When submitting certain applications to public authorities in Spain, the law establishes a maximum period within which the administration must issue a decision and formally notify the applicant. If no response is received within that time frame, a legal mechanism known as administrative silence (silencio administrativo) may apply in the cases предусмотренных законом.
This means that the absence of a response from the administration is itself legally considered a response — and that response may be either positive or negative.
What Is Administrative Silence?
Administrative silence is a legal mechanism whereby the lack of a response within the legally established deadline is treated as an official administrative act:
- either as approval of the application;
- or as a rejection.
In most immigration procedures, the period after which a case is considered to have entered administrative silence is 3 months from the date of registration of the application.
Positive Administrative Silence (Silencio Administrativo Positivo)
Positive silence means that if the administration does not respond within the legally established time limit, the application is automatically deemed approved.
When Does It Apply?
In Spanish immigration procedures, this means that the absence of a response after 3 months is considered a favorable outcome in cases such as:
- residence card as a family member of an EU citizen;
- residence authorization for job seeking;
- long-term or permanent residence;
- certain types of renewals and extensions of residence permits.
Important: Positive silence does not automatically result in the issuance of a physical residence document. In many cases, you must request official confirmation (a certificate of positive administrative silence) in order to complete the process.
Negative Administrative Silence (Silencio Administrativo Negativo)
This is the opposite situation: if the administration does not respond within the deadline, the application is considered automatically rejected.
This type of silence is more common in immigration practice and means that your application has not received a favorable decision within the legal time frame and is formally considered denied.
However, this is not necessarily a final refusal. You may:
- wait for the official decision (the administration remains obliged to issue one);
- file an administrative appeal;
- initiate judicial review before the administrative courts, if necessary.
When Does the Time Limit Start?
The time period for administrative silence begins to run on the day following the official registration of your application with the competent authority.
