Immigrants will be able to leave Spain without losing their temporary residence and stay outside the Schengen zone for up to a year

Good news to share: Spain’s Supreme Court has overturned a rule of the immigration regulation, specifically 162-2º. It found that “temporary residence permits in Spain expire when the beneficiaries spend six months within a one-year period.”

This was reported early this month by El Debate and El Nuevo Herald, citing the Spanish judiciary.

The court pointed out that the article is null and void because it restricts the fundamental right of free movement of foreign citizens with a temporary residence in Spain, which can only be done by a standard with the force of law, but not by a regulatory standard as in this case.

The ruling was made in the analysis of the appeal filed by a woman from Iran, whose government sub-delegation in Girona stated that in 2019 the temporary residence and work permit for others in Spain had expired because she had period had remained outside the national territory. six months, according to the report of the border post at Barcelona-El Prat airport.

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This woman, “with a temporary residence and work permit in Spain, had to leave the country for surgical reasons and now the Supreme Court agrees with her,” explains El Debate.

The Administrative Court of the Supreme Court has interpreted the situation and detailed the arguments to emphasize that it is not for it to place itself in the position of the legislature and determine whether such a limitation is appropriate, but emphasizes that in any case it is must be done according to the Organic Law and not according to the legal standard.

The Supreme Court held that this rule limited the fundamental right of movement of foreigners with temporary residence in Spain.

Judgement

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Now “immigrants of all nationalities no longer lose their temporary residence in Spain for this specific reason.”

The ruling, the media say, applies to temporary residence permits issued under Organic Law 4/2000, a law that expanded the rights of immigrants in Spain. However, this law was not directly applicable to licenses issued under the Entrepreneurs Act.

Immigrants with a long-term card from the European Union (EU) can stay outside the Schengen zone for a consecutive year.

Read more about the court ruling here

(JO)

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