To work legally in Spain as a foreign worker, you must obtain a work visa and a work permit. The first step is to obtain the work permit. For this, you must have a job offer from a Spanish company or with their main offices in spanish territory.
Obtain a work permit in Spain
It will be your future employer who must give your permission to obtain a work permit. For this, one must deliver the following documents to the local offices of the Direccion Provincial de Trabajo, Social Security and Social Affairs. Be aware that you will not be able to do it personally, but it has to be your future employer.
- Passport or driving license valid for 4 months minimum.
- 3 passport-sized photographs.
- Copy of the work contract, sealed by the new employer.
- Certificate of criminal records that covers at least the last 5 years and that certifies that you have not committed any crime that is stated in the Spanish penal code.
- Health certificate confirming that you do not suffer from any illness that could be a danger to the public.
Once you have applied to obtain a work permit, it will be the Public Employment Service that decides to grant it, depending on whether or not the job position can’t be covered by another Spanish or European Union worker. If they decide that this is not the case, your future employer must make a defense on your behalf and why you are necessary to their company.
On top of these documents, your future employer will have to fulfill another series of requirements that includes guaranteeing your continued employment for a determined period of time and paying you a minimum wage established by law.
Once the work permit has been granted, you can now apply for a Spanish work visa.
Obtain a work visa in Spain
Once you have obtained the work permit, start the process to obtain the work visa that will allow you to work and live legally in Spain. Depending on the type of visa, it will be necessary to present more or less documents, especially when the work is in the scientific field or a job working on specific projects with highly qualified professionals.
To proceed with obtaining a visa, you must present the following documents in the Spanish consulate or embassy in your country:
- Original and copy of the official visa application.
- Copy of the work contract stamped by the Foreign Office.
- Passport or valid travel document with 4 months minimum validity.
- Certificate of criminal records issued by the authorities of your home country or countries in which you have lived during the last 5 years.
- Health certificate that certifies that you don’t suffer from any illness that might be a threat in a public environment.
Be aware that to obtain a work visa it is possible that you will have to undergo a personal interview.
Once the visa is authorised you will have three months to start work in Spain and the employer will have another three months from the moment that you arrive to work to give you a Social Security number.
A month after you are on the national system of social security you will be able to apply for a foreign identity card.
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