Residence permit for highly qualified workers. EU Blue Card

A residence permit may be requested for highly qualified workers if a company requires a foreign professional to enter Spanish territory for the purposes of a highly qualified employment/professional relationship, doing so under the terms established in this article. This type of residence permit will be valid throughout Spanish national territory.

Residence permit for highly qualified workers who hold an EU Blue Card

• Qualification stemming from a higher education programme whose minimum length is three years and which is equivalent to at least Level 2 of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education, corresponding to Level 6 of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning and Level 6 of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF).
• Or, alternatively, proof of knowledge, skills, and competencies backed up by a minimum of five years' professional experience that can be considered comparable to said qualification and which is relevant to the profession or sector specified in the employment contract or in the firm job offer.

In the case of information and communications technology professionals and executives, the minimum length of comparable and relevant professional experience for the required sector or profession is three years over the seven years prior to application for the EU Blue Card.

National residence permit for highly qualified workers

• A degree equivalent to at least Level 1 of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education, corresponding to Level 5A of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning.
• Or, alternatively, proof of knowledge, skills, and competencies backed up by a minimum of three years' professional experience that can be considered comparable to said qualification.

The residence permit's validity is three years (or equivalent to the length of the contract, plus an additional three-month period, in the event that the contract's length is less than three years). The validity of the permit cannot exceed three years.

The permit will be for a maximum term of three years, plus two additional years if the same requirements met when the permit was initially granted are maintained.

Long-term residence can be obtained after five years when the requirements established to that end are met.

• Proof of qualification comparable to at least Level 2 of the Spanish Framework as established in article 71.2 a) and, in the case of regulated professions, official recognition/validation of said qualification by the Ministry of Education.
• A valid employment contract or a firm job offer for highly qualified employment over a period of at least six months, guaranteeing the worker continuous work during the EU Blue Card's validity period.
• The conditions established in the employment contract must align with current regulations and the applicable collective bargaining agreement. 

The annual gross salary specified in the employment contract must not be less than a reference salary threshold that will be defined by law and will be equivalent to at least 1.0 times and at most 1.6 times the average annual gross salary.

Exceptions: As long as the contract complies with the collective bargaining agreement and the legal terms and conditions, the lowest salary threshold will be 80% of the threshold mentioned in the previous paragraph (provided that it is not less than 1.0 times the average gross salary) in any of the following cases:

1. For professions in which there is a particular need for third-country nationals who belong to groups 1 and 2 of the International Standard Classification of Occupations.
2. For third-country nationals who have obtained the qualification established in article 71.2 a) at most three years before applying for their EU Blue Card.

Maintenance of conditions: If the EU Blue Card issued during this period is renewed, the salary threshold will continue being applicable in the event that the initial three-year period has not yet ended, or if twenty-four months have not yet elapsed since the issuance of the first EU Blue Card.

Denial of the EU Blue Card: The card will be denied if the requirements established in this article are not met, or if the documents presented have been obtained fraudulently, forged, or altered.

Any company that wants to hire a highly qualified professional who meets the established requirements.

Residence permit: Provided the applicant is legally in Spain, they will obtain a permit to work and reside for a maximum of 3 years – limited to the type of highly qualified work.

Residence permit: If the worker is legally in Spain, the residence permit is requested by the company from the Large Business and Strategic Groups Unit (Spanish acronym UGE).