Highly qualified professional permit and EU Blue Card in Spain

What this permit is called

In Spanish law it is called the autorización de residencia para profesionales altamente cualificados, the residence permit for highly qualified professionals. In English it is also referred to as the highly qualified professional visa or the work residence permit for skilled professionals. It is a single provision, article 71 of Law 14/2013, and within it there are two regimes: the EU Blue Card (Tarjeta azul-UE) and the national permit.

The difference from a visa is the same as for other routes. The permit is issued by the Ministry of Inclusion through its UGE-CE unit, then the consulate issues a national visa, and what makes you a resident is the TIE card, which you apply for once in Spain. If you are in Spain legally, you do not need the consulate: the application is filed from within the country.

What our support includes

• Case review: we choose the regime, EU Blue Card or national permit, based on your degree, experience, position and salary.
• Employer check before filing: whether the business is genuinely active and whether the contract and salary meet the threshold.
• Qualification: a degree with an apostille and sworn translation, or proof of experience if the degree does not qualify; homologation (official recognition of the degree) if the profession is regulated.
• Company documents and the MI-T and MI-F forms, filing with UGE-CE and payment of the fee.
• UGE follow-up requests: we handle them until the decision.
• Family in one application: spouse, children, dependent parents.
• Visa at the consulate if you are outside Spain.
• After arrival: registration with the Seguridad Social (social security), fingerprints, the TIE residence card.
• Taxes: the Beckham Law regime application (Modelo 149) on time, and tax filings by a licensed gestor.

We check the employer at the very start. In one of our EU Blue Card cases, the check showed that the company had almost no activity, and the application with that employer was stopped before the family spent money on documents.

EU Blue Card or national highly qualified professional permit

Both regimes give the same duration and the same speed, but their requirements and what they allow differ.

A simple rule: if your salary and degree qualify for the EU Blue Card, take it, as it gives you mobility across Europe. If not, the national permit covers the same needs within Spain.

Who it suits

The permit is designed for people hired by a company in Spain for a highly qualified position. In practice, these are most often:

Who it does not suit

• People who work for a company outside Spain. For remote work there is the digital nomad visa.
• People without an offer from a Spanish employer. The permit is issued for a specific position.
• Unskilled jobs: these require a standard employment work visa with a labour market test.

Salary threshold

For the EU Blue Card, the threshold is set by Orden PJC/44/2026 (in force since 31 January 2026): the gross annual salary must be at least 1.4 times the average annual salary according to the INE Wage Structure Survey. When INE publishes new data, the threshold is recalculated and applies to applications filed one month after publication.

The amounts are our calculation based on INE data for 2024 (average salary €29,540.26), published on 28 May 2026. Before that, from 31 January, the threshold was about €39,270 a year. We confirm the exact figure with UGE on the filing date.

For the national regime, the law sets no fixed amount, and the official Ministry of Inclusion information sheet No. 66 says the salary conditions will be specified in a separate instruction. The EU Blue Card threshold remains a good benchmark, and we check the salary for your case before filing.

For comparison, the digital nomad visa threshold is €2,849 a month, or about €34,188 a year, noticeably lower. But a digital nomad works for a foreign employer, while a highly qualified professional works for a Spanish one.

Employer requirements

The current wording of the law sets no requirements for the company’s size or turnover: even a small firm can hire a professional if the need is genuine. The labour market test, a search for candidates among Spanish and EU nationals, is not carried out for this permit.

• The company’s NIF and registered articles of association.
• A document proving the authority of the person signing the application.
• A signed employment contract or a firm job offer.

The company is checked once: after that it is entered in the UGE register for three years, with the option to renew. The company reports any changes within 30 days.

The main risk is not the formal documents but whether the employer’s business is real. A company with no turnover and no staff raises questions at UGE, so it is the first thing we check.

Taxes: the Beckham Law

A professional who moves under an employment contract can use the special regime for posted workers, the Beckham Law regime.

• Condition: not having been a Spanish tax resident in the previous five years.
• Rate: 24% on employment income up to €600,000 a year, 47% above that.
• Duration: the year of the move and the following five.
• How to apply: file Modelo 149 no later than six months after starting work, then the annual Modelo 151 return.

Six months to apply go by quickly, and a missed deadline cannot be restored. We calculate the benefit of the regime before the residence permit application and file Modelo 149 right after registration with the Seguridad Social.

Highly qualified professional permit or digital nomad visa

Documents

The official list is the Ministry of Inclusion information sheet No. 66.

• Form MI-T signed by the company or the professional; MI-F forms for family members.
• A full copy of your valid passport.
• A criminal record certificate from the countries where you have lived in the last 2 years, and a declaration of no criminal record for 5 years: how to get it.
• A higher education degree with an apostille or legalisation; homologated for regulated professions. Or proof of experience in the profession.
• Health insurance, if the job does not yet give access to public healthcare.
• Company documents and a copy of the signed contract.
• Proof of payment of the fee on form 790, code 038.

All foreign documents are filed with an apostille or legalisation and a sworn translation into Spanish.

For the visa at the consulate, additionally: a passport valid for at least one year, a criminal record certificate covering 5 years, a medical certificate, a copy of the UGE permit and of the contract.

If your degree does not qualify, that is not the end: the law expressly accepts professional experience. This is exactly how we obtained an EU Blue Card for a client whose degree did not qualify.

How the process goes, step by step

1. Case review and employer check

   We choose the regime and check your qualification, contract, salary and the company. Free of charge and before any payment: if there is no chance, we tell you straight away.

2. Preparing the documents

   Apostilles, sworn translations, company documents, MI-T and MI-F forms. We plan the order so that certificates do not expire before filing.

3. Filing with UGE-CE

   Online, for you and your family in one application. The fee is paid within 10 working days after the application is accepted.

4. Decision within 20 working days

   If UGE has not replied within 20 working days, the permit is deemed granted. If you are in Spain legally, your current status is extended until the decision.

5. Visa, if you are abroad

   One month to apply at the consulate, 10 working days for the decision, one month to collect the visa. You must enter Spain within three months of the visa’s validity.

6. Seguridad Social and the residence card

   Registration with the Seguridad Social within three months of arrival; for the first six months your passport is enough for it. Then, within a month, you apply for the TIE card; the card fee is €16.08.

Family

Permits are granted together with yours to your spouse or partner, minor children, dependent adult children who have not started their own family, and dependent parents. Their applications are filed at the same time as yours or later; when filed at the same time, decisions for the whole family are issued at the same time.

The same general requirements apply to family members: no criminal record, health insurance, documents proving the family relationship with an apostille and sworn translation. In one of our cases, permits for three people, the applicant, his wife and their son, were approved in one application.

Moving to Spain on an EU Blue Card from another EU country

• Business trips: the holder of an EU Blue Card from another EU country can work in Spain for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a Spanish permit.
• Relocation: after 12 months with an EU Blue Card in one EU country, or 6 months if there were several countries, you can move and apply for a Spanish EU Blue Card.
• You can work straight away: from the moment a complete application is filed, without waiting for the decision.
• Deadline: if you are already in Spain, the application must be filed no later than one month after entry. You need the EU Blue Card of the first country, a passport, and a contract of at least 6 months with a salary at or above the threshold.

Whether years in another EU country count towards Spanish permanent residence is covered in a separate article.

Why applications are refused

What happens if you lose your job

With an EU Blue Card you get three months to find a new job if you have held the card for less than two years, and six months if longer. If you do not find one, the card may be withdrawn or not renewed. A change of employer must be notified within 30 days.

Renewal and what comes next

• First permit: 3 years; if the contract is shorter, the term of the contract plus 3 months.
• Renewal: for 2 years, applying within 60 days before expiry; you can also apply within 90 days after expiry, but with a fine.
• After 5 years: long-term residence (permanent residence).
• Beyond that: Spanish citizenship on general grounds.

Frequently asked questions