Hiring a foreign professional who does not yet reside in Spain is one of the most common—and most misunderstood—tasks faced by Human Resources departments.
When hiring conditions do not allow for the use of the Entrepreneurs Act (Ley de emprendedores), it is the residence and work permit for salaried employees—the permit that enables a company to hire a worker from a third country—that allows a company to add such a worker to its workforce. Understanding how this process works helps avoid rejections, delays, and and unexpected issues that may leave a position vacant for months.
In this guide, we explain—from the employer’s perspective—what an employee work authorization in Spain is, what requirements must be met, what the national employment situation entails, what documentation is needed, and what has changed under the new Immigration Regulations. We will also discuss when it may be advisable to explore faster alternative routes for highly qualified professionals.
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This is the authorization that allows a foreign national over the age of 16 to reside in Spain and work as an employee for a company for a period of more than 90 days.
Unlike an intra-company transfer — which is designed to relocate talent within the same corporate group — this route is intended for hiring a new employee who is joining the Spanish labour market.
The key feature of this type of authorization — and the one that has the greatest impact on processing times — is that the application is submitted by the hiring company, not by the employee. The company initiates the application before the Immigration Office in the province where the workplace is located and acts as the applicant throughout the process.
The employee work permit is regulated by Organic Law 4/2000 (LOEX) on the rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain, and by Royal Decree 1155/2024, the new Immigration Regulations that came into force on 20 May 2025 and repealed the previous Royal Decree 557/2011.
This regulatory change is particularly relevant because many articles available online still refer to the previous regulations and include requirements that are no longer in force.
The authorities assess whether the company has the capacity to sustain the employment relationship. The main requirements are:
The person being hired must:
This is one of the factors that has the greatest impact on hiring through the employee work permit route.
The national employment situation means that, in principle, the position must first be offered to the domestic labour market. Only once this requirement has been met can the company hire a foreign national.
There are several ways to meet this requirement:
Hard-to-fill positions list: if the occupation appears on this list — published quarterly by the Spanish Public Employment Service (SEPE) by province — it is understood that there are not enough suitable candidates available in Spain.
Job offer through SEPE: if the occupation is not included on the list, the company can submit the job offer and obtain a certificate confirming that there are insufficient jobseekers available.
Cases covered by Article 40 of the LOEX: certain positions, including positions of trust, senior management, highly qualified professionals, R&D personnel and employees of a corporate group, among others, are exempt from the requirement to demonstrate the national employment situation.
Bilateral agreements: nationals of countries with specific agreements with Spain, such as Chile or Peru, may be subject to specific treatment.
Important: The list of hard-to-fill positions is very restrictive and changes every quarter, so it is advisable to always check the current resolution for the specific province before finalizing the hiring process.
Although the exact requirements may vary depending on the Immigration Office, a typical application file includes:
The process follows a relatively standard sequence that should be mapped out in advance to coordinate the employee's start date:
Application submitted by the company to the Immigration Office, electronically through MERCURIO or via a representative.
Decision on the residence and work authorization.
Visa application: once the authorization has been granted, the employee applies for a visa at the Spanish consulate in their country.
Entry into Spain within the visa's validity period.
Registration with Social Security within the applicable deadline following entry into Spain.
Application for the TIE (Foreigner Identity Card), including fingerprinting at a police station.
This is one of the main operational disadvantages of this route compared with highly qualified immigration pathways.
The statutory decision-making period is three months, with negative administrative silence. This means that if the Administration does not issue a decision within the applicable period, the application is deemed to have been rejected.
However, this only applies if the applicant — in this case, the hiring company — formally invokes the effects of administrative silence. Otherwise, the usual practice is to wait for the application to be resolved, as the competent authorities often take longer than the statutory processing period.
For this reason, advance planning is critical when hiring under the general immigration regime.
The new Immigration Regulations introduced several relevant improvements for companies:
For technical, managerial or specialised profiles, the general employee work permit is not always the most efficient option.
In these cases, it is worth considering the highly qualified professional permit, which is processed before the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (UGE-CE).
The following table summarises why choosing the right immigration route can make such a significant difference:
| Criteria | Employed Status (General Regime)Employee work permit (general regime) | Highly Qualified (UGE-CE) |
|
Processing time |
3 months, negative administrative silence |
20 days, implied approval |
|
National employment situation |
Required, except in certain cases |
Not required |
|
Initial validity |
Up to 1 year |
Up to 3 years |
|
Suitable profile |
General occupations |
Highly qualified and managers |
Our team can help you determine the best approach for each hire through our immigration and foreign national services for businesses.
At Anywr Spain, we handle the hiring of foreign workers from start to finish: we identify the fastest route, prepare the application, and coordinate the visa, registration, and TIE. Meet ourteam of lawyers and consultants specializing in international mobility and contact us to onboard your new employee seamlessly.