Please see the “Types of Visas” section for requirements that apply to all visa applications, as well as a simple overview of the aspects of each specific visa.
There is no specific visa for coming to Spain to seek employment. If you would like to do so, however, and you are a non-EU citizen, the simple tourist visa will give you 90 days to apply for positions and interview. Please refer to the “You want to go on reconnaissance” section. If you are fortunate enough to find a job and receive an offer of employment, you will complete the process for the work visa by submitting the official job offer document, criminal record (lack of) from your home country and a health certificate. Once the work visa is approved (by your home country’s consulate) you will have to go home to retrieve it in person and then fly back to Spain to begin work.
If you plan on staying for a period longer than 3 months, you will require both a national visa and a residency permit/card (Tarjeta de Residencia). You should apply for this card within 30 days of arriving in the country (please refer to our section “NIE and Residency”). If you are moving of your own accord and wish to seek out work, you will have to process all the paperwork yourself, as opposed to having the luxury of your company handling all the tedious logistics.
Again, you will have to apply for a visa in your home country/current country of residence (allowing up to 3 months for the paperwork to process) and submitting the Visados Nacionales form, specifically for work and residence (trabajo y residencia). Since you will be self-employed, it is important to select the “Residence-Self-employed” box in Section 20 of the form.
Please note this process will be time-consuming (can take up to 6 months) and require a great deal of patience on your part.
Forms and detailed explanations of the process can be found on the Spanish Ministry website.
