A new report from Spain’s immigration watchdog has shown that the country is nearing the 8 million residency card threshold, with new data revealing interesting trends among British and American residents.
A total of 7,909,008 foreigners held a valid residence permit in Spain as of 30th June, according to the latest report from the country’s Permanent Observatory on Immigration (OPI), which reports to the Immigration Ministry.
This represents a 7.4 percent increase compared with the same date in 2025.
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By type of residency permit, 3,885,177 people held a standard TIE residence permit under the general non-EU immigration regime, 3,825,658 a ‘certificate of registration’ as an EU/EFTA citizen, and a further 198,173 UK nationals hold a TIE under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
The data also highlights changing migration trends, with certain regions or nationalities growing in prevalence among the non-EU migrant cohort legally resident in Spain.
“Overall, nationals from Central and South American countries account for 35 percent, followed by those from Africa at 34 percent, 15 percent from Asian countries and 14 percent from European countries outside the EU/EFTA,” the report explains.
Among the main nationalities, Colombians have seen the greatest year-on-year change, with an increase of 46.6 percent.
There has also been a significant year-on-year increase (46.3 percent) in the number of Peruvians holding valid residency permits in Spain.
Meanwhile, the number of people holding an EU registration certificate (often dubbed the green certificate) together with those who have a Withdrawal Agreement TIE stood at 4,023,831.
This 4 million+ figure includes EU nationals living in Spain as well as British nationals and their family members who proved they were residing in the country before Brexit and are thus protected under the Withdrawal Agreement.
Of these, 12 percent (497,649) hold a Withdrawal Agreement TIE.
Romania, Italy and the United Kingdom are the three most common European countries of origin among those holding a EU green certificate or a Withdrawal Agreement TIE, with 1,142,644, 527,890 and 379,801 people respectively, accounting for 51 percent of the total.
The fact that there are 379,801 British nationals with valid residency permits in Spain but only 198,173 of them hold a Withdrawal Agreement (WA) TIE showcases how many UK nationals have held onto their pre-Brexit green certificates despite numerous calls to action by the British Embassy in Spain urging them to do the swap for the WA TIE.
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Interestingly, the report also shines a light on the residency permits given to foreign students, with the number soaring in recent years.
A total of 94,465 foreign nationals hold a valid residence permit for study purposes in Spain, an increase of 4.5 percent year-on-year.
Among the 15 most common nationalities coming to study at Spanish universities and educational centres, the largest increase was seen among US nationals, with a year-on-year surge of 41.1 percent.
There was also a 20.3 percent rise in the number of UK nationals getting student residency permits and a 19.2 percent increase in the case of Venezuelans.
According to Ministry analysis, “among the possible factors that have driven this growth in the number of American students arriving in our country is the “EduBridge to Spain” programme, which the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration launched last year to establish a fast-track process to facilitate the arrival in our country of foreign students affected by the immigration restrictions imposed by the US”.
Geographically-speaking, half of the foreigners with study residence permits are studying in Madrid (32 percent), Barcelona (19 percent) and Valencia (11 percent).
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