Baby Born in Spain to Foreign Parents 2026: Residence and Nationality

If your baby was born in Spain and you or the other parent are foreign nationals, it is normal to have the same question: which papers must be handled first and whether the child is Spanish automatically. In 2024 there were 318,005 births in Spain and 81,339 were to mothers of foreign nationality, so this is a very common situation, but that does not stop the process from raising many questions.

In this guide you will find, step by step, what to do from the registration of the birth to the residence authorization for the minor born in Spain, what happens with the 6-month deadline, what changed with the Supreme Court ruling of July 8, 2026 and when Spanish nationality can be discussed. If you want to review your case with professional help, you can write to Fernanda Vargas by WhatsApp or book an appointment on Calendly.

Your child has been born in Spain: why they are not Spanish automatically and what procedures you have ahead

Being born in Spain does not automatically make a baby Spanish in all cases. Spanish nationality by origin exists for some specific cases under the Civil Code, but not for every birth in Spanish territory.

That is why it is worth separating two different issues:

The immediate civil registry and documentation situation: registration of the birth, passport or travel document and, where applicable, residence authorization.
Possible Spanish nationality: which may exist from the outset in some specific cases or may be acquired later through residence.

In practice, the process usually starts like this: first the birth is registered, then the baby’s documentation is obtained and, if applicable, the residence of the minor born in Spain is requested. From there, it will be necessary to analyze whether there is also any route to Spanish nationality.

First step: registering the birth in the Civil Registry (72 hours from the hospital or 10 days by declaration)

The first procedure is the registration of the birth in the Civil Registry. Law 20/2011 distinguishes two very clear situations.

If the birth takes place in a healthcare facility, the facility reports the birth to the Civil Registry Office within 72 hours.
If the birth happens outside a healthcare facility, or if that report is not sent, those required to promote the registration must declare the birth within 10 days.

If that 10-day period passes without a declaration, it is no longer a simple ordinary administrative step: the registration will require a case file. That is why it is best not to leave this step for later. The birth registration is the basis for the rest of the procedures, including the minor’s residence and, many times, also the consular processing of the passport.

Although in many hospitals the notification is handled quite automatically, it is important to check that the birth has been properly registered and to keep the birth certificate in Spain, because it will be one of the key documents for the residence application.

Baby’s passport or travel document: the role of your country’s consulate

To request the residence authorization for the minor born in Spain, you must provide the passport or travel document of the minor and also that of the parent submitting the application. That means that, after the birth registration, it is usually necessary to go to the consulate of the baby’s country or that of the parents to process that documentation.

There is no single procedure here, because each consulate applies its own documentary rules and its own issuance times. In some cases the country of origin registers the minor first and then issues the passport; in others, the process changes depending on the parents’ nationality or their marital status.

What matters, from the immigration-law perspective in Spain, is that this step should not be delayed. Under the regulation in force since May 20, 2025, there is a 6-month period to request the residence of the minor born in Spain, and in practice many families lose valuable time waiting for the appointment or for the passport to be issued.

If you expect consular delays, it is advisable to organize the schedule as soon as possible. The goal is to reach the application with complete documentation within the deadline set by the rule.

The residence authorization for a minor born in Spain (art. 159 RD 1155/2024): requirements

The specific category for these cases is the temporary residence of the accompanied foreign minor born in Spain, regulated in article 159 of the Immigration Regulations approved by RD 1155/2024.

This authorization is intended for minors born in Spain who are children of foreign parents and does not require a visa. It is a separate route, different from ordinary family reunification, provided its requirements are met.

The essential points are these:

It must be a minor born in Spain.
His or her parents are foreign nationals.
The authorization is designed for children of parents holding a residence authorization under the regulations.
The application must be submitted personally by the father or mother.
If the minor is of compulsory school age, enrollment must be proven.

A very important point is that this residence is not granted simply because the child was born in Spain. A formal application is required and the case must fit the situation provided for in the rule. It is also worth keeping in mind that residence and nationality are not the same thing: a baby may obtain residence in Spain and still not be Spanish, or may be Spanish through another route and then the strategy changes.

The 6-month period: from the birth or from when one parent obtains residence

One of the most important changes in the current regulation is the 6-month period. Under the previous rules there was no such time limit in these terms; now there is.

The application must be submitted in one of these two moments, depending on the case:

Within 6 months from the birth, if the situation required by the rule already exists.
Within 6 months from when one of the parents obtains residence, if that happens after the birth.

This second scenario is especially relevant. If the baby is born when neither parent yet has residence, the route under article 159 is not necessarily closed forever: it may open when one of them obtains residence, and from that moment the 6-month period will begin to run.

However, if the applicable deadline is missed, the Ministry of Inclusion’s information sheet indicates that this authorization no longer applies and the route becomes family reunification. That is why it is so important to identify exactly when the deadline starts to run in your specific case.

When there are doubts about the exact date on which the parent obtained residence or about whether you are really within the deadline, the prudent thing is to review the documentation before filing anything, because a calendar mistake can completely change the applicable procedure.

What changed with the Supreme Court ruling of July 8, 2026 and the order of September 1: end of the requirement of being ‘single’ and justified temporary absences

In 2026 the Supreme Court introduced two very important changes in the interpretation and validity of article 159.

First, the ruling of July 8, 2026 annulled in article 159.1 the phrase requiring the children to be “single”. As a result, that requirement should no longer be demanded as a condition for this authorization.

Second, the ruling also annulled another phrase in the second paragraph and, together with the correcting order of September 1, 2026, clarified how the reference to the minor having not been absent should be understood.

The key point is this: that condition must be interpreted in terms of maintaining the minor’s effective habitual residence in Spain. That means that temporary and justified absences do not by themselves determine that the provision does not apply or automatically require the case to be sent to the family reunification regime.

Put practically: a one-off departure of the minor from Spain should not automatically lead to a denial if, despite that departure, it can be considered that the effective habitual residence remains in Spain. Even so, the Administration still has the power to assess precisely that: whether or not that effective habitual residence exists.

This clarification is very important for families who, for medical, family or documentary reasons, have had to make temporary trips. It does not make any departure irrelevant, but it does avoid a rigid reading that closed the door automatically.

Documentation, form EX-25, fee 790-052, one-month decision period and negative administrative silence

The application for this authorization is filed with form EX-25. It can be submitted in person at the Immigration Office of the province where the minor lives or electronically, through Mercurio or the corresponding office of the Ministry of Territorial Policy.

The fee is form 790, code 052, item 2.1.5.

Item	What you should keep in mind
Form	Form EX-25
Where to file	Immigration Office of the province where the minor lives or electronic filing
Fee	Form 790, code 052, item 2.1.5
Basic documents	Passport or travel document of the minor, passport or travel document of the parent, birth certificate in Spain and proof of enrollment if the minor is of compulsory school age
Cure period	If documentation is missing, the Administration may request correction within 10 days
Decision	Maximum period of 1 month
Administrative silence	Negative

As for the documentation, the rule and the information sheet list as basic documents:

Passport or travel document of the minor.
Passport or travel document of the parent submitting the application.
Birth certificate in Spain.
Proof of schooling, if the minor is of compulsory school age.

If the Administration considers that something is missing, it may issue a 10-day correction request. And the maximum time to decide is 1 month. If that time passes without an express decision, administrative silence is negative.

This last point is especially important: not receiving a response within a month does not amount to tacit approval. If the deadline passes without a decision, the next step must be assessed carefully.

After approval: TIE within one month, 5-year duration and right to work upon reaching working age

If the authorization is granted, one more procedure remains: the TIE. It must be requested personally within 1 month from notification of the approval.

The duration of the authorization is 5 years from the decision. That is an important duration, because it provides documentary stability for the minor and avoids short-term procedures.

In addition, this authorization allows work upon reaching working age. And, looking ahead, renewals are handled through the long-term procedure.

In other words, once granted, it not only regularizes the minor’s situation in the present, but also better organizes their administrative continuity in Spain.

If the 6 months have passed or no parent has residence: family reunification, the best interests of the child and other routes

When the 6-month period has already expired, the Ministry’s information sheet indicates that the appropriate route is family reunification. If the minor is in Spain, the reference is article 67; if not, the references are articles 67 and 68.

It is also necessary to distinguish two scenarios:

The deadline was missed: the specific route under article 159 ceases to be the ordinary one and family reunification will have to be studied.
No parent has residence: the authorization under article 159 cannot be built while that residence access, which the rule uses as a reference, does not exist. If one of the parents later obtains residence, the 6-month period may be counted from then. If that situation does not occur or the deadline is missed, other alternatives will have to be reviewed.

In this type of case, the strategy should focus on the minor’s real situation and on the legal option that best protects their documentary stability. In addition to residence, it should always be checked whether the baby could be Spanish by origin under one of the cases in article 17 of the Civil Code or whether later they may apply for nationality by residence.

Because the choice of the correct route depends greatly on the procedural moment and the parents’ administrative situation, this is a case in which an individual review before filing the wrong application is especially advisable.

Can they be Spanish by origin? Nationality with value of simple presumption (art. 17.1.c of the Civil Code) and risk of statelessness

Yes, in some cases a baby born in Spain to foreign parents may be Spanish by origin. The starting point is article 17.1 of the Civil Code.

For these cases, it is especially useful to review four scenarios:

Article 17.1.b: those born in Spain to foreign parents are Spanish by origin if at least one of them was also born in Spain.
Article 17.1.c: those born in Spain to foreign parents are Spanish by origin if both are stateless or if neither of their countries’ laws assigns the child a nationality.
This case under article 17.1.c is usually known as a declaration with value of simple presumption.
Article 17.1.d: those born in Spain whose parentage is not determined are also Spanish by origin.

The key point of article 17.1.c is to avoid statelessness. If the law of neither of the parents’ countries grants the baby their nationality, Spain may recognize Spanish nationality by origin through that declaration with value of simple presumption.

But this is not presumed automatically. The law of both countries must be studied. In many States nationality is transmitted by descent, so the child receives the parents’ nationality even if born in Spain. In those cases article 17.1.c would not apply.

That is why it is not advisable to assume one thing or the other. Sometimes a family thinks their baby will be Spanish because they were born in Spain and that is not the case; other times the opposite happens and there is an available route to nationality by origin that is not being considered. The correct analysis depends on the parents’ country or countries and on how their nationality rules work.

Nationality by residence after one year for those born in Spain (art. 22.2.a Civil Code)

Even when the baby is not Spanish by origin, the Civil Code provides a particularly relevant route for those born in Spain: article 22.2.a establishes that one year of legal residence is enough for anyone born in Spanish territory.

This makes the minor’s residence a very important piece also from the perspective of future nationality. If the child obtains legal residence status, this shorter route may open earlier compared with other cases.

However, this possibility does not replace the initial procedures. First the documentary and immigration situation must be correctly organized; after that, the appropriate time for nationality by residence is considered.

In addition, it should not be confused with nationality by origin under article 17. They are different paths: one starts from the idea that the minor is already Spanish from birth because a specific legal situation exists; the other requires a period of legal residence and a later application.

Common mistakes and checklist for families

These are some of the most common mistakes in cases of babies born in Spain to foreign parents:

Thinking that being born in Spain automatically makes the baby Spanish.
Delaying the birth registration and complicating the file from the start.
Waiting too long to process the minor’s passport or travel document.
Not properly tracking the 6-month deadline for the authorization under article 159.
Submitting the application without checking whether one of the parents already has residence or from when the period is counted.
Forgetting school enrollment when the minor is of compulsory school age.
Believing that any departure from Spain automatically closes the route under article 159, despite the criterion set by the Supreme Court in 2026.
Failing to request the TIE within the month after approval.
Confusing residence with nationality and leaving unexamined the routes under article 17 or article 22.2.a of the Civil Code.

And this checklist can serve as a quick guide:

Confirm the birth registration in the Civil Registry.
Obtain the birth certificate in Spain.
Process the baby’s passport or travel document as soon as possible.
Check whether either parent already has a residence authorization and from what date.
Calculate the 6-month period: from the birth or from when one parent obtains residence, if that happened later.
Prepare form EX-25 and fee 790-052, item 2.1.5.
Gather the basic documents of the minor and the parent applicant.
Provide proof of schooling if applicable.
If the deadline has already passed, study family reunification and review whether there is any route to Spanish nationality.

If you need help reviewing deadlines, preparing the application or analyzing whether your child can access Spanish nationality, you can contact Fernanda Vargas by WhatsApp or book a consultation on Calendly. Every family reaches this procedure at a different moment, and choosing the right route from the start can avoid delays and unnecessary problems.