r/GoingToSpain • u/helpful-soul-2 • 9h ago
Visas / Migration The 90-Day Myth: What To Do When Your Spain Visa Renewal Status Won't Move. "Documents Required" But Nothing's Changing? Here's What Actually Works
Following up on my last post about NLV vs Digital Nomad Visa (thanks for all the responses), I saw some comments that triggered this writing. This one's about something that happened to my family twice now, two years apart, and I think the "just wait 90 days" advice going around is actually costing people time they don't need to lose.
Back in 2024, five of us submitted renewal applications. Four came through in about six weeks. My wife's just sat there. Everyone told us the same thing: wait 90 days, then go to the office. So we waited. Full 90 days. Then I booked an appointment and went in person. They handed me her approval letter on the spot. Turned out it had been approved the whole time; there was just some tech glitch and the notification never went out.
The letter was dated the same as everyone else's. So the 90-day wait did nothing for us except cost us 90 days.
Fast forward to 2026. We just applied for long-term/permanent residency after 5 years here. Everything was submitted online like normal. Three days later, my wife and I both got a notification asking for our kids' school enrollment certificates. Honestly, that one was on me; I'd attached those documents to the kids' applications instead of ours and fixed it within hours.
Kids' visas got approved in 10 days. Mine and my wife's just sat on "documents required" for four weeks. Nothing moving.
This time I didn't want to repeat 2024, so I looked into it more and found there's an actual formal channel for this, a reminder letter you file through the Spanish government's electronic registry. I did that and got my approval 5 days later. Total time from application to decision this time: 6 weeks. Not 90 days.
So if you're in that "documents required" limbo and it's been weeks with no movement, here's the process that worked for me:
How to file a formal reminder (Registro Electrónico General de la AGE)
Go to https://reg.redsara.es/es/ (this is the General Electronic Registry, accessible via Punto de Acceso General or the REG/REC service directly)
Log in with your digital certificate, DNIe, or Cl@ve
Fill out the generic form. It'll ask who's submitting (you, with your NIE)
Under "Organismo destinatario" (destination body), pick the office actually handling your file. This part matters most; get it wrong, and your letter goes nowhere. In our case, it was "Subdelegación del Gobierno en Alicante" / "Oficina de Extranjería en Alicante" since that's where our application was based. Check your original acknowledgment or requerments to find yours.
Under "Asunto," write a clear subject describing what you're following up on
Attach: your reminder letter, letter of acknowledgment of your initial application, the original requerimiento PDF, the justificante showing you already uploaded the requested docs, and optionally a screenshot of your current status
Review, sign electronically, submit
You'll get a PDF receipt (justificante de registro) with a CSV code. Save this; it's your proof the reminder was officially filed
That last step is the whole point, honestly. It puts a timestamped record into the system instead of you just hoping someone eventually opens your file.
Not a lawyer; this is just what worked for us based on two rounds of dealing with this. If your situation is more complicated, I'd still get proper advice, but if you're just stuck in limbo with no updates, this is worth trying before you burn another 60 days waiting around.
Happy to answer questions if anyone's dealing with this right now.