SOCIAL INTEGRATION RESIDENCE PERMITS (ARRAIGO)

Arraigo Residence Permits

Under the category of temporary residence permits on the grounds of exceptional circumstances, foreigners may obtain the following residence permits for social integration (arraigo):

• Arraigo laboral- This procedure applies to foreigners who have legally and continuously resided in Spain for at least two years, have no criminal record, and can prove to have worked for at least six months. 
• Social- This procedure applies to foreigners who have legally and continuously resided in Spain for at least three years.  They must fulfil the following three requirements:

1. Have no criminal record
2. Submit a work contract signed by both the employer and the employee with the application. The contract must be good for at least one year.  Such employment must be based on only one contract except in the following two scenarios: 

• Jobs in the agricultural sector where you may submit two employment contracts with two different employers and in two different fields.  Each contract must be valid for at least sixth months of employment.
• The development of activites in the same occupation, working part time and simultaneously for more than one employer.  You may submit multiple contracts adding up to at least 30 hours a week with a duration of at least a year.  

   
3. Have family ties with other foreign residents or submit an administrative report (informe de arraigo) issued by the Autonomous Community where the applicant resides, accrediting the
applicant´s social integration in Spain.  The applicant will receive the report within one month after the request.  In this case, family members may only be the applicant´s spouse, registered partner, or ascendants and descendants of the first degree.  In cases where the applicant has applied for an arraigo social through requesting the corresponding administrative report, the applicant must also submit proof of municipal registry in Spain (empadronamiento), proof of sufficient economic means, proof of family ties in Spain and proof of participation in labor market social insertion programs, or CEPI course certificate.

• Arraigo Familiar- Mother or father of a minor with Spanish nationality provided that whichever parent applying lives with the child and is responsible for him.  Children of parent´s originally of Spanish origin may also apply for an arraigo familiar.

Translated by: Katherine Pascal

IMMIGRATION APPEALS

Appeals against immigration decisions are common when looking to resolve the problematic situations in which our clients find themselves.  Our law firm presents one of the following appeals depending on the situation:

• An appeal for rejection of a residence and work permit through arraigo
• A higher level appeal before the administration
• An appeal for amendment before the administration in cases where the anterior appeal is not accepted.
• A contentious-administrative appeal before the court within two months of the decision made by the administration.
• An appeal presented before the Superior Court in cases where the anterior appeal is not accepted.
• An appeal for annulment before the Supreme Court.
• An appeal for protection before the Constitutional Court.

We will protect our clients when we see that their legal status in our country is in jeopardy.  We offer our services to those experiencing complications in the following areas of immigration: permit renewals, residence permits through arraigo, student permits, long-term residence permits, obtaining visas, nationality, border rejections and deportations, CIES internment camps (immigrant internment camps)...

It must be understood that in the most serious and urgent circumstances it may be necessary to take all precautionary measures before the competent authorities to avoid being seriously wronged.

For this reason, we are at our clients disposal 365 days a year which allows them to communicate with us throughout the entire process.  We are a team of professionals dedicated to immigration law and we provide our clients with a comfortable atmosphere in which they can obtain all the information that they need, clarify their doubts, and find the best way to settle their immigration situation.  

Translated by: Katherine Pascal

Paralización de expulsión

Para las personas a quienes se les instruye un expediente de expulsión, resulta recomendable solicitar la suspensión del acto administrativo. Ocurre que entre la solicitud de suspensión ante el Tribunal correspondiente y la resolución, acordándola o no, transcurre un tiempo en el cual es posible que la Brigada de Extranjería ejecute la misma.

Para evitar esto, si el extranjero, tras la incoación del expediente de expulsión y su resolución, es puesto en libertad y no se le envía a un Centro de Internamiento, lo mejor es que esté “ilocalizable” hasta que se resuelva la solicitud de suspensión.

Los motivos que suelen alegarse para suspender la expulsión son habitualmente el probar el arraigo y sobre todo que la ejecución del acto hace perder la finalidad del recurso. A este respecto, la Ley de la Jurisdicción de 1998 parece que abre el abanico de posibilidades para que los tribunales concedan la suspensión.

Otra cuestión a tener en cuenta siempre, tanto en el periodo de alegaciones a la expulsión como en el de argumentación para solicitar la suspensión, es el hecho de que las sanciones graves no necesariamente deben resolverse con la expulsión.

La Ley dice que en los supuestos de cometer sanciones graves (las del artículo 53), se debe imponer una multa o bien la expulsión. En consecuencia, será importante alegar que la expulsión resulta desproporcionada como medida sancionadora.

Aparte de la estancia irregular, otro caso frecuente de expulsión es la comisión de actividades contrarias al orden público, bien por infringir los preceptos de la Ley de Seguridad Ciudadana, por ejemplo, la tenencia de estupefacientes, o bien por estar incurso en unas diligencias penales.

En cualquiera de estos casos, es necesario indicar que hasta que no exista una sanción firme debe primar el principio de presunción de inocencia. Esto no siempre es aceptado por los Tribunales y la Brigada de Extranjería incoa habitualmente el expediente de expulsión por el solo hecho de estar imputado en un asunto penal. En todo caso es una argumentación más para oponerse a la expulsión.