Guide to a job-seeking residence permit (Permiso de residencia para la búsqueda de trabajo)

Are you thinking about studying in Spain and want to start work there after graduation? Are you finishing your studies in Spain and wish to stay longer to look for jobs? If you are having these thoughts, this article is for you. We will be talking about the job-seeking residence permit, a useful residence permit type that can grant you to stay another year after graduation to look for jobs.

1. What is a job-seeking residence permit?

2. Can I work while I am holding a job-seeking visa?

3. Requirements to apply for the job-seeking residence permit

4. The application processes

5. Advice from Adeslas

1. What is a job-seeking residence permit?

As the name indicates, it´s a residence permit that can allow the expat student to stay another year in Spain. It's also called a job-seeking visa. This residence type has a lot of benefits for expats:

• With an extra year of legal stay, you can have more time to concentrate on hunting for jobs without having to invest in the country.
• Like a student visa, with this residence permit, you can keep your spouses or children and have them legally be with you in Spain if they have already accompanied you during your stay as a student.
• The application can be done completely online, making it much easier for expats.
• The application process is really fast, taking a minimum of 20 days to obtain the resolution result.
• If you find a job during this time, the company can start to offer a normal working permit if they want to sponsor you. This is especially beneficial because you don't need to fulfill the original requirement of already residing for 3 years in Spain. For those who come to study a one-year master's program, this is one of the best solutions to later work in the country with a legal working permit.

Unfortunately, the answer is no. But let me explain why:

This is a non-lucrative visa, meaning that you cannot earn money in Spain with this visa. But this visa is a bridge for you to get a working permit, an opportunity offering you extra time to look for a job. Once you get a job, your company will need to help you start the legal procedure to obtain a working permit.

3. Requirements to apply for the job-seeking residence permit

• The first requirement is that you must have finished your studies.
  • The studies need to have a minimum level of 6 (equivalent to a bachelor's degree), and it can also be a master's degree, which is level 7, or a doctorate or Ph.D., level 8.
  • Therefore, a language course in a language academy will not be enough in this sense.
• Private medical insurance with full coverage in the national territory:
  • This is a requirement that guarantees your health is taken care of during your stay in Spain. Our Expat insurance can fulfill all the visa and residence permit requirements. We are the official international department, a whole English-speaking support team of SegurCaixa Adeslas.
• Enough financial resources to stay in the country: You need to have a deposit equal to 12*IPREM to show that you have sufficient financial resources to live in the country, about€6500-7000 in your Spanish bank account.
• Foreign students have about 5 months to submit the application: starting from 60 days before their student authorization expires or until 90 days after the expiration date.
• Your university should be on the list!: Not all university graduates are allowed to apply for a residence permit. You need to check if your current university or the university you are planning to study at is included in the list.

4. The application processes

• To make the application online, you need to first obtain a digital certificate.
• After obtaining the digital certificate, you can submit the necessary documents to the MECURIO platform. Be aware that you should submit the documents within the required period: starting from 60 days before the expiration date of your TIE/NIE card and until 90 days after the expiration date.
• After getting a favorable response, you can make an appointment to again take your fingerprint like before. The documents you need to submit are:
  • Application form EX-01 (check the option ¨Titular de estancia por estudios superiores que cesa, para búsqueda de empleo¨): This is the application form for a non-lucrative visa, reaffirming that this visa type is non-lucrative.
  • Payment of the corresponding fee 790/012
  • Passport and NIE.
  • Your document of empadronamiento: The empadronamiento document is only valid for three months. Whether you have or haven't changed your residence address, you need to print out a valid empadronamiento document.
  • The document that certifies that you obtained a favorable response from the immigration office.

5. Advice from Adeslas

Here at Adeslas, we wish you the best of luck with your NIE/TIE renewal and return authorization. Note that Adeslas Expat insurance (health insurance) is the first health insurance in Spain that meets both visa and residence requirements. In Spain, it ranks as the best, safest, and has the highest satisfaction. We are an insurance company that speaks English. This is an NIE/TIE insurance that meets all the requirements. Come and talk to us if you are interested!

Check out this blog if you are curious about income tax:

• Guide to the income tax statement in Spain
• Guide on how to open a business in Spain
• Becoming a freelancer in Spain: visa options
• Can an international student earn extra money while studying in Spain?
• Job opportunities for expats in Spain

Our content will be updated according to the most recent legislation. Last update: 26/07/2023