When a company needs the incorporation in Spain of a foreign skilled migrant, for the development of an employment or professional relationship that is highly qualified, a residence permit/visa may be requested for highly skilled professionals valid throughout the national territory.
This work and residence permit is aimed at foreign professionals with a job offer in Spain, for the development of an employment or professional relationship in a managerial position or activity for which a higher education qualification is required or, exceptionally, a minimum of three years of professional experience that can be considered comparable to said qualification, related to the activity for which the residence permit is granted.
Job characteristics
To determine that the worker is highly skilled, it will be assessed that it is a job and functions that can be assimilated to Groups 1 and 2 of the National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11). This will be related to the position profile, the employment contract, the professional classification and the applicable Collective Agreement. Thus, professionals in jobs not included in the aforementioned catalog may be eligible to receive authorization once the rest of the information in the file has been assessed, such as remuneration, productive sector or qualification, among other aspects.
The national residence permit for highly skilled professionals requires that foreign workers who are going to carry out a work or professional activity have a qualification comparable to at least level 1 of the Spanish Framework of Qualifications for Higher Education, corresponding to level 5A of the Spanish Framework of Qualifications for Lifelong Learning, or knowledge, skills and competencies endorsed by professional experience of at least three years that can be considered comparable to said qualification, in the terms established in the instructions referred to in the additional provision. twentieth of Law 14/2013.
Taking into account the occupations reflected in the CNO-11, it will be assessed that the salary specified in the employment contract or the firm offer of employment is at least the average annual salary by occupation groups, taking data from the National Institute of Statistics:
A reducing coefficient of 0.75 will be applied to the amounts indicated in the previous sub-criterion in any of the following cases:
⦁ Applications from SMEs belonging to a sector considered strategic and accredited through the favorable report of the General Directorate of International Trade and Investment provided for in Law 14/2013, of September 27.
⦁ Requests from highly qualified professionals up to 30 years old
For the calculation of the indicated amounts, the variable part of the remuneration will not be computed.
The salary in kind may not represent more than 30% of the worker’s salary receipts in the terms established in article 26 of the consolidated text of the Workers’ Statute Law, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015, of October 23. , for which it is approved.
General requirements
The highly skilled professional must prove compliance with the following requirements:
a) Not being irregularly in Spanish territory.
b) Be over 18 years old.
c) Have no criminal record in Spain and in the countries where you have resided during the last two years, for crimes provided for in the Spanish legal system. Additionally, a declaration stating that there is no criminal record for the last five years will be submitted.
d) Not appear as rejectable in the territorial space of countries with which Spain has signed an agreement in this regard.
e) Pay the fee for processing the authorization or visa.
f) In regulated professionals, the corresponding approval will be required to allow the possibility of exercising the profession in question, under the same conditions as holders of Spanish titles.
The Diplomatic Missions and Consular Offices, upon receiving applications for residence visas, will make the pertinent queries to the General Directorate of the Police to verify whether the applicant represents a security risk.
Required documentation
- Accreditation of the entity or company that requires the services of the highly professional
qualified:
– Be a large company, or
– Be an SME in a strategic sector: A report from the General Directorate of Commerce and Investment will be provided to prove it, or
– Develop a project of general interest: A report from the General Directorate of Commerce and Investment will be provided to prove it.
- Copy of the contract or professional relationship between both parties.
- Description of the job profile detailing the functions of the worker, the highly qualified nature of the functions, remuneration and other conditions, as well as documentation that helps to prove the experience or training of the worker.
- Curriculum vitae of the highly qualified professional. Professional career in the same or similar jobs will be valued.
- Passport of the highly qualified professional
- Criminal record certificate of the highly qualified professional
In the case of graduates and postgraduates from Universities: Academic title. If it is a regulated profession, the corresponding approval will be provided.
All foreign public documents must be apostilled or legalized and translated into Spanish.
Administrative procedure
The application will be submitted by the company interested in the services of the highly qualified professional.
The application may be submitted while the worker is in Spain, as long as he or she is in a regular stay situation. If the foreigner is outside Spain at the time of the application, once the residence authorization has been granted, he or she must apply for a visa.
The processing of residence permit for a highly qualified professional will be carried out by the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos UGE-CE), through telematic means and their granting will correspond to the General Directorate of Migration.
The maximum resolution period will be twenty days from the electronic submission of the application to the competent body for processing. If it is not resolved within said period, the authorization will be deemed to have been approved due to administrative silence. The resolutions will be reasoned and may be subject to appeal, in accordance with the provisions of articles 121 and 122 of Law 39/2015).
The application for residence permits provided for in this section will extend the validity of the residence or stay situation of which the applicant was the holder until the resolution of the procedure.
Once the highly skilled professional permit has been granted, if it is valid for more than six months, the processing of the foreign identity card must be requested.
Permit validity
The validity of the residence permit for highly skilled proffesional will be three years, or equal to the duration of the contract plus an additional period of three months in the event that the duration of the contract is less than three years, and the validity of the authorization cannot be exceeded. of three years. During the sixty days prior to the end of the validity of the residence authorization, you may request its renewal for two years, provided that the requirements that generated the right are maintained, and you may obtain long-term residence after five years when the requirements are met. requirements provided for it.
Change of employer
In case of change of employer:
⦁ This circumstance must be communicated by the interested party to the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit in the terms established in the seventh additional provision of Law 14/2013, of September 27.
⦁ If the professional wishes to continue being the holder of the authorization, a new application must be submitted, granting an initial authorization with its full duration if the requirements to be considered highly qualified continue to be met.
⦁ Likewise, a new initial authorization will be issued in cases of company change when both entities belong to the same group.
⦁ Notwithstanding the above, if there is an absorption or merger of companies, the renewal of the residence authorization will proceed for the remaining validity period of the initial one, provided that this is proven in accordance with the provisions of article 44 of the Status of workers.
Permit renewal
Permit holders may request renewal for periods of two years as long as they maintain the conditions that generated the right. Renewals will be processed using electronic means. The General Directorate of Migration may collect the necessary reports to rule on the maintenance of the conditions that generated the right.
The submission of the renewal application will extend the validity of the authorization until the procedure is resolved. It will also be extended in the event that the request is submitted within ninety days after the end of the previous authorization, without prejudice to the initiation, where appropriate, of the corresponding sanctioning file.
In the event that the highly qualified professional notifies his dismissal to the Large Companies Unit and is entitled to unemployment benefit, the authorization will be renewed in accordance with the provisions of article 71 of the Immigration Regulation, approved by Royal Decree 557/2011, of April 20.
Relatives of the highly qualified professional
The spouse or person with a similar emotional relationship, minor or adult children who, depending financially on the owner, have not constituted a family unit by themselves, and dependent ascendants, who meet or accompany the highly qualified professional, may request, jointly and simultaneously or successively, the authorization and, where appropriate, the visa. In the event that the family members’ applications are submitted simultaneously with that of the holder, the authorization and, where applicable, the visa, will also be resolved simultaneously.
The assessment of the relationship analogous to the marital one will be governed by the provisions of article 53 of the Immigration Regulations.
