Working in Spain after Brexit: what UK citizens need

Until the end of 2020, a UK passport was all you needed to take a job in Spain. Since 1 January 2021, UK citizens are treated like other non-EU nationals – with one important exception for people who were already living in Spain. This guide sets out which group you belong to, what you can and cannot do on a visa-free visit, and the routes that lead to a legal job in Spain.

Two groups of UK citizens

• You were living legally in Spain before 1 January 2021: your rights are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, and you do not need a work permit or visa to work. Your residence card is the TIE. The older green residence certificate is still valid inside Spain, but under the EU's Entry/Exit System it is not accepted as proof of residence at Schengen borders, so GOV.UK recommends exchanging it for a TIE.
• Everyone else – including people who moved after 2020 and those who have never lived in Spain: you need residence and work authorisation, and a visa, before you start work. The rules are in Spain's immigration regulation, Royal Decree 1155/2024, in force since May 2025.

The 90/180 rule is not a right to work

As a visitor you can spend up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period in Spain and the rest of the Schengen area without a visa; time spent on a residence permit or long-stay visa does not count towards it. Since 10 April 2026 the EU's Entry/Exit System records those entries and exits digitally instead of stamping passports. Next comes ETIAS, a travel authorisation for visa-free visitors that the European Commission expects to launch in the last quarter of 2026, for a fee of €20 and valid for up to three years. Neither of these lets you take a job: for that, you need one of the routes below.

Route 1: a job offer from a Spanish employer

1. 01The employer applies for your residence and work authorisation at the immigration office (Oficina de Extranjería). The job has to pass a labour-market test: it is met if the occupation is on the quarterly list of hard-to-fill occupations published by the public employment service SEPE; otherwise the employer must show it could not fill the post with workers already available in Spain.
2. 02Once the authorisation is granted, you apply for the work visa at the Spanish consulate – within one month, counted from the day after the employer is notified. In London, applications are handed in at the BLS visa centre. Expect to provide the authorisation, the contract stamped by the immigration office, a criminal record certificate covering the last five years and a medical certificate.
3. 03The visa is valid for up to 180 days if the authorisation is for six months or less, and for 365 days if it is longer.
4. 04After arrival, your employer registers you with Spanish social security before you start work, you register with the town hall, and you apply for your TIE card.

Route 2: highly qualified professionals and the EU Blue Card

For qualified roles there is a separate route under the Entrepreneurs Act (Law 14/2013). For the EU Blue Card, the gross annual salary must be at least 1.4 times the average gross annual earnings per worker published by Spain's statistics office INE (Order PJC/44/2026), with a lower threshold for certain occupations and recent graduates. You need a contract or firm job offer for at least six months. The authority has 20 days from electronic submission to decide; if it does not, the application counts as granted.

Route 3: seasonal work

Spain has a dedicated seasonal permit: valid for four years, it allows up to nine months of work in each calendar year (Royal Decree 1155/2024). As with any employee permit, the employer applies. If you are planning a summer job, our guide to summer jobs in 2027 has the timeline – start the conversation about the permit early, because the authorisation has to be in place before your first day.

Route 4: working remotely for a company outside Spain

If you work remotely for a UK or other foreign employer, the international telework visa created by the Startups Act (Law 28/2022) may fit. Self-employed applicants may also work for Spanish clients, as long as that stays within 20% of their professional activity. The Spanish consulate in London asks for income of at least 200% of the monthly Spanish minimum wage; ask the consulate for the current figure before you apply. Bear in mind that if you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain, you become tax resident here.

Route 5: language assistant

The Spanish government's language assistant programme places native English speakers in Spanish schools for a grant, not a salary. UK applicants have applied through the British Council, and non-EU assistants travel on a study visa rather than a work visa. The details, including what the programme pays and when the calls opened, are in our guide to teaching English in Spain.

Youth mobility: not a route yet

In June 2025 the Council of the EU authorised the European Commission to negotiate a youth experience scheme with the United Kingdom (Council Decision (EU) 2025/1286). Until such a scheme has been agreed and actually opens for applications, there is no youth mobility visa that lets young UK citizens work in Spain. Check GOV.UK for the current position before you plan around it.

Your qualifications

Since 1 January 2021 UK professional qualifications are no longer recognised automatically in the EU; each profession follows Spain's own rules. For most jobs the employer decides whether your training is enough. For regulated professions – healthcare is the obvious example – you need recognition before you may practise, so check early whether your profession is regulated in Spain.