Work Permit for Spain

Eligibility for Self-Employed Work Permit

The be eligible for Spain’s self-employed work permit, you should:

• Be able to present a business plan
• Have the professional qualification and experience needed to run your business
• Not have criminal records
• Possess enough savings to run your business
• Be over 18 years old
• Have the licenses and/or authorisation required to run your business
• Be able to demonstrate that your business has the potential to increase employment in Spain

Overview

Before making a job offer to foreign workers, steps have to be taken by businesses to take Spain’s situation of employment into consideration. The company may inform the employment office of its particular needs to fill in roles, using specific profiles. For example, it may need software engineers. Following this, candidates may be sent by the regional government to interview with the company.

If none of the applicants are successful in their application for the role or no one with suitable skills/qualifications is provided by the employment office, the foreigner may be hired. In this case, a certificate stating that there are no adequate candidates for the job in Spain is provided by the Spanish administration. The requirements of the role will need to be met for the foreigner to be hired.

There are exceptions to the requirement for companies to consider the national situation of unemployment. The exceptions may apply if the prospective employee meets one of the following criteria:

• Is a citizen from Chile or Perú
• Is an EU citizen
• Was born in Spain
• Obtained working residency through the Arraigo procedure

Other Requirements

EU citizens are permitted to work in Spain without holding work permits. Citizens of countries that are member states of the European Union or European Economic Area (EEA) do not have to make applications for a working visa in Spain.

If the role that a work permit applicant is meant to fill is found to be as specialised as those in the list of specialist occupations issued in each Spanish province, an employer may not have to make an application to the employment office to hire a foreign worker. Instead, they can apply to the immigration office in Spain to bring in a foreigner as a worker.

Job offers received must be from companies that have been operating for at least one year or companies that can show that they need to hire foreign workers. The company giving you the job offer needs to be registered for social security and must have complied with its tax obligations to date.

The company that gives you the job offer must meet requirements for the number of employees and working conditions. As an example, an application may be denied if it is found that 50% of the workers in the company providing the job offer, work part-time. To the authorities, this may indicate that the company is hiring a foreigner with the intention of not paying full-time salaries to nationals.

Individuals applying for the work permit have to be over 16 years old. Applicants are often expected to have studied subjects related to the job position. They should not have any criminal records registered in Spain or outside of the country.

Applying for a Work Permit as an Employee

To apply for a Spanish work permit as an employee, you must have a job offer. Your employer will need to submit an application for a working permit to the Spanish Ministry of Labour on your behalf. They will have to start the application procedure and sign the document before it is submitted.

If the company has over 500 workers, the initial application will need to be submitted to the Generalitat de Cataluña or the UGE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas). After the initial application is submitted, a resolution is given to the employer. A favourable resolution allows the applicant to proceed with the application process for the visa in their country of origin.

The applicant will have 30 days to continue the application process with the Spanish consulate. The signed favourable resolution, applicant’s health insurance contract, and criminal records would need to be provided at this stage of the process.

It can take 3 to 4 months before you receive a positive response. After receiving a positive response, you will get 90 days to go to Spain with your visa. In Spain, you will be able to get your residency card.

It is important to note that you cannot apply for a work permit while you are in Spain. Applications for working permits done while in Spain will be turned down. You should only accept job offers outside of Spain and make your application from an embassy or consulate in your country.

Applying for a Self-Employed Work Permit

To obtain the self-employed work permit, you will have to make an application at your local Spanish embassy, using the required documentation. After your application is initiated, the consulate transfers the application to a corresponding office based on the region in Spain where you want to operate your business.

Applying for a Work Permit Using Arraigo Social Process

To prove that you have been integrated into Spain’s society, you will need to provide a certificate of social integration, which you must obtain from a Comunidad Autónoma. An interview is usually needed for people to be signed off as integrated in Spain. The interview involves an assessment of how the application belongs to the Spanish community and their Spanish language skills.

A ‘Know your laws’ talk is part of the application process. During the talk, you may be told about your rights as a foreign citizen, the Spanish legal system, and your duties as a foreign citizen. After the talk, you get a certificate that shows you attended the talk.

Document Requirements for Employees

The documents employees may have to provide with their work permit applications include:

• National visa application form
• Valid, unexpired passport
• Recent passport photograph
• Copy of work contract stamped by the Foreign National’s Office
• Medical Certificate showing that the applicant does not have a disease that could lead to serious consequences for public health
• Criminal record check certificate
• Proof of residence in the consular district
• Evidence of knowledge and experience needed to do the job

Document Requirements for Self-Employed Work Permit

You will need to provide the following documents if you are applying for a self-employed work permit to live and work in Spain:

• Application form for initial residence and self-employed work permit
• Valid passport
• Permits and licenses for business activity
• Professional qualifications or training needed to operate the business
• Business plan
• Evidence of sufficient financial resources to conduct business and cover personal expenses
• Criminal record check certificate
• Medical Certificate showing that the applicant does not have a disease that could lead to serious consequences for public health.
• Proof of residence in the consular district

After Approval of Application for Spanish Work Permit for Employees

After your application is approved, you will be able to work in Spain with a 1 year-permit that you may renew to live and work in Spain for an additional 2 years. The permit may be renewed a second time, following the first renewal, to extend your stay in Spain for another 2 years. You can get permanent residency in Spain after this period. Long-term residency can only be applied for after 5 years of living in Spain.

To renew your permit, you must have made social security contributions for at least 6 months. You will also need to present your job contract and TIE to show that the contractual relationship which was used to get you the work permit is still valid. This has to be done between 60 days before and 90 days after the expiration of the residency card.