The Highly Qualified Work Permit to Spain is a specialized immigration pathway. It is designed to attract top-tier talent across various professional sectors. This permit provides a streamlined approach for exceptional professionals to work in countries seeking to enhance their workforce with world-class expertise.
What was the economic climate like when Spain passed this law?
To put this permit in context, this permit was established under Spanish Law 14/2013 from September 27 to Support for Entrepreneurs and Their Internalization. Among several motivating factors, at this point in time a lot of talent was leaving Spain due to the lack of jobs from the economic crisis and companies were finding growth difficult due to the lack of talent.
Immigration procedures prior to this law were very challenging:
- Limited to large companies of at least 500 employees….these are not as common in Spain as in other countries. In fact, the entity in charge of these applications is still called UGE (Large Companies Unit, reflecting this point) or strategic sectors (renewable energies, technology, etc.)
- Company directors.
- Secondments between companies.
- Students who have continuously studied in Spain for at least 3 years legally.
- Profiles in which the company publishes a job offer and verifies that there are no qualified candidates…but even in this case, the Immigration Offices infamously rejected work permit applications.
- Individuals who have spent minimum 2 or 3 years in Spain, whether with a student or residence permit or not.
Needless to say…not everyone was eligible for a work permit. When the Highly Qualified Work Permit was released, it sparked an immigration frenzy in Spain which has not stopped.
Key Premises
A Highly Qualified Work Permit is an employment authorization mechanism that:
- Targets professionals with advanced skills, educational credentials, and significant professional achievements
- Offers expedited processing and more flexible conditions compared to standard work visas
- Aims to support industries experiencing critical skills shortages
- Provides a strategic approach to global talent acquisition
Eligibility Requirements
Professionals seeking a Highly Qualified Work Permit typically must demonstrate:
- Educational Qualifications
- Minimum of a bachelor’s degree (optional if you prove equivalent experience)
- Professional Experience
- Minimum of 3-5 years of relevant professional experience
- Documented track record of professional achievements
- Demonstrable expertise in a specific domain
- Leadership or specialized roles in previous positions
- Salary Thresholds
- Minimum annual salary significantly above national median income
- Compensation must reflect the professional’s high-skill status: although the minimums are established, if the market for the position establishes a higher salary, the authorities could reject the application for not offering the corresponding salary.
- Highly skilled workers: €41,000 or higher gross per year
- Applicants under 30: €31,000 or higher
- Directors: €55,000 or higher gross salary per year
- Employer Sponsorship
- Job offer from a registered employer with activity in Spain
- Must have at least 1 year of activity: New companies face more severe scrutiny
- Position matching the professional’s qualifications and justifying that they offer experience and know-how beyond other candidates.
- Pro tip: This is actually the most important subjective evidence you need. Yes, you need to check the boxes for the other requirements, but this is where the company must justify that the candidate is HIGHLY qualified, not just qualified.
- Commitment to providing competitive compensation and benefits
Application Procedure
Preparatory Stage
- Secure a formal job offer from a qualifying employer
- Collect documentation
- Documentation Requirements
- Apostilled certified copy of university degree.
- Optional: Apostilled transcript. Although not necessary, it also may come in handy. In my case, my degree did not state my majors, while my transcript did.
- Here’s why you should get your degree apostilled now! Hint: It doesn’t expire like other documents!
- Detailed professional résumé, describing experience at your previous employers, positions held, years of experience, functions, and achievements. Do not think a basic résumé will suffice: you may even need to include more details than for the original job interview.
- Passport, copy of all pages, even blank ones.
- Proof of professional achievements if applicable.
- Criminal background check, apostilled (expires at 6 months!)
- Keep in mind that, depending on where you apply from, you will need to have a different date in mind:
- 1. In-country application: if you come to Spain for the application, the record will be presented at this time and it must be valid and apostilled.
- 2. Consular application. This certificate must be valid for the visa application (AFTER the permit is approved), not for the initial permit application.
- Keep in mind that, depending on where you apply from, you will need to have a different date in mind:
- Health clearance certificates (if required at your corresponding Spanish Consulate).
- Apostilled certified copy of university degree.
- Documentation Requirements
Application Steps
- Employer submits application with complete documentation to the UGE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas: Large Companies Unit)
- The legal timeframe to review the documents is 20 working days.
- Pro-tip: A response must be provided within this time, otherwise, the permit will be considered approved by silence from the administration and the company can apply for the work permit resolution letter. Currently, this is not often the case and the administration is responding within this deadline.
- Employer may receive a Request for Evidence (Requerimiento) to clarify the information or documentation presented, possibly requesting additional documentation which must be provided within 10 business days.
- Receive permit decision. The validity of the permit will start from the time of approval, up to a maximum of 3 years depending on the work contract presented at the application.
Red Flags and Common Challenges
- This permit only allows the employee to work at the company which sponsored the permit. A change of employer will require a brand new permit, presenting many of the same documentation with the new company.
- Potential application complications include:
- Incomplete or inconsistent documentation
- Insufficient proof of specialized skills
- Marginal salary offerings
- Limited demonstrated professional impact
- Discrepancies in educational credentials
- Insufficient employer sponsorship documentation
Benefits
- The employee, as long as the principal work relationship continues to be valid, may also develop a side hustle.
- Dependent family members (spouse, children) will be eligible for a dependent permit.
- The spouse/partner will be able to work in Spain either as an employee at a Spanish company, freelance, setting-up a Spanish business, or even remote work (as long as they are compliant with legal obligations).
Key Strategic Considerations
For Professionals
- Maintain meticulous documentation
- Highlight unique professional contributions
- Understand specific country immigration differences
- Remember that salaries are much lower in Spain, but so is the cost of living and the accompanying soft benefits surpass that difference.
For Employees
- Develop robust international recruitment strategies
- Understand complex immigration regulations
- Create compelling compensation packages
- Support employees through immigration process
- Develop long-term talent retention plans
Here’s a Handy Requirements Checklist to Get You Started!
Conclusion
The Highly Qualified Work Permit represents a feasible approach to global talent mobility. Although success requires careful preparation and gathering detailed documentation, it is an excellent option to obtain a work and residence permit to Spain especially for expats with differentiated professional experience and knowledge. Additionally, your family’s permits can be processed simultaneously and your spouse can work without processing a separate work permit!
