Working in Spain on a contract: permit and visa

This guide is for Ukrainians and Russian speakers who are coming to Spain not under temporary protection but on an ordinary employment contract with a Spanish company: you already have the offer or you are looking for one. All our status guides so far assumed the reader is already under protection or is applying for the digital nomad visa; here we cover the third path — the one by which most foreign workers from third countries arrive in Spain. If you are already in Spain under temporary protection and want to change status, read the guide on moving from protection to residence — that is a different procedure, and this text does not cover it.

Two routes: general and highly qualified

A third-country foreigner has two main paths to employed work, and the employer will choose between them together with you:

• General route — autorización inicial de residencia temporal y trabajo por cuenta ajena (LO 4/2000, art. 36 and 38; RD 1155/2024, art. 73–81). Filed by the employer, the situación nacional de empleo is checked, the decision takes up to three months, the first permit runs up to a year and is tied to an autonomous community and an occupation.
• Ley 14/2013 route — autorización de residencia para profesionales altamente cualificados (art. 71 and 71 bis) in two forms: the Tarjeta azul-UE and the national permit. Filed by the company or by the professional themselves, electronically with the Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos (UGE-CE), decision in twenty days, the permit is valid throughout Spain and for up to three years. The labour-market check does not apply (LO 4/2000, art. 40.2.b).

If you have higher education of at least three years (or comparable experience) and the salary reaches the threshold, go straight to the section on highly qualified professionals. If not, the general route is below, step by step.

Step 1. The employer and the situación nacional de empleo

The permit is requested by the employer, not by you: LO 4/2000 (art. 36.4) obliges them to file the application together with an employment contract that «guarantees continuous activity for the whole duration of the authorisation». Foreigners over sixteen years of age may work as employees in Spain (art. 36.1; hoja 12).

The main filter of the general route is the situación nacional de empleo (SNE): the state checks whether there are suitable and available workers for the vacancy inside the country (LO 4/2000, art. 38.1–2). Under RD 1155/2024 (art. 74.1.a and 75) the SNE «allows hiring» in three cases:

1. The occupation is in the Catálogo de ocupaciones de difícil cobertura. It is drawn up by the Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal once a quarter for each autonomous community (by province or island at the reasoned request of the community), after consulting the Comisión Laboral Tripartita de Inmigración (art. 75.1). Inclusion of an occupation in the Catálogo «implies the possibility of processing a residence and work authorisation for a foreigner» without any further search for candidates.
2. The occupation is not in the Catálogo, but the employer has proven a shortage of candidates. They post the vacancy with the employment service of the place of work; the service manages it for eight days, putting the employer in touch with jobseekers and publishing the vacancy in public channels; the employer then reports the result of the selection with the reasons for rejections, and within three days the service issues a certificate confirming the shortage of jobseekers (art. 75.2). The Oficina de Extranjería takes this certificate and the urgency of the hire into account.
3. A case under art. 40 LO 4/2000 or an international agreement — the SNE does not apply at all (RD 1155/2024, art. 74.2). Such cases include: the spouse or child of a foreigner with a renewed permit; children and grandchildren of Spaniards by origin; foreigners who support Spanish parents or children; management and positions of trust; highly qualified professionals; employees transferred within a corporate group; artists of recognised reputation (art. 40.1–2). Hoja 12 also names nationals of countries with international agreements — Chile and Peru.

What the employer has to prove

Besides the SNE, RD 1155/2024 (art. 74.1) requires of the employer and the contract:

• An employment contract signed by both parties with continuous employment for the whole duration of the permit; the start date of work must be tied to the moment the permit takes effect (art. 74.1.b).
• Conditions no worse than the law and the applicable convenio colectivo for that activity, category and locality. For part-time work the total pay must be no lower than the salario mínimo interprofesional for a full-time position on an annual basis (art. 74.1.c).
• The employer has no debts to the AEAT or the Seguridad Social (art. 74.1.d) and has sufficient economic, material or staff resources for the project and the obligations under the contract (art. 74.1.e and 76). If the employer is a natural person, after deducting your salary they must be left each month with at least 50 % of the SMI with no dependants, 100 % of the SMI for a two-person family and a further 25 % of the SMI for each additional family member (art. 76.2).
• You hold the qualification the law requires for the occupation, with homologación where needed (art. 74.1.f; LO 4/2000, art. 36.3). How to get a degree recognised — in the homologación guide.
• You are not in breach of an undertaking not to return after a voluntary return programme, you do not pose a threat to public order or health (checked through criminal-record certificates and a police report), and the fee has been paid (art. 74.1.g–i).

Refusal can also come from the employer's own «fault» (art. 78.1): if in the last twelve months they cut these same positions through an unfair or void dismissal or under art. 50–52.c of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores, if they were fined for serious breaches of immigration or labour law, if an ERTE applies to these positions, or if they themselves terminated early a contract under which they had obtained a previous permit. This is worth discussing with the employer before filing.

Step 2. Filing the application (the employer does this too)

The application is filed with the Oficina de Extranjería of the province where the job is located (RD 1155/2024, art. 77.1) — according to hoja 12, telematically through the Mercurio platform on the sede electrónica (the «Extranjería» section at sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es). The form is model EX-03, signed by the hiring company. In autonomous communities with devolved powers over initial work permits the application goes to the regional body, but the procedure remains single: one application — one decision (art. 194.1–2).

The following are attached to the application (art. 77.2; hoja 12):

• company documents: NIF and incorporation documents with registration, a document proving the signatory's authority, their NIF/NIE or consent to an identity check; proof of solvency — IRPF, IVA or Impuesto de Sociedades returns or the company's vida laboral (VILE) for three years — and a descriptive note on the position (memoria descriptiva);
• a copy of the employment contract in the official model;
• a full copy of your passport;
• qualification documents, if the occupation requires them (with homologación);
• documents proving a case where the SNE does not apply (art. 40 LO 4/2000 or an agreement), or the employment-service certificate confirming the shortage of candidates.

Fees (hoja 12) accrue at the moment of filing and are paid within ten working days: modelo 790 código 052 (residence and work authorisation) is paid by the worker, and modelo 790 código 062 (work authorisation for a term of six months or more) by the employer. Look up the amounts in the forms themselves on the sede electrónica — they change, and we do not quote them here.

Step 3. Processing: up to three months

The procedure under RD 1155/2024 (art. 77.3–6):

• The Oficina de Extranjería first checks whether there are grounds not to admit the application for processing (inadmisión a trámite).
• If documents are missing, the employer is given ten days to put them right; otherwise the application is deemed withdrawn.
• For an admitted application, reports are requested from the AEAT and the TGSS (employer's debts), the Registro Central de Penados and the police — they are issued within seven days. Entries in the police report do not in themselves mean refusal — the authority assesses them individually.
• The decision is issued and notified within three months at most; if there is no reply after three months, the application is deemed refused (silencio negativo). The same general three-month deadline and silence rule are laid down in LO 4/2000 (DA 1.ª).
• The decision is entered immediately into the common information system so that the consulate where you live sees it in real time.

The decision is notified to the employer, and it is from that notification that your month for the visa starts running (hoja 12; RD 1155/2024, art. 40.1.b). The ministry publishes actual processing times by province in the CORA statistics (the «Tiempo de tramitación de procedimientos» page); they measure the path from filing to decision without deducting the time spent completing documents.

Step 4. The visa at the consulate — now your step

After a favourable decision you have one month from the moment the employer is notified to apply in person for the visado de residencia y trabajo at the Spanish consulate where you live (RD 1155/2024, art. 40.1.b; hoja 12). The visa is mandatory: the visa-free regime covers only short stays of up to ninety days in any one hundred and eighty (art. 7.2), and for employed work LO 4/2000 (art. 25 bis.2.d) requires a separate type of visa.

What is required for the visa (art. 38; hoja 12):

• a passport recognised in Spain, valid for at least a year;
• a criminal-record certificate from your country of origin or the countries where you lived for the last five years (for adults);
• a medical certificate stating you have no diseases with serious public-health consequences under the International Health Regulations of 2005;
• a receipt for payment of the consular fee;
• the permit itself is visible to the consulate in the system; on the general route the employer attaches the contract copy to the application at the Oficina de Extranjería (RD 1155/2024, art. 77.2.b); it is still sensible to have a copy with you.

The consulate decides within no more than a month of filing (art. 40.3; hoja 12). The visa must be collected in person within a month of notification — otherwise you are deemed to have given it up and the file is closed (hoja 12). The visa is valid for three months: you must enter within that time; it entitles you to stay in Spain until the alta in the Seguridad Social (hoja 12; LO 4/2000, art. 25 bis.2.d). The list of consular services by visa type is on the website of the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores («Visados Nacionales — Visado de trabajo por cuenta ajena»); check the specific requirements of the consulate in your country on its own page.

Step 5. After entry: alta in the Seguridad Social and the TIE

The permit does not work on its own — it is «switched on» by registration with the Seguridad Social: LO 4/2000 (art. 36.2) makes the effect of the initial permit conditional on the worker's alta, and RD 1155/2024 (art. 73.1 and 77.8) requires the alta to take place within three months of legal entry. If the deadline passes without an alta, LO 4/2000 (art. 25 bis.2.d) requires you to leave the country.

In practice it looks like this:

1. Seguridad Social number (NUSS/NAF). According to Import@ss it is needed «for the first alta in the Seguridad Social when you start working», and also for the health card; you can request it at any time, with a NIE or by uploading a document and a selfie if you have no electronic identification yet. More on identification — in the certificado digital guide.
2. The employer registers the alta — this is their duty under LO 4/2000 (art. 38.4): to register the contract with the employment service and to register you; if the employment relationship cannot begin, they must notify the authorities.
3. TIE — within a month of the alta date. The card must be requested in person at the police station of your place of residence (RD 1155/2024, art. 73.3, 77.9 and 209.1; hoja 12). Before issuing it the police check the alta themselves (art. 209.11). The TIE is mandatory for a permit longer than six months — it is both a right and an obligation (art. 209.1); if the contract is shorter, clarify the procedure with Extranjería. How to get an appointment — in the cita previa guide; the list of TIE documents — on the sede electrónica in the «Extranjería» section.

Then comes the usual starter set: empadronamiento, bank account, health card. What the NIE is and how it differs from the TIE — in the NIE guide: it is written for temporary protection, but the concepts themselves are general.

Permit duration, change of employer, renewal

The first permit is valid for as long as the work under the contract, but no longer than a year, and is limited to one autonomous community and one occupation (RD 1155/2024, art. 73.4) — except where the SNE was not applied (art. 73.1). It also allows you to carry out a por cuenta propia activity in parallel, as long as employed work remains your main one (art. 73.5) — on what that means in practice, see the autónomo guide.

Change of employer (art. 79):

• in the same occupation — after three months of the permit, within the first year (art. 79.1);
• at any time — if the employer seriously breached their obligations under the contract (in the sense of art. 50 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores); you have three months from the moment the breach became apparent for the new employer to report the change to the Oficina de Extranjería (art. 79.2);
• if the work cannot begin or continue for reasons beyond the employer's control — notify Extranjería within fifteen days, then three months to find a new employer (art. 79.3). In the last two cases Extranjería checks the conditions of the new contract within a month; silence here means refusal (art. 79.4). While the change application is being processed, you are entitled to stay in Spain (art. 79.6).

Changing occupation, sector or territory in the first year is possible on your application; the SNE is taken into account; the decision takes a month, and here silence means approval (art. 192.1). From a por cuenta ajena permit you can switch to cuenta propia by a separate application (art. 192.2).

Renewal (art. 80–81):

• it is filed on the official form in the last two months of the permit's validity; filing in time automatically extends the old permit until the decision. You can also file within three months after expiry — the permit is likewise extended until the decision, but with sanction proceedings (art. 80.1);
• grounds: continuation of the same employment relationship; or at least three months of work in the year plus a new contract, or a new contract starting «after renewal», or loss of the job through no fault of yours with continuous registration as a jobseeker; or unemployment benefit or social assistance; or nine months of work in alta out of the last twelve; or a family member with sufficient income for family reunification (art. 80.2);
• the application must be accompanied by a certificate from the regional authorities that your school-age children attend school (art. 80.3) — how to enrol a child, in the school guide;
• contribution debts do not in themselves block the renewal if you are actually working (art. 80.7); the decision takes three months, and here silence means approval (art. 80.9);
• the renewed permit is granted for four years, allows any work anywhere in Spain, employed and self-employed, and is valid from the day after the previous one expires (art. 81.1). Within a month of notification — a new TIE (art. 81.2).

Long-term residence: how the time is counted

LO 4/2000 (art. 32.2) grants the right to residencia de larga duración to those with five years of continuous temporary residence in Spain; RD 1155/2024 (art. 183.1) puts it the same way — five years of legal and continuous residence before applying. One year of the first permit plus four years of renewal are exactly those five years, as long as you did not fall out of status.

Continuity (art. 183.2) is not broken by absences of up to six consecutive months, as long as they add up to no more than ten months over the five years; for work reasons the cap on the total is eighteen months; force majeure is assessed individually. Long-term residence means the right to live and work in Spain indefinitely on the same terms as Spaniards (LO 4/2000, art. 32.1).

For those who came under Ley 14/2013, the same five-year bar is written directly into the law: three years of permit, a two-year renewal, «long-term residence after five years provided the conditions are met» (art. 71.3).

The route for highly qualified professionals: Ley 14/2013 and the UGE-CE

If you have higher education or solid experience and the employer is prepared to pay above the threshold, look at the autorización de residencia para profesionales altamente cualificados (Ley 14/2013, art. 71). The key differences from the general route:

• Who files: the company or the professional themselves (art. 71.1; hoja 66) — in that case the UGE-CE notifies the company that an application has been received.
• Where: only electronically, through the sede electrónica of the Ministerio de Inclusión to the Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos, using form MI-T; an electronic certificate is required (UGE page «¿Cómo presento la solicitud?»). The fee is modelo 790 código 038, epígrafe 7.1 (hoja 66).
• Deadline: twenty days from electronic filing; if there is no decision, the permit is deemed granted (art. 76.1; hoja 66). Filing the application extends your current stay status until the decision (art. 76.1).
• No SNE check (LO 4/2000, art. 40.2.b) and valid throughout Spain (art. 71.1).
• Validity: three years, or the length of the contract plus three months if the contract is shorter; no more than three years. Renewal is for two years, requested in the last sixty days (art. 71.3; art. 76.3).
• Family may apply at the same time or afterwards (art. 62.4).

Two forms of permit (art. 71.2; hoja 66):

Tarjeta azul-UE (art. 71.2.a and 71 bis):

• qualification: higher education of at least three years, at level MECES 2 / EQF 6 or above, or five years of comparable professional experience relevant to the occupation in the contract; for ICT professionals and managers — three years of experience out of the last seven;
• a contract or firm offer of at least six months with continuous employment for the whole duration of the card (art. 71 bis.1.b);
• for regulated professions — homologación (art. 71 bis.1.a);
• a salary no lower than the threshold. Orden PJC/44/2026 (art. 2) sets it at 1.4 times the average gross annual salary according to the INE Encuesta de Estructura Salarial, with a 0.8 coefficient for occupations in CNO-2011 groups 1 and 2 included in the Catálogo de ocupaciones de difícil cobertura, and for those who obtained their qualification no earlier than three years before applying. The new threshold applies to applications filed from a month after the new INE statistics are published (art. 3.2), and the figure itself is published on the UGE-CE portal (art. 4). According to the UGE-CE document of June 2026: on 28 May 2026 the INE published the average salary for 2024 — €29,540.26; the general threshold is €41,356.36, the reduced one €33,085.09;
• if the contract is lost: the card may be withdrawn after unemployment longer than three months (if you held the card for less than two years) or six months (if two years or more), and you are given three or six months respectively to find a new job (art. 71 bis.3).

National permit for highly qualified professionals (art. 71.2.b):

• qualification at level MECES 1 / level 5A or above or three years of comparable experience — in the terms of the instructions under DA 20.ª Ley 14/2013;
• according to the UGE-CE document of June 2026 the salary threshold is a single one — €41,356.36, with no reduced version.

Documents (hoja 66): form MI-T, a full copy of the passport, a criminal-record certificate for the last two years plus a declaration of no convictions over five years, proof of means (the employment contract is sufficient), health insurance — public or private with an insurer authorised in Spain (not needed if your activity covers you under the Sistema Nacional de Salud), a legalised or apostilled degree (homologated for regulated professions) or proof of experience, the company's documents and the signed contract, the fee receipt. Foreign documents — with a sworn translation.

Visa and arrival (hoja 66; Ley 14/2013, art. 75.5 and 76.2): the visa is requested in person within a month after the employer is notified; the consulate decides within ten working days; collection — in person within a month; the visa is valid for three months; alta in the Seguridad Social — within three months of entry; TIE — within a month after the alta, if the permit is longer than six months. A useful detail: in the first six months a passport is enough for the alta in the Seguridad Social, even if you have no NIE yet (art. 76.5).

What changed with the new Reglamento in 2025

RD 1155/2024 was published in the BOE on 20 November 2024 and entered into force six months after publication (DF 4.ª) — on 20 May 2025; it repealed the previous regulation approved by RD 557/2011 (disposición derogatoria única). Applications filed before entry into force are processed under the former rules unless the applicant asks for the new ones to apply and proves their requirements (DT 2.ª). Among other things, the new text transposes Directive (EU) 2024/1233 on the single permit to reside and work into Spanish law (DF 2.ª).

All figures in this guide follow the text in force: permit up to a year with a four-year renewal, change of employer after three months, eight-day vacancy posting and three-day employment-service certificate, TIE within a month after the alta. The ministry's official sheets (hojas 12 and 66) were updated in May 2025 for the new regulation; the SEPE page on the Catálogo still quotes the old RD 557/2011 — the way the catalogue is published does not change because of that, but in a dispute cite art. 75 RD 1155/2024.

Common mistakes

• Waiting for the decision in Spain as a tourist. The general route is designed for a non-resident; the visa is issued by the consulate where you live (RD 1155/2024, art. 40.1; hoja 12).
• Missing the month to apply for the visa or the month to collect it. Both deadlines are hard: a visa not collected within a month means you gave it up and the file is closed (hoja 12).
• Thinking the visa is already the permit. The permit takes effect only with the alta in the Seguridad Social, and you have three months from entry for that (LO 4/2000, art. 36.2; RD 1155/2024, art. 77.8).
• Forgetting the TIE. A month from the alta date, in person, at the police (art. 73.3 and 209.1).
• Quitting in the second week. In the first year a change of employer is possible after three months, and earlier only where the employer is in breach or for circumstances beyond their control (art. 79).
• Filing the renewal late «somehow». Two months before expiry is the norm; three months after still saves the permit, but with sanction proceedings (art. 80.1).
• Picking a «similar» occupation from the Catálogo. The catalogue goes by exact CNO codes and by province; a mismatch sends the employer back to the eight-day vacancy posting (art. 75.2).

What we do not claim

• Fee amounts (modelos 790 códigos 052, 062, 038) and consular charges — they are published in the forms themselves and change; look them up on the sede electrónica and the consulate's website.
• Actual processing times in your province and consulate — only the legal maximums; see the practice in the ministry's CORA statistics.
• Switching from temporary protection to a por cuenta ajena permit — this guide is about applicants from abroad; for those already in Spain under protection a different procedure applies, see the guide on moving to residence.
• The contents of the Catálogo for your occupation — it is quarterly; check the current PDF on SEPE, not retellings.
• The document requirements of a particular consulate — the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores page gives a general list of services; each consulate publishes the details separately.

This article is for reference and is not legal advice. The rules come from Ley Orgánica 4/2000, the Reglamento de Extranjería (RD 1155/2024), Ley 14/2013 and Orden PJC/44/2026 in the BOE consolidated texts, as well as the official sheets of the Ministerio de Inclusión (hojas informativas 12 and 66) and the UGE-CE and SEPE pages; checked on 17 October 2026. Before filing, check the primary sources and, in a complex case, an immigration lawyer. If you are coming not as an employee but to work remotely for a foreign employer, you need a different guide — on the digital nomad visa; if you are under temporary protection — how to apply for it.