Working in Spain: paperwork, contracts, pay and where the jobs are

Spain has one labour law but many labour markets. Contracts, the minimum wage, social security and income tax are set nationally and apply in Madrid exactly as they do in Tenerife. Job centres, health cards and residence registration, on the other hand, are run by the region or the town hall. And whether employers hire in January or in August depends on where you are looking.

This guide sorts out both: first the rules that apply everywhere, then the differences between regions. Each official step has its own article with the details; the official sources are listed below.

Who can work in Spain

Citizens of an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland do not need a work permit. An ID card or passport is enough to enter, and according to the EU's EURES portal you may stay for three months to look for a job or set up as self-employed.

If you work remotely for a company outside Spain, there is a separate route: the international telework visa created by the Startups Act (Ley 28/2022). Work for Spanish clients may make up no more than 20% of your professional activity under it.

The paperwork, in this order

1. 01Registration certificate (Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión): required for EU citizens staying longer than three months. You apply in person within three months of arrival at the immigration office or a police station in the province where you live. It is issued on the spot and shows your NIE number. The fee, paid with form 790 code 012, is €12.00 according to the Policía Nacional.
2. 02NIE without registration: if you need the number before you live in Spain – to sign a contract before moving, for example – you apply with form EX-15 for €9.84. It is only a number, not a residence registration.
3. 03Social security number (NUSS): you apply for it yourself, most easily through the Import@ss portal. The registration for your job, the “alta”, is done by your employer before your first day.
4. 04Empadronamiento: anyone living in Spain must register on the population register (padrón) of the municipality where they usually live – article 15 of the Local Government Act. Health centres, job centres and many other offices ask for the certificate.
5. 05Health card: once your employer has registered you and you are on the padrón, your region's health service issues the card – the TSI from CatSalut in Catalonia, the SIP card in the Valencia region, the IB-Salut card in the Balearic Islands, for example.

Non-EU citizens get a foreigner identity card, the TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero), from the police after arrival instead of the EU registration certificate.

Your contract: what the law sets

Since the 2021 labour reform, the open-ended contract (contrato indefinido) is the norm; a fixed-term contract needs a reason stated in the contract. Work that comes and goes with the season uses the fijo discontinuo – an open-ended contract with breaks, not a temporary one.

• Probation: only if agreed in writing. Unless the collective agreement says otherwise, at most two months, six for técnicos titulados, and three in companies with fewer than 25 staff (art. 14 ET).
• Working hours: at most 40 hours a week averaged over the year (art. 34 ET). The announced 37.5-hour week is not law – the bill did not get a majority in Congress.
• Time records: every employer must record when your working day starts and ends and keep the records for four years (art. 34.9 ET). That is your evidence for overtime.
• Holidays: at least 30 calendar days a year, which cannot be paid out while the job continues (art. 38 ET).
• Leaving: when the contract ends, the employer must present a proposed final settlement (finiquito); you may ask for a workers' representative to be present when you sign (art. 49 ET).

Pay: minimum wage, 14 payments, deductions

Spanish salaries are traditionally quoted in 14 payments: twelve monthly salaries plus two extra payments (pagas extras). €1,500 in 14 payments is €21,000 a year – €1,750 a month if spread over twelve. Always ask for the annual figure.

Two things come off gross pay: your social security share – 6.50% in total on an open-ended contract and 6.55% on a fixed-term one in 2026 – and income tax withholding (IRPF), which depends on your income and personal situation. The Spanish tax agency has an official calculator. Your payslip (nómina) must list every item of pay and every deduction separately (art. 29 ET).

Tax: when Spain takes over

You are tax resident in Spain if you spend more than 183 days here in a calendar year, or if the centre of your economic interests is here (article 9 of the income tax act). Your salary is then taxed in Spain, with tax withheld monthly by your employer.

New arrivals can opt into a special regime, often called the “Beckham law” (article 93 of the income tax act). If you were not tax resident in Spain in the five years before you move, you can choose to be taxed under the non-resident rules in the year you arrive and the five following years: employment income up to €600,000 a year is then taxed at a flat 24%. You apply with form 149 within six months of starting work, counted from your social security registration.

Language

Spanish (Castilian) is the official language everywhere. Several regions have a second official language: Catalan in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, Valencian in the Valencia region, Basque in the Basque Country and parts of Navarre, Galician in Galicia – as set out in article 3 of the Constitution and the regional statutes.

In practice, authorities, forms and contracts are in Spanish, and public-sector jobs in Catalonia, for example, also require proof of Catalan. In hotels, restaurants and companies with international customers, English or German often count for more. On Vokaro, employers explicitly mark roles where Spanish is not required.

Where the jobs are

• Cities: according to the official population figures for 1 January 2025, Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia are Spain's three largest cities – labour markets that hire all year round, in offices, retail, healthcare, logistics and hospitality.
• Tourism: in 2025 Catalonia received the most international tourists, followed by the Balearic and Canary Islands (INE, FRONTUR survey). There and on the coasts of Andalusia and the Valencia region, many jobs depend on hotels and restaurants.
• Summer and winter: in August 2025 the Balearic Islands were Spain's leading destination for international tourists; in January 2026 it was the Canary Islands. Their high seasons fall at opposite ends of the year.
• Tech: according to the park itself, more than 29,000 people worked at Málaga TechPark at the end of 2025 – a reminder that the coast does not live on tourism alone.

The main regions have their own guides – Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Málaga and the Costa del Sol, the Canary Islands, Ibiza and Mallorca. Each names the local job centre, the health card, the hospitality collective agreement and what is different there.

Seasonal or year-round

On the islands and the coast, the season shapes the job market. The Balearic statistics office shows how much: more than eleven times as many tourists came to the islands in August 2025 as in January 2025. Seasonal jobs are therefore mostly filled in spring and end in autumn – in the Canaries it is the other way round, with winter as the strong season.

The usual contract for seasonal work is the fijo discontinuo: the employment relationship pauses between seasons and the employer has to call you back. If you have built up enough contribution days, you can claim unemployment benefit during the break. If you want to settle, look specifically for year-round roles – the rent does not stop in winter.

What the regions run

Job placement and healthcare are run by the autonomous communities. You register as a job seeker with your region's employment service – the SOC in Catalonia, the SOIB in the Balearic Islands – while unemployment benefit itself is paid by the national SEPE. The health card is also issued regionally. The regional guides name the office responsible in each case.