How to choose and apply for permission to work in Spain

An EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen can work in Spain under free movement without a work permit. For a stay longer than three months, the person completes EU residence registration and proves the employment or other qualifying basis. A qualifying non-EU family member uses the EU-family framework. Do not send either person through an ordinary sponsored-work application.

For most other overseas hires, the ordinary employed route is the starting point. The Spanish employer applies for temporary residence and work for a named third-country worker who is not resident in Spain. The file must satisfy the national-employment-situation rule unless a statutory exemption applies. After approval, the worker applies for a national visa, enters, is registered with Social Security, and obtains the TIE.

The strategic mobility route index covers defined highly qualified professionals, EU Blue Card holders, researchers, intra-company transferees, entrepreneurs, audiovisual or cultural workers, international teleworkers, and their qualifying families. These cases go through the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit and have branch-specific salary, qualification, sponsor, project, insurance, and Social Security tests.

Other routes solve different facts

• Seasonal work: for a third-country worker outside Spain performing employed seasonal activity for up to nine months per calendar year under a four-year authorisation and annual employer call-up.
• Self-employment: for a non-resident founder or professional who can prove licences, qualifications, investment, and business viability.
• Study modification: a qualifying holder who completed the relevant Spanish studies or training can seek an in-Spain modification to employed or self-employed residence and work.
• Graduate job-search residence: an eligible higher-education graduate can remain for up to 24 non-extendable months to seek suitable work or prepare a business, but cannot work until the corresponding work authorisation is obtained.
• Family or other residence with work rights: some residence categories already permit employment. Verify the resolution before filing an unnecessary work application.

Use ordinary employment for a standard sponsored hire that meets its labour-market branch. Test the EU Blue Card and highly qualified routes where role, qualification and salary fit. Use intra-company transfer only for a genuine transfer within the relevant group. Use seasonal permission only for cyclical work and return commitments. Use self-employment for a real independent business, not disguised employment. Use a student modification or later work authorisation only when the current status and timing allow it.

For ordinary employment, the worker must be a third-country national outside the EU-family framework, not irregularly present in Spain, free of disqualifying criminal records and entry restrictions, and professionally qualified for the job. The employer must be registered with Social Security, current with tax and Social Security obligations, able to fund the position, and offering genuine continuous work on lawful terms.

The national-employment-situation condition can be met in several ways. A job included in the current hard-to-fill list for its exact territory opens one branch. The SEPE catalogue is quarterly and organised by province, island, Ceuta, and Melilla. A listing in another province or an expired quarter is not enough. For an unlisted role, the employer may document recruitment difficulty through the required public-employment process. Nationals of Chile or Peru and cases in article 40 of Organic Law 4/2000 can use separate exceptions.

The contract must be signed by employer and worker, conditioned on authorisation effectiveness, and cover continuous activity for the permission. Conditions must meet labour law and the applicable collective agreement. The ordinary sheet currently requires part-time pay at least equal to the full-time annual minimum wage, which makes many low-hour offers unsuitable. The job description, occupation code, workplace, hours, salary, qualifications, and business need must agree across the file.

Strategic, seasonal, and status-change tests

The June 2026 official salary notice sets EUR 41,356.36 for the general EU Blue Card and national highly qualified threshold. The reduced EU Blue Card threshold is EUR 33,085.09 for qualifying CNO groups 1 and 2 shortage roles or a person who obtained the required qualification in the prior three years. The national highly qualified route has no reduced threshold. Recheck the live annual value and every qualification and contract condition.

Seasonal applicants must be outside Spain, at least 16, qualified, eligible for entry, medically admissible, and committed to return. The employer must meet accommodation, travel, contract, workforce, and compliance duties in the current sheet.

A student modification requires completed qualifying studies or training, the appropriate status and filing period, and the full employed or self-employed branch. The 24-month graduate job-search route requires eligible Spanish higher education, means and insurance, but grants no work. Never let a worker start merely because they found a job while holding it.

The competent Immigration Office decides ordinary and many modification cases; UGE decides its strategic routes. Ask the authority in writing when classification, territorial competence, regulated-profession recognition, or salary treatment is genuinely ambiguous.

An ordinary employed file uses the current EX-03 signed by the hiring company or authorised representative. Worker evidence includes a full valid passport copy and proof of the legally required training, qualification, professional recognition, or registration. Do not send only a degree title where the regulated authority requires formal recognition or membership.

Employer identity evidence depends on form. A sole trader supplies the applicable NIF or NIE evidence. A company supplies its NIF, registered formation document, proof that the signatory legally represents it, and the signatory's identity evidence. Solvency can be shown through current tax filings, VAT or corporate-tax records, business Social Security history, accounts, payroll, financing, contracts, and a clear operational explanation, according to the live checklist. A household employer uses the specific personal-income and household branch.

Employment evidence includes the official-model signed contract, role description, workplace, occupation code, hours, salary, collective agreement, intended start conditioned on permission, and proof for the chosen national-employment branch. For an unlisted occupation, retain the Empléate or public-employment posting, candidates, selection reasons, employment-service report, and urgency evidence. For a statutory exception, prove the exact relationship or fact creating it.

Route-specific and later visa records

A strategic file adds the exact qualification, salary, company, group, assignment, project, insurance and Social Security evidence requested by UGE. A seasonal employer supplies the EX-06 branch, contract, accommodation, travel and return arrangements, and annual call-up evidence. Self-employment requires professional permissions, investment, financing and credible viability. Student modification adds the completed Spanish qualification and current stay history.

After an ordinary grant, the worker's national-visa pack includes a passport valid for at least one year, criminal certificates for the specified five-year history, medical certificate, fee proof, application and photographs, plus the authorisation and consulate-specific items. Foreign public records may need Hague Apostille or diplomatic legalization and Spanish sworn translation under the official authentication guidance.

Do a consistency review across legal names, passport, company, signatory, tax identity, occupation, workplace, start condition, hours, salary, duration, qualification, authorisation request, visa request, and fee payer. Remove irrelevant personal data from preliminary employer sharing, use secure transfer, and give full records only to legitimate authorities or advisers.

Preserve the submitted index, every document, electronic registry receipt, fee validation, authority requests, responses, grant, visa, entry proof, employment contract, Social Security alta, payslips, and TIE. Originals are usually shown where required rather than permanently surrendered, but the consulate can retain the passport during visa processing.

1. Classify the route. The employer and worker record nationality, current country and status, job, workplace, occupation code, salary, qualifications, intended duration, employer group, and family. Compare ordinary employment, EU Blue Card, highly qualified, intra-company, seasonal, student modification, and existing work rights.
2. Complete prerequisite checks. Confirm professional recognition, the current territorial shortage catalogue or alternative labour-market branch, contract and collective-agreement compliance, employer solvency, tax and Social Security standing, and correct fee payers.
3. The proper party files. For ordinary employment, the employer or legally authorised company representative submits EX-03 and evidence electronically through Mercurio to the competent Immigration Office. UGE applications use their defined electronic channel. A student modification or self-employment route can have another applicant.
4. Finish electronic registration. Sign, transmit, and download the registry receipt with timestamp, file number and document list. Pay the 790-052 and 790-062 items through their correct payer within the stated ten-business-day period. Watch official electronic notifications and answer correction requests.

Worker actions after the employer's grant

5. Apply for the national visa. In an ordinary hire, the worker currently has one month from notification to the employer to apply personally at the responsible Spanish consulate. Submit passport, criminal and medical certificates, fee proof, authorisation evidence, and local checklist items.
6. Collect and enter on time. The mission's stated visa decision period is one month. A favourable visa must currently be collected personally within one month of notice. Enter during its three-month validity and keep passport stamps or other official entry evidence.
7. Complete Social Security alta before working. The employer registers the worker in the appropriate scheme within three months after entry. The visa allows entry and temporary stay until this occurs; it is not permission to begin unregistered work. Download the alta confirmation and verify employer, start date and scheme.
8. Request the TIE. Within one month after Social Security registration, the worker personally submits the card application at the competent police documentation unit, with EX-17, passport, photograph, grant or visa evidence, fee proof, and alta evidence. Keep the fingerprint receipt and collect the card personally.

Inspect the TIE and grant for employer, occupation or territorial restrictions, dates and work wording. Then complete padrón, healthcare, bank, tax and digital-access tasks as relevant. A strategic or in-Spain modification route can skip the ordinary consular sequence, but never assume that it skips activation or TIE. Use its own resolution and current sheet.

For the ordinary employed route, the foreign worker pays model 790 code 052, item 2.1.3 for initial temporary residence and employed or self-employed work. The employer pays model 790 code 062, item 3.2.1 when the work authorisation is at least six months. Both currently accrue on submission and are due within ten business days. The worker separately pays the consular visa fee and the police TIE fee. Seasonal, student-modification and strategic routes use their own items.

Do not swap payers to save administration. A worker should not be charged an employer-only official obligation through an undocumented deduction. Keep the generated form, amount, payer identity, bank or electronic validation, and reimbursement agreement where lawful. Recheck the amount immediately before payment.

The Interior Ministry's fee table listed EUR 16.08 for a first temporary-residence TIE when checked on 25 August 2026. That dated card figure is separate from the authorisation and visa charges and can change.

Salary and complete hiring budget

The June 2026 official UGE notice set the general EU Blue Card and national highly qualified threshold at EUR 41,356.36. The reduced EU Blue Card threshold was EUR 33,085.09 for specified shortage occupations in CNO groups 1 and 2 and recent qualifying graduates. These are gross annual route thresholds, not general promised salaries, and must be rechecked. Ordinary contracts must satisfy labour law, collective agreement, minimum-wage and the route's part-time rule.

Add passport, criminal and civil records, apostille or legalization, sworn translation, medical certificate, photographs, professional recognition, regulator or professional-body costs, consular and police travel, courier, relocation, and optional qualified advice. The employer should budget payroll setup, Social Security contributions, required travel or accommodation for seasonal hiring, onboarding delay, and the risk that a start date moves. Avoid appointment resellers and anyone selling a contract or guaranteed permit.

The ordinary authorisation states three months for decision, with negative silence. The consulate then states one month for the visa decision. Add time for recruitment evidence, qualifications, appointments, records, correction requests, visa collection, travel, Social Security registration and TIE. Strategic routes can have shorter legal periods, while seasonal authorisation states one month and employer-change requests 15 days. Legal targets are not appointment guarantees.

Plan backward at least six months for a standard overseas hire. Make the contractual start conditional on authorisation effectiveness and allow payroll and project plans to shift.

For an ordinary overseas hire, treat five clocks separately: one month to apply for the visa after employer notification, one month to collect it after a favourable notice, the visa's three-month entry period, three months after entry for Social Security alta, and one month after alta for the TIE. Put the exact calendar dates in a shared employer-worker checklist and save evidence at every step.

The authorisation resolution controls scope and effectiveness. Verify employer, occupation, workplace or territory, duration, salary, hours, and any special condition. Do not rely only on the TIE's shorter label. The current ordinary initial authorisation also permits secondary self-employment while employment remains the principal activity. If the employed activity ends involuntarily, the holder must notify the granting office within three days under the current compatibility rule. That does not automatically resolve the immigration effect of job loss.

Before changing employer, job, occupation, territory, hours, or business balance, check whether the live rule allows the change, requires notice, or requires modification. Seasonal permission has explicit call-up, activity, extension and change rules. Ordinarily, employer change is allowed after three months of activity in each call-up, with earlier remedies for serious employer breach or unforeseen circumstances. A four-year seasonal card does not authorise year-round work: activity remains capped at nine months in a calendar year.

Renewal and status change

Begin the renewal audit months before expiry. Preserve contracts, payslips, Social Security history, tax records, job-search registration where relevant, employer changes, dismissal or involuntary-loss proof, qualifications, address, passports and travel history. Submit the correct renewal or modification during its legal window and keep the signed registry receipt. A draft, fee payment or portal login is not timely filing. Continuation of rights while pending depends on the route and valid on-time submission.

A student finishing qualifying studies can use the April 2026 modification sheet for employed or self-employed residence and work where eligible. The protected periods differ by branch.

The graduate job-search authorisation lasts 24 non-extendable months and does not permit work. When suitable employment or a business is found, file and obtain the corresponding authorisation before starting. Its stated filing window is 60 calendar days before study-stay expiry or 90 after, with possible sanction for late filing.

After a move, update padrón and required immigration records. After departure, complete employer, Social Security, tax and card duties and preserve evidence for any future Spanish application.

A genuine employer does not sell an immigration contract. Warning signs include cash for sponsorship, a role unrelated to the business, salary returned to the employer, hidden deductions, no interview, no workplace, blank documents, mismatched occupation, or a demand to begin before registration. Preserve messages and payments, stop sharing identity records, and obtain independent help. Suspected exploitation, trafficking, wage theft, or immediate danger warrants police, labour-inspectorate, union or specialist victim support according to urgency.

If the authority requests correction, list each numbered issue and answer it with an explanation and indexed exhibits. Common defects are an expired passport page, wrong EX form, fee paid under the wrong item or payer, unproved representation, stale occupation catalogue, incomplete recruitment history, inconsistent job description, salary below the route or collective agreement, missing qualification recognition, weak employer solvency, or unauthenticated foreign record. Keep the electronic registry receipt for the response.

The worker must not start ordinary employment simply because the authorisation or visa was granted. Effectiveness can depend on Social Security alta. If the employer fails to register the worker after entry, contact the employer in writing immediately, preserve the grant, visa, entry and contract evidence, and seek urgent immigration and labour advice before the three-month activation period expires. Do not accept unregistered work as a temporary solution.

Changed job, silence, and refusal

An employer withdrawal, dismissal, business closure, material salary cut, changed role, or inability to meet the promised start needs route-specific action. Notify the competent office where required and determine whether substitution, modification, renewal on another branch, or a new filing is available. Seasonal workers have defined earlier employer-change protection for serious breach or unforeseen circumstances; ordinary and strategic permits use other rules.

The ordinary employed application states a three-month decision period and negative administrative silence. Student work modifications also state negative silence, while the graduate job-search branch currently states positive silence after 20 days. Never transfer one rule to another procedure or begin work based on silence. Confirm the exact file, valid notification channel and legal effect first.

A refusal notice should identify facts, legal grounds, remedy and deadline. Preserve the entire employer and worker file, fee proofs, registry receipts, notification timestamp and any recruitment evidence. Decide whether a corrected new application is faster and safer than administrative reconsideration or judicial review, and whether lawful status or project timing needs interim protection. Qualified Spanish immigration counsel is proportionate for strategic salary classification, disputed labour-market evidence, lost activation, fraud allegations, or court proceedings.

For an overpayment, request correction or refund only through the official fee route with payer and bank evidence. For appointment or representative scams, contact the payment provider quickly and report through the official platform or police channel.