the other minors who live in the same home because they are children of the parent claiming support, when their filiation has not been established with respect to their other parent (new article 5). This matters because the number of children changes the coefficient and, with it, the income limit.

Foreign Minors: Two Years of Legal Residence

For foreign families, this is probably the most important change. Spanish minors and nationals of other European Union States residing in Spain can be beneficiaries if they meet the income limit (article 4.1). For minors from other countries, the new article 4.2 requires:

“a) To reside legally in Spain and to have done so during the two years immediately before the date of the application for the advance. For minors under two years of age, these periods of residence will be required of the person who has their care and custody.”

Previously, five years of legal residence were required, two of them immediately before the application, and also that the minor’s country recognized advances similar to the Spanish ones (the reciprocity requirement). That reciprocity requirement has disappeared: it no longer matters whether the minor’s country of origin has a similar system.

Three more rules worth knowing:

• If the person with custody is Spanish, it is enough for the minor to reside legally in Spain at the time of applying for the advance, without proving any previous period.
• Legal residence means being in one of the legal residence situations of Organic Law 4/2000 on immigration (Ley de Extranjería) (article 4.3). An irregular stay does not count.
• If the minor loses legal residence, the advance ends for minors who do not have Spanish nationality (article 22.1.k). Keeping residence cards renewed on time is part of keeping the advance.

In Daniela’s case, her children have been legally resident in Spain for three years, so they meet the new two-year requirement. Under the previous five-year rule, she could not have applied. If your children were born in Spain, it is also important that their own residence status is in order: we explain it in the guide on the baby born in Spain to foreign parents and their residence. If you have questions about your children’s residence, Fernanda Vargas, immigration lawyer, can review your situation.

Prior Requirements: A Spanish Judgment and Enforcement Without Result

Before turning to the Fund, there must have been an attempt to collect through the courts. The documents that go with the application (article 14.2) make this clear:

• A certified copy of the court decision recognizing the right to support and a certified copy showing that its enforcement has been requested.
• A certificate from the court clerk (now called letrado de la Administración de Justicia) proving that the enforcement has been unsuccessful: the support has not been paid and it has not been possible to seize any of the debtor’s assets.

In other words, it is not enough for the other parent to stop paying: you have to ask the court to enforce the judgment and that enforcement has to be unsuccessful. If the debtor lives abroad, you can also claim the support under the international conventions that exist, regardless of whether you receive the advance (second additional provision).

How to Apply: Documents, Urgent Procedure and Deadlines

The application is submitted by the member of the family unit who has care and custody of the minor (article 12.1). It includes a declaration of the income and earnings of the family unit and the subrogation in favor of the State (article 14.1), and it comes with:

• The court decision on support and the certified copy showing that its enforcement has been requested.
• The certificate stating that the enforcement has been unsuccessful (except in the urgent procedure).
• The family book (libro de familia) or the children’s birth certificate.
• For non-EU foreign minors, the valid residence card and the decision or certificate of the required periods of legal residence. For European Union minors, the certificate of their registration in the Central Register of Foreigners.

The Urgent Procedure

Article 16 allows the advance to be granted on an urgent basis when there is a situation of urgent need. That happens in two cases:

• When the income of the family unit does not exceed the limit of article 6 with the coefficient reduced by 0.5 points. With the annual 2026 SMI, approximately, that would be 21,367.50 euros with one child (coefficient 1.25) and 25,641 euros with two children (coefficient 1.5).
• When the person with custody is a victim of gender-based violence under Organic Law 1/2004.

In the urgent procedure, the certificate that the enforcement has failed is not needed: it is enough to have the certified copy showing that enforcement was requested and that two months have passed since then without payment, according to the applicant’s declaration. With about 21,000 euros a year and two children, Daniela would also be below the approximate urgency limit.

Deadline for a Decision

The Administration has three months to decide and notify, or two months in the urgent procedure (article 17.2). If that period passes without an express decision, the application can be considered granted (article 17.3).

A practical warning: the reform now gives the management of the Fund to the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, through the Directorate General for Social Security Planning (new article 2.1). However, the procedural articles still name the Directorate General for Personnel Costs and Public Pensions, which belonged to the former Ministry of Economy and Finance, and its application form. Before submitting yours, check through the official channels where and with which form it is now processed.

If You Already Receive the Advance: Automatic Review from November 1

If you already have an advance of 100 euros, you do not have to apply again. The second transitional provision of Royal Decree-Law 31/2026 settles it as follows:

“The managing body will review the amount of those advances on its own initiative, without the interested parties having to submit a new application.”

The new maximum amount applies to advances in force on October 21, 2026 and from the first day of the following month, that is, from November 1, 2026. Remember that the advance never exceeds what the judgment sets: if the child support is 150 euros, the review will take it to 150 euros, not 300.

Applications submitted before October 21 that were still pending a decision will be decided with the new 300-euro cap.

How Long It Is Paid, When It Ends and What Happens to the Debt

Previously the advance lasted a maximum of 18 months, even if the debtor still did not pay. The new article 9 removes that limit:

“The maximum period for receiving the advances granted to each beneficiary will last for as long as the support obligation exists, without prejudice to the termination of the right on the terms set out in article 22 of this royal decree.”

Article 22 lists the grounds for termination. Among the most common are:

• The child turning 18. Adult children with a disability of 65% or more can remain beneficiaries if they meet the other conditions (first additional provision).
• The income of the family unit going above the limit of article 6.
• The debtor paying, voluntarily or by enforcement.
• The support judgment being modified so that the advance is no longer appropriate (article 22.1.d).
• The foreign minor losing legal residence.

While you receive the advance, you must report any change in the composition or financial situation of the family unit within a maximum of 30 days (article 20.a). If you do not, and you receive amounts you were no longer entitled to, you will have to pay them back.

And the other parent’s debt? It does not disappear. The State is subrogated by operation of law, up to the amount it has paid you, to your right against the debtor (article 24.1). That amount becomes a public-law debt, which can be collected through the administrative enforcement procedure (vía de apremio). In other words, the parent who does not pay ends up owing that money to the State.

What Is Still to Be Clarified

• Validation. A royal decree-law has to be put to a vote in Congress within 30 days of its promulgation. It has been in force since October 21, but it is worth following that step.
• Where to apply. The Fund is now managed by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, but the procedure still refers to the Directorate General for Personnel Costs and Public Pensions, which belonged to the former Ministry of Economy and Finance. It remains to be seen how the application form and channel are adapted.
• Annual or monthly SMI. Article 6 does not specify. The consistent reading is the annual amount, but the figures in this article are approximate.

If you want to know whether you meet the requirements, how the advance affects your situation or what to do if your application is refused, Fernanda Vargas, employment lawyer in Madrid and specialist in labor law and Social Security, can review your case.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you would like us to review your case, write to Fernanda Vargas on WhatsApp or book an appointment on Calendly.