How to get a job in Spain

Can a foreigner legally work in the Sunshine Kingdom?

Requirements for those coming to the country with subsequent employment include a number of mandatory points. The main thing is to obtain a residence permit or have relatives. To make it official, any company will need to register with the Social Security Service. Without it, no one will risk hiring even a highly qualified specialist for fear of trouble from the migration service. In this case, the person will only have access to the option of an auxiliary worker without social and labor guarantees.

How to open your own business?

Like the whole world, the country is going through a crisis, one of the problems is unemployment. Therefore, the government attracts foreign citizens who are ready to invest in new projects. However, a number of conditions must be met.

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When registering a private enterprise, you need to be in the country in person. This cannot be done through an intermediary. Therefore, first a tourist or visitor visa is issued, and after all the bureaucratic details have been resolved, the businessman can return to his homeland. It will not be possible to hire only your compatriots; you will definitely need to employ Spanish citizens. Repeated visits to the country should be carried out on the basis of an entrepreneur visa, as a legal entity.

Company registration with the local tax office is required. The company owner can plan the work schedule and wages independently. However, the profit that the enterprise will receive must be sufficient for the entrepreneur to have enough for his own life, maintaining the company and providing for his family. After 5 years, a businessman can apply for a temporary residence permit, and subsequently for citizenship.

What do you need to get settled?

Priority is given to citizens of the country, but if there is a need for workers in rare professions or the shortage of personnel is confirmed by a certificate from the state employment service, then the vacancy is also open for foreigners. Employment in Spain for Russians follows a standard procedure after submitting documents and reviewing a resume.

A person must have:

• diploma and confirmation of qualification level;
• residence permit;
• certificate of no criminal record.

When reaching an agreement on employment for a certain position, you must personally submit an application to the consular department or mission, as well as copies of your passport, employment contract, and a certificate of medical examination confirming your health status.

How to get a job in Spain for Russian non-residents

You can obtain resident status after 5 years of residence. At the same time, the range of employment opportunities will expand, since the country offers vacancies to its residents for consideration, but if it is impossible to fill them on its own, it opens them to foreigners. In the 90s, the situation was different, the labor market experienced great difficulties in finding specialists in the technical and humanitarian fields, but at the moment the reverse process is observed. In terms of unemployment growth, Spain is in the leading position, and competitors from abroad are treated coolly. To obtain a position, a foreigner must possess a specialty that is in short supply or be prepared for a seasonal option. For employment, the list of documents and procedure are standard.

Those with a residence permit

There are 2 ways to get a job in Spain.

1. Under contract, with conclusion of an agreement and guaranteed salary.
2. Without it, if you have the status of an entrepreneur and plan to create a business in your place of residence.

Work Visa

A work visa is the main document for those wishing to work in Barcelona. You can apply for a work visa to Spain in 2021 through the Spanish consulate in the country of actual residence of the person.

For registration in 2021, a list of documents is submitted, consisting of:

1. An invitation from the employer with whom the employee has an employment contract, as well as two copies of this document.
2. A valid foreign passport. Moreover, it is necessary to submit not only the original, but also copies of all available pages.
3. Certificate confirming the registration of the employee with the state social insurance authorities (work permit).
4. Employment contract.
5. Four passport size photographs.
6. Medical examination according to form 086–у.
7. Visa application form in triplicate.

   Sample of filling out the application form for obtaining a Spanish visa

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8. A certificate confirming the absence of a criminal record for the entire period of life in the territory of one’s home country.

If a person opens a visa to work in a household, he must provide documents about his financial solvency. These documents confirm that the person has the means to live while in Barcelona.

If the contract does not stipulate the living conditions of the employee (more precisely, the employer does not provide them), then the person is obliged to provide the consulate employees with a document on temporary rental housing for the entire period of work. Certificate 086-u is a standard form of medical examination and is proof of the fact that the person does not have any chronic diseases and is suitable for work.

Salary level

The minimum income is 764.4 euros. For the working population, the standard indicator is an amount of 1000-1500. When remunerating, a progressive scale is used, at which a minimum threshold is given. Payments are added to it as a percentage if the person has proven his practical competence and regularly makes valuable suggestions to improve the process. Salaries fluctuate depending on the size of the company and the demand for a specialist.

You can focus on the national average.

In the public service sector, wages for seasonal workers are much more modest and range from 500-1700 euros. Accruals depend on the region, gender, age and status of the employee. The older and more experienced he is, the higher the salary.

Salaries of qualified workers

Wages in Spain cannot be called too high. The average monthly income of working citizens is 1,940 euros. The minimum salary is 764 euros.

Doctors receive an average of 3,000 euros per month, and junior medical staff earn approximately 2,500 euros.

An engineer's salary ranges from 2,000 to 2,500 euros per month, depending on his level of qualifications and work experience. Programmers on average earn from 1,500 to 2,000 euros, depending on their specialization and focus. The salary of middle managers does not exceed 1,800 euros, and the salary of construction workers varies from 1,200 to 1,600 euros per month.

Waiters, maids and bartenders earn an average of 1,300 euros, while administrators in the restaurant and hotel industry earn approximately 1,500 euros.

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A massage therapist earns on average 1,000 euros, and a public transport driver earns 1,800 euros.

The most popular specialties:

1. Construction engineer. Salary from 70 to 100 thousand euros per year. To be employed in this specialty, an employee must have at least 8 years of work experience.
2. SEO Marketing Specialist. The average annual salary varies from 20 to 30 thousand euros.
3. Programmer in the field of Java development. The average annual salary is 40 thousand euros.
4. Airport employee. These specialists receive on average from 14 to 15 thousand euros per year.
5. Call manager. The average salary is 13 thousand euros per year.
6. A salesperson earns on average between 13 and 15 thousand euros per year.
7. A technician earns about 18 thousand euros per year.
8. An office manager receives from 30 to 40 thousand euros per year, depending on skills and knowledge of foreign languages.
9. Warehouse worker. His annual income averages 15 thousand euros.

Average teacher salaries in Spain in 2021

Video about work and salary in Spain.

Popular specialties

Recently, there has been a growing demand in the country for representatives of technical professions and IT technologies. The situation in the field of education and healthcare does not change; teachers with knowledge of Spanish and English, therapists will always find employment and decent pay.

The list of people who can hire a Russian to work in Spain is dominated by:

• specialists in auto repair and equipment adjustment;
• wind farm employees;
• car rental managers;
• bank employees with higher education and experience;
• cameramen

In these areas, not only employment is possible, but also career growth for foreign citizens.

Seasonal employment

Those who do not have valuable knowledge and skills, but want to enter the country and get a job, should go to the southern regions. There is a high demand for sorters, seasonal workers, loaders, salespeople and maids.

The plantations growing olives, grapes, citrus fruits, almonds, and dates constantly require people, since local residents do not tend to regularly engage in heavy physical labor.

Who can request a work permit

In the list of actions on how to obtain the right to work in Spain, the first item is to clarify who is welcome in the country and is ready to provide a job.

Priority is given to representatives of rare specialties who have sent a resume and received a contract offer. Entrepreneurs with completed documents for individual entrepreneurs also have the right to contact the consulate. Another category of citizens are those who have received a residence permit for an activity related to traveling abroad. This includes artists, senior managers of joint ventures, athletes, and representatives of the arts sector.

A convenient way for Russians to obtain a work permit in Spain is to purchase real estate in any region.

There are restrictions for employment in professions that do not require qualifications. For seasonal workers – 9 months, for builders – until the completion of the project.

The employer is also allowed to make a request in his region with motivation for the need to hire a foreign specialist.

Standard requirements for a job applicant

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First you need to obtain an official right to work in Spain. The employer deals with this issue and receives it from the local Ministry of Labor. After the application is satisfied, access to issuing an invitation to a foreigner is available. Thanks to this, you can get a work visa, the period is specified in the invitation.

Important: Previously, the Spanish authorities were loyal to illegal labor migrants. After 3 years of this method of earning money in the Pyrenees, they were allowed to legalize. But at the moment this rule has been canceled, since the number of such employees has increased significantly. Therefore, if detected, illegal immigrants can be fined and deported from the country

Additional requirements for a foreign worker include conversational communication skills in Spanish or English. But the latter is not particularly popular, so it should be considered an auxiliary way to get a job in the service sector with the need for regular communication with other citizens of the EU, UK, and USA. Usually this is work in a hotel.

But in the Kingdom there are many organizations working with foreign partners. They are interested in employees with developed English language skills.

Starting your own business in Spain

The country is attractive in terms of investment; the development of small and medium-sized businesses is supported at the state level, since it does not occupy a vacant place, but creates it for its citizens. Methods:

• buy ready-made;
• acquire a share;
• register your company.

The advantages are the opportunity to subsequently open subsidiaries throughout the Eurozone and obtain the right to work in Spain and other countries. Individual, partnership or corporate form of enterprise is allowed.

What are the advantages of traveling to Spain?

All potential job seekers in the Spanish state can be divided into two categories:

• those who just want to earn extra money and return to spend money back home;
• those who plan to immigrate to Spain permanently in the future.

In both cases, first of all, Russians and residents of other CIS countries are attracted by the high level of wages, moreover, in Eurocurrency.

Immigrants also emphasize the following advantages:

• warm, mild climate;
• friendly locals;
• relatively low prices for essential goods;
• simple and loyal legislation for foreign workers, if you do not try to live and work in the country without a visa and do not violate current legislation;
• the opportunity to eventually stay for permanent residence and open your own business.

In Spain, a special workday schedule is practiced: the entire infrastructure begins to work quite early, then there is a lunch break lasting up to three hours, and in the evening work continues until late at night. This is due to climatic conditions. In the midday heat, it is sometimes physically impossible to work, because all the shops, shops, cafes are closed, you need to be prepared for this.

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Otherwise, everything here is the same as everywhere else: the work offered is seasonal, for three to six months, or permanent, providing for a certain number of vacation days per year. In any case, a contract is concluded, which strictly stipulates all terms, number of working hours and their payment.

FAQ

For those who want to travel abroad, it is important to know the basic requirements and rules for filling out documents. But in the process of preparing for the move and when starting to search for vacancies, new nuances appear that need explanation. Most often, people are interested in a list of in-demand professions, conditions for obtaining a residence permit, a list of requirements for applicants, instructions on how to prepare and where to submit a resume for concluding a contract to work in Spain. Among the sources of information, you can use not only official websites, but also reviews from those who have lived abroad for a long time, knowing from their own experience all the pros and cons.

Is fluency in Spanish necessary?

To get hired as a laborer or fruit picker, a few phrases from the Russian-Spanish phrasebook and energetic gestures will be enough. To get a more serious job, you will have to master the language at a conversational level. This applies to the professions of a maid, a waitress, a worker in the maintenance of hotel buildings, nurses and junior medical personnel.

In order to apply for the position of manager or assistant to a mid-level manager, it is also advisable to master English. The higher the level of language proficiency and the more relaxed the manner of communication, the faster career growth will occur over time, which will be facilitated by applying for resident status.

Is it possible to get a job in your specialty?

For certified employees, the search begins with confirmation of the diploma. The country has introduced a list of professions for which education in Russia is recognized as identical and does not require additional procedures. Such an option, for example, is a document confirming graduation from a medical university with a specialization as a therapist. Additional bonuses include having experience and publishing articles and personal developments. But they will not have much significance abroad. Practical demonstration of knowledge and skills will be required.

In order to obtain the right to work in Spain, a specialist whose diploma is not included in the closed list will have to undergo a convalidation procedure or study again, but with the recognition of the fact that a general higher education without indicating a specialization has already been received.

Can a foreigner get a government job?

A strict ban on accepting citizens of other countries is practiced in national bank branches and the security system. It is impossible for a foreigner to get there. In other industries, a specialist will be welcome if he:

• is the spouse or child of a Spanish citizen;
• has a residence permit with the right to work;
• passed a complex multi-stage exam for suitability for the position.

Unlike other countries, the list is quite wide and includes postal workers, healthcare and education specialists at any level, firefighters, immigration and customs service clerks.

When thinking about how to find a job in Spain as a civil servant, you need to study the list of vacancies in advance and act independently, without waiting for a call from a potential employer after placing an application. These positions are first offered to native residents and only when there is a shortage of personnel is it possible to hire a foreigner.

Where to post your resume for employment

If there is no passive income for long-term adaptation in a new place, then you need to worry about finding a job in advance: postponing this step until you arrive in the country is short-sighted. You will have to find out in detail how to go to work in Spain in compliance with all legal standards, otherwise you may get into trouble in the form of fines and deportation with a ban on re-entry. A competitive advantage will be fluency in Spanish and English and realistic salary expectations. The search for suitable work is carried out through agencies, forums and groups of emigrants. You can consider the options yourself and subscribe to thematic notifications.

The advantages of contacting agencies include assistance in creating a resume, a comparative analysis of the proposed options, and providing information about what documents are needed to work in Spain. The main interaction is with job sites. To do this, fill out the personal presentation field briefly and succinctly and attach a well-written resume in Spanish. You can send it directly to companies that are recruiting foreign specialists and expect a response from the HR department. The search system through social networks is becoming effective.

It is easier for a highly qualified specialist to find a job in a large city. Without skills or education, it is better to contact the agricultural sector or production and retail outlets that require loaders, packers, and product assemblers.

Is fluency in Spanish required to work in Spain?

We get asked this question quite often. Yes, it is mandatory to know the local language. The required level depends on the specific job. If in the course of your work you will frequently interact with the Spanish-speaking population, then fluency in Spanish is necessary. If you are going to work in Catalonia, Valencia or the Basque Country, you will also have to learn the local language - Catalan, Valencian or Basque.

The advantage of many of our compatriots is their knowledge of English and Russian; the majority of Spaniards have poor command of foreign languages.

Sanctions for illegal employment

Spain is included in the list of countries with a high standard of living. At the same time, almost a fifth of the population is unemployed. Residents do not strive to occupy low-paid positions or go to places where hard physical labor is required. It is interesting that the professions of doctors, paramedical personnel, teachers, and engineers are classified as highly paid specialists, but they are traditionally in short supply.

Unemployment benefits amount to almost 65-70% of the minimum wage, so many people prefer to stay at home for this money, leaving unattractive vacancies for foreign employees.

But even in these conditions, you must definitely find out how to go to work in Spain legally in order to avoid problems in the future. A visa is required to obtain a work permit. You can take a risk and get a job without the appropriate documents, but this option is for adrenaline lovers. Such an employee remains completely defenseless against an unscrupulous employer if he decides not to pay him for his work and does not have social guarantees. If such an employee is checked and found, the employer is fined 15 thousand euros, and the violator himself will face deportation and be included in the Schengen blacklist. You will have to forget about traveling abroad to a number of countries for several years.

It is much more profitable to be patient and go through the procedure for obtaining a residence permit, confirming your diploma, and applying for a visa. And also attach all required photocopies of documents by contacting the representative office before leaving for work in Spain, respecting the laws of another state and establishing yourself as a law-abiding citizen.