How to check your extranjería application status in Spain

How to check your case file

Use the official case status service, online or by SMS. In Spanish, your application file is your expediente.

1. Open the official service. Go to the page and click Acceso al procedimiento de consulta (access the enquiry).

   Official case status check

2. Identify yourself. Enter your NIE (foreigner identity number) or your número de expediente (case number), plus the details the page asks for.
3. Pass the security check. Type what you see in the security image and send the enquiry.
4. Read the result. It is for information only. If it does not match a letter you received, the letter is what counts.

By SMS, at no extra cost: text the word NIE, a space and your NIE to 651 714 610, for example NIE X00000111L (X, Y or Z, eight digits with zeros at the start if needed, and a letter).

With your case number, text EXPE, a space and its 15 characters, for example EXPE 280020101234567. Any other length gives an error.

Your NIE is your personal number; the case number belongs to one specific application. If you do not have the case number, check with your NIE.

What each status means

• En trámite (being processed). Your application is registered and under review. You do not need to do anything, just keep an eye on your notices.
• Requerido (documents requested) or pending documents. The office needs a document or some information. See below how to reply to a request.
• Resuelto favorable (approved). Your authorisation has been granted. The next step is usually to apply for your TIE, the foreign resident card.
• Resuelto desfavorable (refused). At the end of the decision, under pie de recurso, it says how you can appeal. You can get free help from a migrant support organisation or the legal aid service.
• Archivado (closed). The office has closed the case, almost always because a request for documents was not answered in time.

The wording can differ per procedure. If you applied for the 2026 extraordinary regularisation, there is a separate guide for that process.

Mercurio: apply or add documents online

Mercurio is the online service to submit an immigration application or add documents to a case in progress:

1. Log in to Mercurio. You need a recognised digital certificate or a Spanish electronic ID card (DNI electrónico). A labour relations adviser (graduado social), a gestor administrativo or a lawyer can also apply for you with their professional council login.

   Official Mercurio service

2. Choose the procedure. Fill in the form, upload your documents and sign everything with AutoFirma, the government signing app. Install it before you start.
3. Add proof that you paid the fee. Upload it with your application, as the website recommends. Otherwise it advises you to take it to the office later, which can delay your case. See our guide to the 790 052 fee.
4. Sign and keep the receipt. When you finish, download the PDF receipt. It is your proof that you applied.

If AutoFirma cannot find your certificate or the signature fails, see our guide to digital certificate problems.

Through Mercurio you can submit many first applications, such as family reunification (EX-02), arraigo (EX-10), long-term residence (EX-11) or the card for family members of EU citizens (EX-19). It also works for several renewals, such as residence and work or family reunification.

How to reply to a requerimiento (request for documents)

If something is missing from your application, the office will ask you to complete it (subsanar). You usually have ten working days (weekends and public holidays do not count) and can ask for up to five more if the documents are especially hard to get.

You can send the documents through Mercurio, with the option to add documents to a case being processed, or hand them in at an official registry. Always keep the receipt.

Notices arrive through the channel you chose in your application: electronic ones in DEHú, the government's notification inbox. If you applied through a representative, they go to that person.

Decision times and silencio administrativo (no answer)

The administration has three months at most to decide and tell you, counted from the day after your application enters the register of the office handling it. With no answer in that time:

• A new authorisation. It can be treated as refused (silencio administrativo). You can appeal, and the administration still has to reply.
• A residence extension, a work renewal or long-term residence. Here it is the other way round: they count as granted.

Renewing the card itself is a separate procedure, explained in our guide to renewing your TIE.

Common problems and how to fix them

My case does not show up

If you applied recently, the office may not have entered it in the system yet. Wait a few days and look again. If it still does not appear, write to the office with the enquiry form for the Oficinas de Extranjería (immigration offices) and attach your resguardo (submission receipt).

I am an EU citizen

The online check does not work for EU citizens. Ask about your case at the office where your card was processed.

For any other immigration question, you can call 060.