Free Legal Assistance - Requirements

They will have the right to free legal assistance:

•  Spanish and foreign citizens Residents .
• Illegals who are in Spain have the right to free legal assistance in the processes in which they are part, regardless of the jurisdiction in which they are followed, Under the same conditions than Spanish citizens.

     In administrative procedures that may lead to their denial of entry, return, or expulsion from Spanish territory and in all procedures regarding international protection, they have the right to legal aid as well as the interpreter assistance if they do not understand or speak the official language used.
     In the contentious-administrative processes against the resolutions that put an end to the administrative procedure in terms of refusal of entry, return or expulsion, the recognition of the right to free legal assistance will require the timely application carried out in the terms provided in the rules governing free legal aid. 

• Nationals of Member States of the European Union.
• The associations of public utility.
• The foundations.

In accordance with Law 1/1996, of January 10, on Free Legal Assistance, (LAJGR), the right to free legal assistance will be recognized for those individuals who lacking sufficient assets have resources and gross economic income, computed annually for all concepts and per family unit, that do not exceed the following thresholds of the Multiple Effect Income Indicator (IPREM) in force at the time of making the request for free legal assistance (*):

(*) Based on IPREM in force since 01/01/2023 (Law 31/2022, on General State Budgets for the year 2023) 

EXPLANATORY NOTES:

1. In case of self-employed activities, the net returns will be taken into account, but if these are negative, they will not be deducted from the sum of other computable income.
2. They constitute modalities of family unit:

• That made up of the spouses who are not legally separated and, if any, the minor children who live with them, with the exception of those who, with the consent of the parents, live independently of them and the children of legal age who are legally incapacitated and subject to parental authority. extended or rehabilitated (de facto couples established in accordance with the requirements applicable to them are equal to spouses who are not legally separated)
• In cases of legal separation or when there is no marital bond, that formed by the father or mother and the children who live with one or the other and meet the requirements of the previous section.

3. Even if the applicant is part of a family unit, his or her financial means will be individually assessed when conflicting family interests are proven in the litigation for which assistance is requested (divorce, separation, modification of measures, etc.) or when the applicant is the one investigated or accused in the criminal process for which free legal assistance is requested and has income at compute that they do not exceed 2 times the IPREM.
4. Art. 5 of the LAJGR: Exceptionally, if the gross income exceeds the applicable limits of art. 3, but do not exceed five times the IPREM, The Free Legal Assistance Commission may recognize the right when it is based on any of the following reasons: 

• Family circumstances of the applicant
• Number of children or dependent relatives of the applicant
• Court fees and other costs derived from the initiation of the process
• Be the ascending applicant of a large family of special category
• Other circumstances of a similar nature.
• Disability or health condition for procedures that are related to said disability or health condition

   5. The additional requirement of lacking sufficient assets (Art 4 of the Free Legal Assistance Law):

Even if the gross economic income that has been declared or that appears in the assessed documentation is lower than the limits mentioned above,  for the purposes of verifying the insufficiency of resources To litigate, external signs that manifest real economic capacity will also be taken into account and if it is considered superior, the right to free legal assistance will be denied.

For these purposes ownership of real estate will be taken into account that are not the habitual residence, as well as the returns on movable capital.

In any case, the right in the judicial procedures related to the case when it comes to: 

• Victims of gender violence, terrorism, human trafficking for processes linked to their status as victims.
• Minors, or people with intellectual disabilities who are victims of abuse or mistreatment.

In these cases, the free justification benefit will be lost (provided that the victim exceeds the economic limits) after the firmness of the final acquittal or definitive or provisional dismissal of the procedure for not proving the criminal acts, without the obligation to pay the cost of the benefits enjoyed free of charge until that moment. (To avoid the loss of the right to free justice, it is recommended in all cases to provide economic and patrimonial documentation accrediting the lack of income).

• Those who, as a result of an accident, prove permanent consequences that require the help of another person to carry out the most essential activities of daily life when the object of the lawsuit is a claim for compensation for damages.
• Associations whose purpose is the promotion and defense of the rights of victims of terrorism.
• The Spanish Red Cross.
• Consumer Associations.
• Public utility associations whose purpose is the promotion and defense of the rights of people with disabilities.