The Supreme Court annuls part of the Foreigners' Regulation due to two social appeals

The Third Chamber of the Supreme Court has partially upheld two contentious-administrative appeals filed by social entities against Royal Decree 1155/2024, of November 19, which approves the Regulation of Organic Law 4/2000, of January 11, on the rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain and their social integration. The judgments, issued on July 8 and 29, 2026, declare the nullity by operation of law of a dozen provisions and clauses of the Regulation. Both rulings are published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) no. 234, of September 22, 2026, with references BOE-A-2026-19632 and BOE-A-2026-19633.

The challenged Regulation had been published in the Official State Gazette no. 280, of November 20, 2024, and develops the regulations on residence, work, family reunification, and unaccompanied minors. The appeals were promoted by two blocks of specialized organizations: appeal 19/2025, by the Coordinating Association of Neighborhoods for the monitoring of minors and youth, the Association for Human Rights of Spain, and Extranjeristas en Red; and appeal 21/2025, by Cáritas Española, the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid, the Federación Andalucía Acoge, the Federación Red Acoge, and the Jesuit Migrant Service.

What was annulled by the judgment of July 8

Judgment no. 868/2026, of July 8, 2026 (BOE-A-2026-19632), partially upholds appeal 19/2025 and declares the nullity by operation of law of:

• The third paragraph of article 101.1, insofar as it prohibits temporary employment agencies from holding residence and work authorizations for seasonal activities or being authorized by change of employer or in the chain of contract concatenations.
• The clause “This relationship must have been constituted in accordance with the Spanish legal system” of article 94.1.f).
• The clause of article 196.b) requiring that the economic dependence on the ascendant “occurs in the country of origin or provenance.”
• The clauses of articles 97.4 and 98.1 that establish automatic denial due to criminal records without individualized weighing.
• The clauses “single [female]” of article 159.1 and “single [male]” of article 160.1, as well as the clause of article 160.2 regarding the relationship constituted in accordance with the Spanish legal system.
• The clause of article 159.1 relating to the non-absence from the national territory since the birth of the minor.
• The clause “where applicable” of the second paragraph of article 166.1, such that the immediate care of article 35.3 of Organic Law 4/2000 operates as mandatory and unconditional.
• Article 197.2 in its entirety.

A Correction Order of September 1, 2026 completed the ruling to incorporate the interpretive criterion regarding the habitual effective residence of the minor, without altering the decisive content.

The second judgment: electronic communication and costs

The judgment of July 29, 2026 (BOE-A-2026-19633), from the Fifth Section, partially upholds appeal 21/2025 and reiterates the nullity as a matter of law of Article 197.2 of the Regulation, already declared in judgment no. 868/2026. The Chamber specifies that the holder of the regulatory power may establish an obligation for electronic communication for certain categories of immigration procedures, provided that it meets the requirements of justification and proportionality of Article 14.3 of Law 39/2015 and Article 3.2 of Royal Decree 203/2021.

In this second pronouncement, the Chamber dismisses the remaining annulment claims, declares the process terminated regarding transitional provision 5—repealed by Royal Decree 316/2026—and imposes costs in accordance with the provisions of the final legal ground of the judgment. No appeal may be filed against this resolution.

Procedural scope and effects

Both resolutions dismiss the remaining claims and confirm the compliance of the non-annulled provisions with the legal system. The judgment of July 8 also rejects raising a preliminary question before the Court of Justice of the European Union and does not impose costs; it also declares the process terminated regarding Articles 97.1.c), 97.5, and 191.7.b), affected by the withdrawal of the plaintiff and by the modification carried out by Royal Decree 316/2026.

The rulings order their publication in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) pursuant to Article 72.2 of Law 29/1998, of July 13, regulating the Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction, and bear the signature of president Carlos Lesmes Serrano, along with magistrates Wenceslao Francisco Olea Godoy, Fernando Román García, José Luis Quesada Varea, María Consuelo Uris Lloret, María Concepción García Vicario, and Francisco Javier Pueyo Calleja.

The impact of these judgments is direct on administrative practice throughout Spain: restrictions on temporary employment agencies for seasonal authorizations, the requirement to prove economic dependence in the country of origin, and automatic denial due to criminal records without individual analysis disappear, and the protection of minors is reinforced. The social entities that appealed the Regulation thus see a large part of their claims addressed, while the general obligation for electronic communication in immigration procedures is rendered ineffective.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 234, of September 22, 2026, Sec. I. General provisions, pages 124798-124802 (official references: BOE-A-2026-19632 and BOE-A-2026-19633).