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The essentials
People who ask us about a work visa for Spain are usually in one of four positions: a Spanish company has offered them a job, they want to set up as self-employed, their employer is sending them to a Spanish branch, or they are highly skilled professionals hired by a Spanish company. Each case has its own work permit. The rules are in Organic Law 4/2000 on the rights and freedoms of foreigners (LO 4/2000), in the Immigration Regulations approved by Royal Decree 1155/2024 and, for fast-track permits, in Law 14/2013 on support for entrepreneurs.
In most employee cases the process starts with the employer, not with you. The company has to show that it can pay the salary and that the job cannot easily be filled from the Spanish labour market, unless an exception applies. We check the contract, the company and your qualifications before anything is filed, because those three points are where most files stall.
If the work permit is part of a wider plan (bringing your family later, changing permit or applying for citizenship), we look at it with our team of immigration lawyers in Madrid. And when it is time to renew, our page on residence permit renewal in Spain explains that step.
A quick guide: these routes have different requirements and rights, and applying under the wrong one can mean starting again. The digital nomad visa and the non-lucrative visa each have their own page on this site.
Do you have a job offer or a transfer to Spain and are not sure which work visa to apply for?
Figures from the Immigration Regulations in force that are worth knowing before you book flights or hand in notice.
1 year
maximum length of the first employee work permit, which lasts as long as the job; the first renewal is for four years
source: arts. 73.4 and 81.1 Royal Decree 1155/2024
3 months
is the time the authority has to decide the first employee permit; if it does not reply in time, the application is treated as refused
source: art. 77.6 Royal Decree 1155/2024
1 month
from the notice that the permit has been granted to apply for the visa at the Spanish consulate, which then has one month to issue it
source: art. 40.1.b and 40.3 Royal Decree 1155/2024
20 days
is the time the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit has to decide a highly qualified professional or intra-company transfer permit; if it does not reply, it is treated as granted
source: art. 76 Law 14/2013
Most refusals can be foreseen once the file is on the table. This is what we review with you and your employer.
The employer must submit a signed contract that gives you continuous work for the whole period of the permit, with terms in line with the law and the applicable collective agreement. If the job is part-time, the total pay must be at least the full-time national minimum wage over the year (art. 74 Royal Decree 1155/2024). We check the contract before it is signed.
Spain publishes a quarterly catalogue of hard-to-fill occupations for each region. If your job is on it, the permit can be processed. If it is not, the employer must register the vacancy with the public employment service, which handles it for eight days, and then obtain a certificate that there are not enough candidates (art. 75 Royal Decree 1155/2024). Some cases are exempt from this test.
The company must be up to date with tax and Social Security and show it has the means to meet the contract. You must hold the professional qualification the job legally requires, and have no criminal record in Spain or a police report that points to a threat to public order (art. 74). We prepare this evidence with the company and, where needed, the certificates arrive legalised or apostilled and translated.
For a self-employed work permit you have to show you meet the legal conditions to open the activity, hold the qualification or proven experience it requires, and justify that the planned investment is sufficient (art. 84 Royal Decree 1155/2024).
For an employee permit, the process starts with your employer in Spain. Once the permit is granted, you apply for the visa at the Spanish consulate in your country.
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We review the job offer, the employer, your qualifications and whether the occupation, the region and the national employment situation allow the application.
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The employer files the official application, the signed contract and the evidence of its own means with the Immigration Office (Oficina de Extranjería) of the province where the workplace is (art. 77 Royal Decree 1155/2024).
3
The office checks tax, Social Security and criminal-record reports and decides within three months (art. 77.6).
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You apply for the visa within one month of the notice that the permit has been granted. The consulate decides and issues the visa within a maximum of one month (art. 40 Royal Decree 1155/2024).
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Your permit takes effect when you are registered with Social Security, which must happen within three months of legal entry. Within one month of that, you apply in person for the foreigner identity card (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, TIE), the card that proves your residence permit, at a National Police station, with an appointment and fingerprints.
The sooner you tell us, the more room we have
Renewal is filed at the Immigration Office during the two months before the permit expires. If you file on time, the previous permit stays valid until a decision is made (art. 80.1 Royal Decree 1155/2024). The renewed employee permit is for four years, and lets you do any activity, as an employee or self-employed, anywhere in Spain (art. 81.1).
The first permit is limited to one region and one occupation. After renewal you can work in any occupation and anywhere in Spain. If you want to change jobs before then, the rules on change of employer apply (art. 79 Royal Decree 1155/2024), and we check them with you first.
For an employee work permit we start from this (for self-employed, highly qualified or transfer permits, we add the business plan, the degree or the group documents):
A job offer is not a permit. The employee permit only takes effect once you are registered with Social Security after legal entry, so working before that leaves you without cover.
If you work remotely for a company outside Spain, the digital nomad visa fits, not an employee permit. If you live on savings without working, the non-lucrative visa fits. Both have their own pages on this site.
The law admits a renewal filed up to three months after expiry, but with a possible penalty procedure (art. 80.1). It is better to file within the two months before.
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For an employee work permit, the employer files the application with the Immigration Office of the province where the workplace is (art. 77 Royal Decree 1155/2024). Once it is granted, you apply for the visa at the Spanish consulate within one month of the notice, and the consulate issues it within one month at most (art. 40). Self-employed applicants apply for the visa themselves (art. 85).
The first employee permit lasts as long as the job, up to one year, and the first renewal is for four years (arts. 73.4 and 81.1 Royal Decree 1155/2024). With five years of continuous temporary residence you can apply for long-term residence (art. 32 LO 4/2000). The first self-employed permit lasts one year (art. 83).
Yes, if the employer shows it is hard to fill the vacancy with workers already in the Spanish labour market. The employer registers the offer with the public employment service, which handles it for eight days, and then issues a certificate within three days that there are not enough candidates (art. 75.2 Royal Decree 1155/2024).
Yes. The first permit lasts one year and requires meeting the legal conditions to open the activity, holding the qualification or proven experience it needs, and showing a sufficient investment (arts. 83 and 84 Royal Decree 1155/2024). The authority has three months to decide once the consulate sends the file.
It is a residence permit for professionals with higher education of at least three years, or equivalent experience, hired by a Spanish company. It is filed electronically through the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (UGE), is valid for three years, and can be renewed for two (art. 71 Law 14/2013). The UGE has 20 days to decide (art. 76).
Yes, with an intra-company transfer permit. You need a real business, higher education or three years of equivalent experience, and at least three months of prior employment with the group. The transfer can last up to three years for managers and specialists, and one year for trainees (art. 73 Law 14/2013).
Years of legal residence count towards citizenship, provided they are continuous. We explain it on our page on Spanish citizenship.
We have six offices in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Málaga, Córdoba and Palma de Mallorca) and we also work with clients online.
