Working In Spain

Finding a job

The lucky few secure full time employment in advance of their arrival in Spain. But the vast majority pitch up with a van load of their worldly goods, enough savings to tide them over for a few months and high hopes of finding work and a better life. Most discover the hard way that finding any kind of work (never mind interesting, well paid work) is far tougher than they imagined.

Generally speaking, wages are far lower in Spain compared with the UK and most other countries in northern Europe. And the competition to secure even the lowest-paid, most menial jobs can be fierce due to the burgeoning problem of illegal immigrants prepared to work for poor pay in bad conditions.

You’re off to a good start if you’re an EU citizen because you can work in Spain without a work permit and without having to apply for “residencia”. Plenty of young Americans and Australians find their hopes of teaching English as a foreign language in Spain are dashed by intense competition from young Brits who don’t have to overcome the same bureaucratic hurdles.
Job prospects

If you have no particular job prospects in mind, it’s well worth getting a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course under your belt as there’s a huge demand for English teachers in language schools and from private industry and individuals in Spain.

Obviously mastering Spanish will broaden your job prospects considerably. And if you can speak some German as well you’ll have a good chance of finding work in estate agencies, travel companies and offices in areas popular with foreign tourists and ex-pat home owners.

If you’re language skills are limited or non-existent you’ll have the best chance of finding work in an area dominated by your fellow countrymen. Many Brits living in Spain prefer to rely on British trades people (mechanics, plumbers, builders etc) even though they often charge more than their Spanish counterparts. So do some thorough research on the area you intend to move to and if you plan to set up your own business targeting ex-pats try to identify a niche market. The most popular costas are saturated with British bars all more or less supplying the same thing and many of them go bust a few months after opening. So try to come up with a product or service that the local ex-pat community wants but isn’t getting at the moment.

Setting up your own business can be a bureaucratic nightmare so make sure you hire a good local “gestor” or “asesor” to guide you through the quagmire. These people are experts in steering ordinary mortals (Spaniards and foreigners alike) through Spain’s famously challenging obstacle course of rules, regulations and legal landmines.

Construction continues unabated along many of the costas so there’s usually plenty of work in the building industry for fit young men (with contracts and social security cover provided by the bigger, reputable firms).

And if you’re young, presentable and hard-working you shouldn’t have any trouble finding seasonal work in the bars and restaurants which line the beachfront promenades of much of coastal Spain.

Who Can Work In Spain

If you’re an EU national you have as much right to work in Spain as a Spaniard. But if you intend to stay in the country for more than 90 days you’ll need to apply for a resident’s permit (residencia). Strictly speaking you should apply within 15 days of your arrival in Spain but there are few people who actually do this simply because they don’t know at the outset whether they intend to stay permanently or not. Applying for a resident’s card can be a bureaucratic nightmare so most people prefer to spend some time looking for work and securing a job before getting involved in too much red tape.

If you’re from one of the EU countries you can enter Spain as a tourist and register with the National Employment Institute (Instituto Nacional de Empleo / INEM) as a job-seeker, just as a Spanish job hunter would do. But if you’re not a resident of an EU country you’ll need a visa to enter Spain and a work permit. A permit will only be issued when it has been demonstrated that the job in question has been advertised to EU nationals without success. This is what’s supposed to happen but of course there are many abuses of the system by employers who prefer to take on, for example, South American immigrants who are prepared to work for much lower wages than most EU citizens.

If you’re an EU national and you fail to find work in the first 90 days, you can apply for a 90-day extension but you can only stay in Spain for a maximum of 182 days in any one calendar year if you don’t have a resident’s permit.

If you find a job with an employer you’ll need a formal job offer in order to apply for a resident’s card. As an EU national you don’t need a work permit to start a business in Spain but you will need to present a business plan to the authorities giving details such as your proposed investment, location of business premises, projected income etc. Non EU nationals are normally expected to prove that they intend to invest a sizeable sum of money (around $100,000) and / or that their business will create a number of jobs for Spanish or EU nationals.

Anyone planning to work in a profession such as medicine or law must apply for membership of the appropriate professional body in Spain before they will be allowed to practise.

If you’re going to be operating from your own business premises (such as a shop, restaurant or workshop) you’ll have to apply for a business opening licence (licencia de apertura before opening. To sell or serve alcohol or food you’ll need to acquire a health licence which will involve an inspection by the local authorities.

Be prepared for frustrating delays of several months, depending on the area, before the necessary permits and licences are processed. It’s worth employing a bi-lingual gestor (a kind of Mr Fixit who can guide you through all the bureaucracy) especially if you don’t speak Spanish. You’ll find at least Gestoria in every town in Spain and there are usually several to choose from in the popular ex-pat areas.