Below you find a short introduction about working in Spain including permits needed and general information about the Spanish employment market. This web site is not a job portal but a short introduction to our clients about working in Spain.

Permits
If you as a foreign citizen wish to work in Spain you will need a Work Permit (Permiso de Trabajo) and a residence permit (Permiso de Residencia). For none EU citizens who doesn't have a company registered in Spain who is willing to sponsor your application it is very difficult to receive a work permit. We recommend all none EU citizens to contact the Spanish embassy or consulate in your home country before you start making plans about moving to Spain.

For EU citizens the European laws guarantees freedom of movement and this makes the application process easier (but still not without hassles). Below you can find a short description of how and where you have to go to arrange all the paper work.

First of all you need to get the necessary application forms. These are gievn at the National Police Station (Policia Nacional) where you also have to return the forms.
To apply for the living permit, apart from filling in the application form, you need to bring passport photos, your original passport including copies, rental contract or title deeds and they will normally ask for proof that you can support yourself (either by showing an income or a certificate from a bank with proof of savings).
To get a working permit you need first of all to have a work contract for minimum 6 months. The work permit number will be the same as the ID number (NIE) but you will still have to make a separate registration to get the permit, which is needed amongst other things to be able to register with social security.
To get the work permit you will need (apart from the work contract) to fill in the application form and bring your full documentation (the same as when applying for the living permission) to the national police station.

We can strongly recommend bringing someone who can help you if you don't fully dominate the Spanish language.

The Employment Market in Spain
Spain has in the last decades after entering the EU in 1984 improved its economy and infrastructure significantly. The country still has a high unemployment rate (about 11% of the active population) but the rate is still falling with many sectors in expansion and the need for qualified employment is increasing.

The strongest industries in Spain are the service sector and the tourist industry, but Spain also has an important agricultural sector.

The most important international Spanish companies are found within the bank and telephone sector and gas and power companies. Within these sectors you can find companies like Telefonica, the banks BBVA and BSCH and Repsol-YPF that have dominant positions in Europe and South America.

In big towns like Madrid and Barcelona you find the service sector and there you can also find a large number of international companies. The tourist industry is located throughout coastal Spain - principally in the Canary and Balearic islands, Valencia and in Costa del Sol in Andalucia.

Apart from the tourist industry the many foreigners who have settled down in Spain have brought a complete industry of services like schools, shops, doctors etc. targeted to and serviced by foreigners.

The employment contracts in Spain are normally long and complicated to understand for foreigners and we can therefore recommend to get it translated if it is in Spanish. Normally the first contract in company is a temporary contract for a period of 3 to 6 months as it is very difficult to fire an employee with fixed contract. Another speciality is that most employers are paid in 14 yearly payments with a monthly payment and two extra payments.
The average wages in Spain are lower than in other European countries but so are the living expenses and with the Euro it is know easier to compare costs between different EU countries.