Moving to Spain for work: the steps in the right order

Moving to Spain for work usually succeeds or fails before you leave – on the order of the steps. Arrive without a job and you are looking for work and a flat at the same time. Arrive with a contract and you already hold the key document for landlords, authorities and social security.

This guide is the sequence, from the decision to the health card. What the law says in detail – contracts, pay, tax – is in our guide to working in Spain and in the articles linked at the end.

1. Check your right to work

Citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland can move and start work without a permit. Everyone else – including UK citizens who were not living in Spain before 2021 – needs residence and work authorisation before taking a job. For a job with a Spanish employer, the employer applies at the immigration office of the province where you will work; you then apply for the visa at the Spanish consulate. Plan for this before anything else: you cannot sort it out after arrival.

2. Choose the region

• Year-round or seasonal? Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia are the country's three largest cities and hire all year. On the islands, much depends on tourism – with different peaks: in August 2025 the Balearic Islands were the leading destination for international tourists, in January 2026 the Canary Islands.
• Which language? In Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencia region, Catalan (or Valencian) is an official language alongside Spanish. Spanish is enough for paperwork; for public-sector jobs there, often not.
• Island or mainland? EU citizens registered on the Balearic or Canary Islands get 75% off scheduled flights and ferries to the mainland and between islands (Royal Decree 1316/2001).

3. The job – from home

Apply before you move. Landlords ask for an employment contract, and for EU citizens a job is one of the accepted grounds for registering. In the interview, ask for the gross annual salary (pay is often quoted in 14 payments), which collective agreement applies, and whether accommodation is included and what it costs. Get the offer in writing before you hand in your notice at home.

Besides Vokaro, the EU's EURES portal lists vacancies across Europe, including Spain, and offers advice on working abroad.

4. The flat

• Expect landlords to ask for a contract, payslips and a deposit. Never pay a deposit or reservation fee for a flat you have not seen.
• Get bills, deposit and notice period written into the rental contract. You will need the contract – or the consent of the person you live with – to register at the town hall.
• Barcelona and many other Catalan municipalities have been declared stressed housing markets under the 2023 Housing Act since March 2024; new rental contracts there are subject to rent limits.
• A job with staff accommodation solves the hardest problem of the first months – check whether anything is deducted from pay, and get it into the contract.

5. Register in Spain

1. 01Empadronamiento: register on the population register of the municipality where you live – compulsory for anyone living in Spain (art. 15 of Law 7/1985).
2. 02EU registration certificate: within three months of arrival, in person at the immigration office or police in your province. It costs €12.00 and shows your NIE number. Non-EU citizens get a TIE card instead.
3. 03Social security number (NUSS): apply yourself, for example through Import@ss. Your employer registers you for the job before your first day.
4. 04Health card: from your region's health service, usually at your local health centre – with your padrón certificate and once your employer has registered you.
5. 05Bank account: an IBAN from another EU country is fine for your salary; a Spanish account makes rent and direct debits easier. Banks normally ask for your NIE.

Appointments at immigration offices are the real bottleneck in many provinces. Book as soon as you have an address and a contract, not when you need the document.

6. Tax in the year you move

Spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year – or have the centre of your economic interests here – and you are tax resident (art. 9 of the income tax act). If you have income in two countries in the year you move, get advice for both tax returns.

If you were not tax resident in Spain in the previous five years, you can opt into the special regime for new arrivals (art. 93, the “Beckham law”). The deadline matters: six months from the start of your job. How it works and when it pays off is explained in our guide to working in Spain.

7. Pensions, health cover and qualifications

Within the EU, insurance periods from several countries are added together when deciding whether you qualify for a benefit (art. 6 of Regulation 883/2004), and each country later pays its share. With a Spanish employment contract you are covered by Spanish public healthcare through your employer's registration.

For most jobs, the employer decides whether your qualifications are enough. Regulated professions, such as in healthcare, need formal recognition first; for qualifications from other EU countries this is governed by Royal Decree 581/2017. Apply early – without recognition you may not practise.