Employed Work and Residence Authorization
To be granted an initial residence and work permit, while keeping in mind the national employment situation, the employer must submit an application for a vacant position in the company to foreigner from a third country. This must be submitted before competent authorities along with a signed employment contract and all other required documentation.
Once all requirements are fulfilled, immigration authorities will issue the permit to the foreigner. The foreigner must request the corresponding visa and once in Spain, must register with social security as a paid employee.
Highly Qualified Personnel
Spain has designed a way that allows for the mobility and transfer of highly qualified personnel from outside of the EU in response to companies who require the employment of such workers. These workers may obtain a residence and work permit that is valid in any part of the country, as long as the work relationship adheres to the following:
- Managerial staff or highly qualified personnel in a business or business group when the company meets one of the following:
- Average labor force greater than 250 workers in Spain who are also registered in the social security system during the three months immediately before submitting the application.
- Net turnover greater than 50 million euros in Spain, and total equity and shareholders equity greater than 43 million euros.
- Gross annual investment, no less than 1 million euros in the last three years prior to submitting the application.
- Companies with stock investment greater than three million euros in the Exterior Investment Registry of the Ministry of Economy and Competetiveness.
- Relation to a strategic sector for small or medium-sized companies established in Spain.
- Managerial staff or highly qualified personnel working on a business project considered to be of general interest. The company must fulfil one of the following:
- A significant increase in the direct creation of jobs on part of the company submitting the request for recruitment.
- Maintenance of employment.
- A significant increase in job creation in the activity sector or the geographical area where they are planning to develop the economic activity.
- An extraordinary investment with socioeconomic impact relevant to the geographical area where the economic activity is going to be developed.
- The agreement on points of interest on commercial policy and the investment in Spain.
- A relevant contribution to scientific innovation and/or technology.
- Graduates or postgraduates from universities or business schools of recognized prestige.
The Provision of Transnational Services
This covers those situations where foreign workers, who are not from the European Union or the European Economic Area, are temporarily moving to an employment center in Spain. One of the following requirements must be fulfilled:
- Submit a contract underlining provision of services. This may be done on the account of the foreigner or the foreign company.
- Associate with work centers of the same company in Spain or with different companies within the same business group.
- If hiring highly qualified personnel it must be for supervision or advising of services that the company branch in Spain plans to carry out.
Merchant navy corporations hiring flying personnel with the intention of developing training activites in Spain are specifically excluded from this worker movement authorization.
This residence and work authorization is limited to only one occupation and territory with a one-year term limit.
In order to be granted the residence and work permit, the following must be fulfiled:
- The foreign worker may not be in an irregular situation of stay in Spain
- He may not have any criminal record
- The national employment situation must allow for such employee displacement
- The worker being hired must have a regular position in the company that is transferring him to Spain.
- The worker must have participated in the development of the activity to be carried out in Spain for at least one year and must have been employed by the company for at least nine months.
Translated by: Katherine Pascal
