In short: if you applied for the extraordinary regularisation (RD 316/2026, additional provisions 20 and 21) and 3 months passed with no answer, you keep your provisional work authorisation to live and work in Spain. An interpretive criterion from the Dirección General de Gestión Migratoria (22 July 2026) clarifies that silence does not end it: only an express refusal does.
The law gives the administration 3 months to decide your application. If that period passes with no answer, the application is treated as refused by administrative silence (negative silence). This used to raise a real question: does it also mean you lose the right to work while you wait? The 22 July 2026 criterion says no.
Two key terms
- Provisional authorisation (habilitación provisional): the permit to reside and work you get once the administration registers that your file has started (the comunicación de inicio, start-of-processing notice), until it decides your case.
- Negative silence: when there is no answer within 3 months, the law treats your application as refused, but only for one purpose: it lets you appeal. It is not a real refusal decision.
If you already received the comunicación de inicio: negative silence does not affect your provisional authorisation. You can keep working normally as long as no express refusal has been notified.
If you have not received the comunicación de inicio yet: the administration still must send it and decide your case. Negative silence, in your situation, only opens the option of filing a recurso de alzada (an appeal to the higher administrative body).
What you can do
- Keep the comunicación de inicio (or request a copy if you have not received it) as proof of your provisional authorisation.
- Keep working normally if you already have it.
- If the 3 months passed, you can file a recurso de alzada. See Appeal an immigration refusal to understand how appeals and deadlines work in immigration cases. That card details the deadlines for the reposición and contencioso-administrativo appeals; for your specific alzada appeal, check with a professional.
- Only an EXPRESS refusal decision ends your provisional authorisation.
More context on the extraordinary regularisation: Royal Decree 316/2026 (the application window closed on 30 June 2026, but this criterion still applies to cases already filed).
Official source: Interpretive criterion of the Dirección General de Gestión Migratoria, 22 July 2026.
Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.
