What this letter is
The regularización extraordinaria (extraordinary regularisation) is a special process created by Real Decreto 316/2026, which added two routes to the immigration regulations: arraigo extraordinario (extraordinary settlement, twenty-first additional provision) and arraigo for solicitantes de protección internacional (international protection applicants, twentieth additional provision). Applications were filed from 16 April to 30 June 2026, and the Government reported 1,174,978 applications. If you filed yours, you may now receive three types of notification: the comunicación de inicio (notice that processing has started), a requerimiento (request for documents) or the resolución (decision).
How to read it: the key parts
| What you see in the letter | What it means |
|---|---|
| Órgano emisor (Dirección General de Gestión Migratoria / Unidad de Tramitación) (issuing body) | Who processes and decides your application |
| Nº de expediente (case number) | The code to check your status and to quote in any written submission |
| Disposición adicional vigésima o vigesimoprimera (twentieth or twenty-first additional provision) | Which route you applied under: international protection or extraordinary arraigo |
| Comunicación de inicio / habilitación provisional para trabajar (start notice / provisional permission to work) | Your application is under way and you can already work while it is decided |
| Requerimiento: subsane en el plazo de… (correct within…) | A document or detail is missing; the deadline cannot exceed 15 days |
| Resuelvo: conceder / denegar / tener por desistido (I resolve: grant / refuse / deem withdrawn) | The decision |
| Vigencia (validity) | One year from approval, if favourable |
| Pie de recursos (appeals footer) | Which appeal is available and the deadline |
What deadline you have
- Requerimiento: whatever the letter says, at most 15 working days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays), from the day after notification.
- Approval: within the following month you must apply for the TIE. If you came through the international protection route, you must also bring proof that you have withdrawn that application or appeal.
- Refusal: generally one month for a recurso de reposición (administrative appeal) or two months for the courts, according to the appeals footer.
Example: you are notified of a 15-day requerimiento on Monday 5 October 2026. You start counting on Tuesday 6. Excluding weekends and the 12 October national holiday, the last day is Tuesday 27 October (check for local holidays in your city).
What you can do
| Option | When it makes sense | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Provide what they ask for | You receive a requerimiento | The case continues; if you don’t reply, it is deemed withdrawn and closed |
| Wait while working | You already have the start notice | You stay authorised until the resolution |
| Apply for the TIE | Favourable resolution | Fingerprint appointment and tasa 790 012 |
| Recurso de reposición | Refusal, or silence after three months | The same body reviews it |
| Recurso contencioso-administrativo (court appeal) | You want a judge to look at it | Longer court process |
What happens if you do nothing
If you ignore a requerimiento, the application is archivada por desistimiento (closed as withdrawn) and you lose the permission to work. If you are granted the authorisation and don’t apply for the TIE within the following month, you will have trouble proving your status to employers, banks or at renewal. And if you don’t appeal a refusal in time, it becomes firme (final).
Common mistakes
- Thinking the window is still open: it closed on 30 June 2026.
- Not checking the sede electrónica (online portal) or DEHú if you applied online: notifications arrive there.
- Replying to the requerimiento without the case number or sending something different from what was asked.
- Forgetting that, after approval, in the two months before the year ends you must apply to switch to another authorisation.
- Reading three months of silence as “it’s been granted”: it’s the opposite.
How to respond step by step
- Check the status of your application with your NIE or case number on the online portal, with Cl@ve or with the identification form.
- Download the notification from the portal or DEHú and read it to the end, including the pie de recursos (appeals footer).
- If it’s a requerimiento, prepare exactly what they ask for and file it through the registro electrónico (electronic registry) or at a registry office, quoting the case number.
- If it’s favourable, pay the tasa 790 012 and book a cita para la TIE (TIE appointment) within the month.
- If it’s unfavourable, read the reason and consider a recurso de reposición or the courts.
Cartamiga tip: keep the start notice with the permission to work in a folder. It’s the paper your employer needs until you have the resolution.