Appeal against refusal of residence in Spain: reposición, alzada, court

Appeal against the refusal of residence in Spain: three roads and their duration

The law provides administrative and judicial remedies against the denial of a residence permit or visa. Administrative remedies are: recurso de alzada (complaint to a higher authority) and recurso potestativo de reposión (optional complaint to the same body which decided). [1]. In migration cases, this means that against the decisions of Subdelegación and consulates available reposición and court, against the decisions of the UGE on Ley 14/2013 available alzada [3][4].

The time frame in the table is taken from the consolidated BOE texts. There is no single time limit for all cases, the formula "always 30 days" is unsafe. Refusal of residence in Spain and DNV failure: causes and recurso.

Which recurso is appropriate for your decision: alzada or reposición

For typical cases, the picture is that the decision of Subdelegación (arraigo, no lucrativa, extension, regrupación) or the consulate closes the administrative route, so it remains reposicion for a month or court for two years. The decision of UGE is challenged by alzada within a month. [1]If the decision closes the way, article 123 allows the same authority to reposión or to go directly to court; only the court remains to be found if the month is missed [1].

Who and what closes the way to migration is the law says in several places, and they don't add up to one answer:

• Additional Regulation 9 RD 1155/2024: Decisions taken by the authorities of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Inclusion, as well as delegates and sub-legates of the Government on visas, extensions of stay, residence permits and work, "ponen fin a la vía administrativa", against which administrative or judicial recursos, as provided for by law, may be applied. Close [3].
• Article 76 Ley 14/2013 for UGE (DNV and others): Decisions are motivated and subject to appeal by recurso de alzada under articles 121 and 122 Ley 39/2015 [4].
• The Spanish Consulate in Moscow, on the refusal of a visa, teletrabajo, describes two ways: recurso de reposición before the consulate for a month and contencioso-administrativo at Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid for two months [5].

As the second and first paragraphs for UGE decisions relate, we did not confirm from official sources: the Ley 14/2013 calls alzada, and the regulation refers to closing the road. Choose the road not by article but by decision. Under article 40 Ley 39/2015, the decision notice should indicate whether it covers the administrative route, which recursos are possible, which authority to deliver them and within what time frame. [1]on visas, the same applies to article 28 RD 1155/2024 [3]If no instructions are given or they are incomplete, the notice shall be effective from the moment you have taken action that shows that you know the content of the decision or have filed a recurso [1]The title of recurso in the complaint is better stated, although the error does not preclude consideration if it is clear what the complaint is (art. 115.2) [1].

How to count and not miss it

The period in months shall be counted as from the day following the notification and shall end on the same date of the following month; if not, the last day shall be the last day of the month. If the last day falls outside the working day, the period shall be transferred to the first worker (art. 30 Ley 39/2015) [1]The day that a worker in your place of residence but not a worker in the place of the organ (or vice versa) is considered to be a non-working day; the calendar of non-working days is approved by each administration (arts. 30.6 and 30.7) [1].

An example of a case that is not a substitute for your case. You opened the note in sede on Thursday, October 15, 2026, the month on recurso (reposición or alzada, depending on the organ) will expire on November 15, which is Sunday, so the last day of Monday, November 16 [1]Which date is considered a notice depends on the channel: in electronic form, it is the time of opening and if the form is binding or chosen by you and you have not opened the notice for ten calendar days, it is considered rejected (art. 43) [1]I. On sede and notifications: What is a sede electrónica.

There is a special feature of the court: in August, there is no deadline for filing a contencioso-administrativo (art. 128.2 Ley 29/1998) [2]As it is for your two-month period and for other months, the lawyer considers the dates of notification. UGE and extrajería time calendar.

How to recurso: content, place and language

The recurso shall state: name and identification of the applicant, the act complained of and the reason for the challenge, place, date, signature, method and address for the notifications, the authority and unit to which the complaint is addressed and the features that require special procedure (art. 115.1) [1]You can be placed in the electronic register of the authority, the Correos office, the consulate or the Spanish Embassy abroad, in the register of the Spanish authorities, in the register of the Spanish authorities and in other registers provided for by the regulations (art. 16.4) [1]. Alzada can be filed with the authority that issued the act or the authority that decides it; in the first case, the complaint is forwarded with the conclusion and a copy of the case within ten days (Article 121.2) [1].

As the specific agencies take up recurso, their official pages:

New evidence is admissible with limitation: it does not take into account documents and arguments that you may have submitted in the main case and have not submitted (art. 118.1) [1]So they first find out what's missing in the case, and then they choose between recurso and the new application.

What happens to the execution of the decision while the recurso is being considered

Recurso filing, unless the rule otherwise indicates, does not suspend the execution of the decision (art. 117.1 Ley 39/2015) [1]The authority that decides recurso may, at your request or on its own, suspend performance if it is likely to cause irreparable or difficult to repair or is based on the ground of nullity under article 47.1. If the request is registered and there is no explicit decision on it, the execution is suspended; suspension may require bail (articles 117.3 and 117.4) [1].

What this means for your stay after rejection depends on the type of decision and date. DNV DNV non-use: Check the dates on the day of the decision.

Silence on recurso and on request

The decision on alzada is subject to three months; without a decision recurso, it can be considered rejected except in the case of article 24.1, paragraph 3 (art. 122.2) [1]This case concerns alzada against tacit refusal of application, and whether the exception applies to migration cases, we have not confirmed it. [1]After reposición, the court is heard within two months of the notification of the manifest decision or when recurso is deemed to have been rejected (art. 46.4 Ley 29/1998) [2]How the Silencio positivo works on the DNV, where silence means consent, explains the article What is silencia positivo.

Court: montenciaso-administrativo

Administrative closure, manifest and tacit (art. 25 Ley 29/1998) [2]Article 8.4 refers to Juzgados de lo Contencioso-administrativo decisions on extranjería taken by the peripheral administration of the State or by the autonomous communities; territorial jurisdiction determines the place where the organ that made the act sits (art. 14) [2]Where is the complaint of a decision by a central authority, such as UGE, and a decision by the consulate, we confirmed only for Moscow, according to the Consulate: Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid [5]We leave the rest to the lawyer.

In the court, the complainant is accompanied by abogado and the procurador is appointed to the sole court of the court if he wishes, and is required to be appointed to the collegiate court (art. 23 Ley 29/1998) [2]Article 22.1 of the Ley Orgánica 4/2000 gives foreigners in Spain the right to free legal assistance in proceedings where they are parties, on the same terms as citizens [9]; we didn't solve the conditions.

Recurso extraordinario de revisión

The grounds for the final acts (firmes) are filed with the authority that made them, and the grounds are closed: error of fact, visible from the case file; new documents of material importance, showing error; influence of documents or statements found to be false judgements; decision taken as a result of prevaricación, bribes, violence or fraudulent conspiracy established by the sentence (art. 125.1) [1]Time limit: four years from the date of notification in case of error of fact, three months from the date on which you learned of the documents or the sentence entered into force, in the remaining cases (art. 125.2) [1]This is not a second attempt on the same grounds, and the lawyer decides whether to apply to your refusal.

Recurso or new application

There is no universal rule: if the reason for the refusal is not a problem (not enough document, no error in the calculation of income), the new application may be faster. If the refusal is wrong by law or fact and the required documents have already been in the case, it is a recurso. The restrictions on re-entry after DNV refusal in articles 74 bis - 76 Ley 14/2013 have not been found and the admissibility of the filing has not been confirmed by official sources in parallel with recurso; For more information, see the article DNV failureThe answer to requerimiento is not recurso: the interim acts are objected to in the final decision and the missing documents are filed within the time limit of the requerimiento (art. 112.1) [1].

Typical Errors

• Counting the month as 30 days, month ends as the same number, and transport only when the last day is not working [1].
• Reposión and go to court at the same time, until reposición is decided or rejected by silence, the court does not accept it (art. 123.2) [1].
• Select a road by name from the Internet without reading the section "recursos" in the decision itself. [1].
• Consider that recurso suspends the consequences of refusal. [1].
• Send recurso to the consulate by e-mail or regular e-mail to UGE: E-mail does not accept, UGE accepts recursos electronically [6][8].

What can we help you with?

The NEXO team in Barcelona determines the authority by the text of the notification, considers the time frame and estimates what can be corrected for the new application; the choice between reposición, alzada, court and the new application is made by the team's counsel. First step: send a full decision and the date you opened it. Record: Consultation.

Frequent issues

Related materials

The source is viewed on 02.10.2026 · NEXO · Drafting Draft · Sources do not replace individual legal advice.