Leaving Spain during Temporary Residency

Please note that the Supreme Court has overturned the ruling on not being allowed to leave Spain for more than 6 months a year during the first 5 years of temporary residency.

They cite freedom of movement and state the 6 months ruling is restrictive. They have not cancelled the maximum time of 10 months out of Spain for the first 5 years though. Plus being outside the country for more than 6 months could extend the time you need to claim permanent residency after 5 years as the year you are away may not count in the five year rule.

Before anyone gets too excited.

“While the Supreme Court has terminated the requirement of having to spend six months in Spain to validate a temporary residence permit, the same court has confirmed this should be legalised by way of a change in the Immigration Law, a higher level of law than just a Regulation, the form it currently takes.”

https://international-adviser.com/spain ... residency/

Given the glacially slow pace of the law making process in Spain until the law is actually changed and codified observance of the ruling will, like so many other things, very probably boil down to local interpretation.

It's too early to say yet but I wonder if, come the time for switching from temporary to permanent residency, applicants will in fact be asked to prove that they have observed the rules and if so how they might go about doing that?

It's easy enough to prove you have left the country, both when and for how long, but not quite as easy to prove you haven't!