Anyone else stuck in UGE backlog? Update from week 9
did your lawyer mention the administrative silence rule. theoretically if they do not respond within twenty business days it should be a positive silence approval. the problem is getting the certificate to prove it. most lawyers are too scared to push for the silence certificate because they do not want to annoy the officers. i would probably just keep waiting since nine weeks is the new normal. it sucks but at least you are in a beautiful city.
be careful with positive silence because the uge has been known to issue denials after the 20 days and then you have to fight it in court. it is a legal gray area that most people should avoid if they can. better to wait for the actual letter.
I am at week seven and in the same boat. It feels like they just stopped working for the summer. Spanish bureaucracy is a mess in July.
i am also in granada and hit week ten last friday. my gestor said the issue is specifically with the social security certificates for us 1099 workers. apparently the uge is taking forever to verify those which is causing the massive bottleneck. i would check if your lawyer actually submitted the right coverage letter or just a standard private health insurance policy. that seems to be where people are getting stuck.
nine weeks is actually pretty standard for granada lately regardless of what your lawyers promised. the twenty day rule is supposed to be the law but the uge has basically ignored it since the start of the year because of the volume of dnv apps. if you are on en tramitacion it means they at least have the file. i would not pay your lawyers more money to check since they see the same portal status you do. just stay put and keep your receipts from the cafe. as long as you applied before your ninety days were up you are legally allowed to stay in spain until they give you a decision.
it is true you can stay but it is still nerve wracking when you want to travel outside the schengen zone. i am in a similar spot in malaga and i feel stuck because i cannot leave the country without the resolution. if you go back to the us now you might have issues getting back in.
I got mine in fifteen days back in April. I think the secret is having every single document perfectly translated by a jurado or they just set it aside.
Congrats! Did you get an email or did you have to check the website?
I just got my approval today! Submitted May 22nd. So they are moving, just very slowly. Hang in there.
it is funny how the lawyers always promise the twenty days to get you to sign the contract. mine said the same thing in madrid and then it took three months. don't bother asking them for an update unless you want a bill for a fifteen minute phone call that tells you nothing. the status changes to approved or sometimes they ask for more documents but rarely anything in between. just try to enjoy the views in the albaicin while you can.
Are you sure your lawyer actually hit the submit button? I had a friend wait two months only to find out the agency never sent the paperwork to the UGE.
They definitely did. I have the "justificante" from the REDRARA system with the time stamp. It is just the government being slow.
That is not true. If something is wrong they send a requerimiento. They do not just ignore it. Have you checked your Clave PIN for notifications?
Make sure you have your digital certificate working. Sometimes the notifications go there and you never get an actual email.
There was a big surge in June because everyone wanted to get in before the election. That probably messed up the timeline.
If your 90 days run out while you are in tramitacion you are legally allowed to stay. Just do not leave the country or you might have trouble getting back in.
wait did you apply through a lawyer or did you do the digital certificate yourself. if you have your own cl@ve or digital certificate you can check the folder yourself to see if there is a requirement for more docs that your lawyer might have missed. sometimes they upload a request for more info and the lawyer does not check for a few days. also the 20 days is business days so that is already a month of calendar time anyway.
actually the 20 day rule for the dnv is by silence is positive which means if they don't answer in 20 working days it is technically approved. but try telling that to a bank or the police when you need your tie. nobody wants to risk it without the actual pdf.
I find it funny that Granada is so cheap but the stress of the visa makes me spend all my savings on beer and tapas while I wait.
honestly the uge is a mess for everyone right now and it does not matter if you are in granada or barcelona. the internal vs external application thing is a myth. it all goes to the same office in madrid via the electronic portal. i would not worry about your 90 day limit too much because the act of applying freezes your status. just do not leave spain until you have the paper in your hand or you might have a hard time getting back through passport control.
i got my approval last week after a twelve week wait in seville. i know it is a different city but it all goes through the uge in madrid anyway. mine stayed on en tramitacion until the very last second and then it just flipped to resuelto favorable one morning. i submitted in late may so they are definitely moving though the backlog but it is slow. hang in there because going back to the us would be a huge headache for your residency status.
Yes, US based. I submitted the letter from the SS office saying they do not have a bilateral agreement for nomads yet. Hope that works.
i am curious if you are self-employed or on a contract. i have heard that the uge is skipping over the complex freelancer files to clear out the easy remote workers with standard employment contracts first. if your file is messy or has lots of tax docs from the us that might be why the early may people are getting processed while you are still waiting. have you checked your junk mail for any notifications from the mercurio system.
Honestly the ten day rule is a myth. No one I know in Madrid or Granada is getting it that fast lately. Most are around the 45 to 60 day mark.
Wait until you see how long it takes to get a TIE appointment at the station in Granada once you are approved. That is the real final boss.
This is correct. As long as you have the proof of application you are in a legal stay status. Do not panic and book a flight yet.
My lawyer got an email first and then I saw the PDF in the folder a few hours later. It was a huge relief.
Is your company based in the US? I heard they are being extra annoying about the Social Security certificates for American companies lately.
I am at ten weeks. My lawyer said the UGE is swamped with high professional visas too and they use the same staff for both.
The UGE is based in Madrid so it does not matter that you are in Granada. Local extranjeria is not involved until the fingerprint stage.