The Supreme Court upholds most of the Immigration Regulations, but introduces corrections on issues related to the protection of minors or family unity.
Madrid, July 18, 2026 — The Spanish Supreme Court issued a ruling on Monday modifying the assessment of criminal records for foreign nationals seeking to reside or work in Spain. The Administrative Chamber of the High Court resolved several amendments to the Immigration Regulations , which the government implemented through a royal decree last November. The Supreme Court also annulled and corrected various relevant provisions of the regulations related to several key aspects of current Spanish immigration policy .
The Supreme Court, through this ruling, has overturned the provisions that allowed for the "automatic" denial of certain residence and work permits to immigrants simply because they had a criminal record. From now on, the Administration must conduct an "individualized" assessment of each case when specially protected family rights or situations related to European citizenship are at stake. The Supreme Court emphasizes that circumstances such as the severity of the crime, the time elapsed, the family situation, and the best interests of minor children must be considered.
The changes regarding criminal records come after these records, and the certificate proving that a person has no criminal record, raised concerns among law enforcement officers as a result of the extraordinary regularization process launched by the government in April, which ended on June 30. The criminal record certificate was one of the mandatory requirements for foreigners residing illegally in the country to participate in the process, which was initially intended to benefit only 500,000 immigrants, but ultimately included more than a million.
Until now, the Immigration Regulations established as an essential requirement for obtaining temporary residence and work permits (both self-employed and employed) the absence of any criminal record in Spain or in the countries where the immigrant had resided in the previous five years. The Supreme Court ruling clarifies this requirement and now obliges the Administration to analyze certain cases rather than simply denying them outright.