Tips to reside and work in Spain

Can I reside and work in Spain?

Spain is an attractive country not only to spend holidays but also to live and work. Many people, charmed by its culture, architecture, climate, food, people and way of living often consider a long term move to the country, not only to spend their retirement years but also to study or work.

But how easy is it to move to Spain to reside and work? What steps are needed to be able to do both legally?

The answer to these questions depends on your nationality and on your work and financial situation.

First, you need to know if to travel to Spain on a short visit – up to 90 days within any period of 180 days – you need a visa or not (the so called touristic or Schengen visa).

EU/EEA nationals (i.e. all EU member states plus Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway) as well as many other countries including the US, Canada, UK, most of South America, Japan etc do not need an entry visa to Spain for a short term stay. This means you can travel to Spain with your passport only and once here request a residence or work permit (there is one clear exception - the non-lucrative visa – which must be requested prior to travelling to Spain, details below). EU/EEA nationals do not need to request a residence permit as such but only to register with the authorities, as explained below. Obviously, you can also request your long-term visa prior to travelling to Spain, in the Spanish Embassy/Consulate in your place of residence, if you know at that stage in which conditions you will remain in Spain (e.g. if you have a job offer, know you will run a business or will study). One can even say this is the most recommendable process not only because staff at the Embassy/Consulate will speak your language, in case you do not speak Spanish, but also because you will not have to worry about the immigration procedures within 90-days of arrival as you will have many other things to take care when moving to a new country (!).

On the other hand, if you do need a visa to enter Spain even on a short visit (e.g. if you are Chinese, Indian, Turkish, Thai, Lebanese, etc – the list can be consulted here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018R1806&from=en ) then you may consider requesting your longer term visa before travelling to Spain in order to avoid a double procedure (i.e. instead of requesting a short term stay visa and later a resident permit in Spain you can request a longer term visa from the start).

A general clarification: a visa is as authorization requested at a Spanish Embassy/Consulate outside Spain whereas a (residence/work) permit is an authorization requested when you are already legally in Spain (e.g., within the first 90 days of your stay).

So, how does it work and what do I need to reside/work in Spain?

As mentioned, it first and foremost depends on your nationality and on your work and financial situation. Hence below with differentiate between EU/EEA nationals and other nationalities. Just move to the part that is applicable to you.

A - EU/EEA nationals and their direct family members

A EU/EEA national can travel freely to Spain and can reside/work in Spain without restrictions, like any Spanish national. You only need to register as EU/EEA national with the Spanish authorities, at which moment you will be issued a small green card with your Foreign ID number in Spain, the NIE, which will be used for all your dealings in Spain with both private and public counterparts. You are allowed to bring your family to Spain including your spouse/partner, children and ascendants if they are your direct dependents (i.e. they live with you and benefit from your financial support prior to moving to Spain).

If you are a student, have a job paying at least minimum wage or will have your own business /profession as self-employed, you just need to present a document certifying one of these situations when registering for the ¨green NIE¨.

As a student you can use your international EU health card for medical purposes while in Spain and as a worker you will be covered under the Spanish social security system, extendable to your family as well.

If, on the other hand, you do not have a job in Spain yet and are not a student but still decide to move to Spain you will need to prove, when registering as EU citizen (to get your ¨green NIE¨), that you own sufficient funds to live here – for you and your family, if you bring them along – without being a burden to the State. You will need aprox 6,500 eur for you and then 4,500 eur for each additional family member. You will all need private medical insurance as well as you will not be able to benefit from the Spanish public health system at that stage.

If your family members do not have an EU/EEA nationality you can still bring them with you but the process to request their residence is slightly different and a bit more cumbersome (while you just register as EU national and get your green NIE immediately they, as your dependents, will need to go throw a two-step process to get a 5-year residence permit plus an ID resident card with photo, fingerprints etc).

Note that most of your immediate needs when arriving in Spain like renting a flat, opening a bank account (as non-resident) or registering your children at school may be dealt with your passport only.

B - Non EU/EEA nationals

In this case you may reside and/or work in Spain, together with your family, if you are or become:

1 – A STUDENT. If you are going to study in a recognized educational establishment you may request a student visa or permit. The visa/permit will be issued for the confirmed duration of your studies; you also need private medical coverage (usually cheaper for students as the requirements are less demanding). If you are below 18 and therefore finalizing high school, there are many private international schools that also have student residencies and that may even combine your studies with sports activities like football or tennis. If your family wants to join you, they will have to request a different visa/permit, as described in the following sections. If you are over 18 and want to study your university degree or masters in Spain, there are also many institutions with courses fully in English. This visa allows you to work as well up to a maximum of 30 hrs per week (complementary earnings). As an adult student you can also request a visa/permit for your family, but only your spouse/partner or children, not your parents.

2 – A RESIDENT ON A NON-LUCRATIVE VISA. This visa allows you and your family (spouse/partner, children or dependent ascendents) to reside in Spain without working by confirming enough financial capacity lo live in the country for 1 year - which means a minimum of 28,800 eur for you and 7,200 eur for each additional family member joining under this visa (e.g. for a family of 4 you need to prove 50,400 eur as income in a bank account or as any other form of income like monthly pension/rents, etc). You also need private medical insurance – comparable to the full coverage provided by the Spanish state – for everyone. This visa must be requested in the Spanish Embassy/Consulate in the country of origin prior to travelling to Spain. While you cannot have a work activity in Spain you can still have interests and business abroad and even invest in Spain to have some additional income. You need to remain at least 6 months in Spain per each calendar year (you will become a fiscal resident in Spain as this is a resident visa). The visa/permit can later be extended for two 2-year periods, provided the same conditions are met, and permanent residence can be requested once you have lived in Spain for 5 years. Nationality can be requested after 10 years of residing in Spain (in whatever visa or permit).

3 - An INVESTOR by buying properties in Spain for more than 500,000 eur in own funds. You may alternatively invest 1 million eur in shares, investment funds or deposits in Spain or 2 million in Spanish government bonds. Once the investment is made (it can be made over a period of time until you reach the said limits) then you and your family are eligible to the so-called Golden visa and can reside and work in Spain (first for 1 year, extendable in 2-year periods until the 5 years are reached, provided the investments remain in place; after 5 years the permanent residence can be requested). You may combine this visa/permit with another one (e.g. you first come on a non-lucrative visa for 1 year to get to know Spain and find properties to invest and later buy these properties and get the golden visa or permit). Note however that the government intends to end the visa based on property investments of 500,000 eur.

4 - A DIGITAL NOMAD. This visa/permit allows you to come to Spain to work remotely or undertake professional activity for companies located outside Spain, via the exclusive use of IT and telecommunication systems; this is typically the case for those working in IT (engineers, developers). The company must be established for over a year and social security contributions have to be in place either in the country of origin or in Spain. Your salary needs to be at least 2,200 eur month gross at present. If you are in these circumstances, you can request a visa or residence permit to live and work in Spain. You are allowed to have up to 20% of your income generated from Spanish companies but not more (so 80% must come from companies located abroad).

5 - A HIGHLY QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL OR RESEARCHER. If you have been offered a job as a highly qualified professional, the company or organisation that is hiring you must apply for a residence permit. If you are outside Spain, the permit granted is a requirement for you to obtain a visa to come here to live and work. If you are already in Spain legally with a different visa (e.g. non-lucrative) you can request the change to a work permit as highly qualified professional (minimum salary is around 42,000 eur/year for a professional or 56,000 eur for a manager).

6 – A WORKER ON AN INTRA-COMPANY MOBILITY. Should your company decide to establish themselves in Spain or to transfer some of its staff to a close associate company this can be done as well. In this case your company would need to request a permission to bring staff to work in Spain and once this is approved you can request your visa as a worker here (or in case you are already here on any other visa, you can then change your status). The company abroad needs to be established for over a year, proven by registration and actual business activity, and your contract with them needs to be older than 3 months; if a close associate company is the vehicle used for the staff transfer the relationship between the two companies needs to be proven as well.

7 - An ENTREPRENEUR with special interest activities. If you are coming to launch an entrepreneurial activity of general interest or of an innovative nature for Spain, you should ask for a residence permit as an entrepreneur. If you are granted this permit, you can stay and live in Spain (if you are already here legally), or you can apply for a visa (if you are located abroad). There is a fast-track procedure if the business project is considered of special interest to Spain.

8 - A SELF-EMPLOYED professional (e.g. shop or restaurant owner, language teacher, commercial representative etc). If the activity you want to pursue does not meet the requirements to be considered of special interest to Spain, you can still become self-employed by presenting a business plan, showing you have the necessary qualifications or experience to perform the related activity and confirming you have sufficient funds to start your business. Again, you can combine this request with other permit (e.g. non-lucrative for 1 year and then self-employed).

9 - ANY OTHER WORKER. If you come as a student or on a non-lucrative visa and then find a job and the company is willing to support you, then you can request the conversion of that initial visa into a normal work permit, provided you have a job with 40 hours a week and minimum pay.

One last aspect if you bring your family with you to Spain: remember to bring all your family related documents like marriage certificate, birth certificates etc when moving to Spain. They need to be issued in the standard EU format or to be authenticated with the Haya Apostille (and translated if they are not in Spanish) or authenticated/translated by the Spanish Embassy/Consulate in your home country. As many procedures only accept documents issued in the last 90 days, just make sure to get a version of all these documents shortly before moving to Spain.

Hope this article helps you to have a general overview on the various alternatives to reside, study or work in Spain. Should you have any questions on any of the above procedures do not hesitate to contact us!