How to convert your non-lucrative visa to a work permit

It could seem tough to change a non-lucrative visa into a work visa. However, it’s not that difficult! This guide will assist you in choosing the best path and what you’ll need to get there.

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When you first enter Spain, the clock starts running on your non-lucrative residence permit’s one-year validity. After that, you must either renew it or convert it to another type of residence visa. The good news is that you can use a portion of these final months without earning any money to look for work within the country.

You must first decide which form of work permit in Spain you wish to apply for, as there are various types and application processes for each.

Switching your non-lucrative visa to a work permit is a good option for people who have saved up enough money to spend some time overseas but would then still like to work to support themselves or just work because you feel like.

• Selecting the path that works best for you can be challenging.
• Getting through the legal and bureaucratic procedures: obtaining a work visa for Spain is not a simple process and takes a great deal of patience.
• Comprehending the standards: it can occasionally be challenging to determine precisely what is expected of you and whether your situation meets the requirements.
• Ensuring the accuracy, preparation, and submission of your documentation.

It could seem hard to learn how to get a work permit in Spain because of these challenges. However, it is completely doable. This guide will assist you in choosing the best path and explain what you’ll need to get there.

In general, there are benefits for those who wish to obtain a work visa after already being in Spain on a non-lucrative permit. Here, though, it depends on the kind of work you wish to carry out.

If you chose to work as a self-employed, you have much more flexibility and can offset business related expenses.

Should you have a job offer to be on a payroll in Spain, you will have more stability as you can count on a paycheck at the end of each month.

The main advantage in such cases is that you can apply straight from Spain without having to go back to your home country.

There is no need to travel back and forth because you are in Spain for all of your possible appointments already. This simplifies the procedure significantly.

You need to obtain a job offer from a company in order to switch to working on the normal payroll visa.

One benefit of having previously been on a non-lucrative visa is that you won’t need to provide evidence that the position qualifies for one of the exemptions specified in Article 40 of the General Immigration Act (refer to our post for more details here).

As a result, switching to this work visa is simpler than it would be if you had never previously resided in Spain on a non-lucrative visa.

• A job offer from a Spanish company is required.
• The application must be submitted to the appropriate immigration office in your area; for example, in Barcelona, it should be submitted to the Department of Employment of the Generalitat de Barcelona. In Madrid, it should be filed with the Immigration office of Madrid.
• The Form Modelo EX-03, filled out by the employer who made an offer of employment.
• A complete copy of your passport.
• Copies of credentials that are relevant to your line of work:
  • If you are hired by an individual: a copy of their NIF/NIE and consent for the government to check their details.
  • If hired by a company: a copy of the company’s NIF, articles of incorporation (Escritura), NIF or NIE of the owner, a signed work contract, and the company’s tax return to demonstrate solvency.  

Explore our in-depth article “How to get a work permit in Spain” for additional details on this visa.

The application process for the highly qualified work permit in Spain is the same as if you had applied for it initially, the only difference is that you have to submit fewer documents such as no criminal record, as you already submitted that to get your non-lucrative visa.

The highly qualified visa also called the highly skilled professional visa, is a type of work permit that permits non-EU citizens to legally reside and work in Spain as long as they receive an offer to work as a manager or in a qualified or technical role in a Spanish company.

It is applicable to everyone with the required abilities and credentials. If you are currently on a non-lucrative visa and receive such a job offer, you may submit your application at any time.

Compared to a regular payroll visa, this kind of work visa has a significant advantage in that it is processed much more quickly because it goes through a different Immigration Office located in Madrid (called UGE) rather than the general Immigration Office of your province. Your application must be processed within 20 business days, which is far quicker than the three months it typically takes to process an application for a “normal” work permit. 

1. You must have earned a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree from an accredited university or at least three years of relevant work experience.
2. A job offer in an expert role or as a manager.
3. An annual salary of roughly 41,000 euros for experts and 61,000 euros for managers (always confirm the exact amount applicable at the time of application submission).

You must apply for this sort of work visa to the Unit of Large Companies and Strategic Sectors, which will assess your qualifications and the job offer.

Many jobs are deemed ineligible for the UGE-CE even though they meet the income requirements. Because of this, it’s important that you carefully review your application and supporting documentation.

To learn more about this visa, read our detailed article “How to get a highly qualified professional work permit.“

If you want to change your non-lucrative visa into a work visa and wish to work for yourself and be an independent contractor, you might consider changing your non-lucrative visa into a self-employed work permit.

The self-employed visa in Spain is known as “trabajo por cuenta propia” in Spanish and you would be employed as an “autónomo“.

If you plan to expand any business or activity that currently exists in the Spanish labour market, this is a suitable fit for you. This could include things that have a broad application, including coffee shops, accounting, and digital marketing. You have the option of starting your own company or working as a freelancer.

• You can’t have a criminal record for the last 5 years in your country of origin or the country you have been residing in.
• You must be 18 years old or older.
• You must have the professional required education and training that is necessary for the type of work you want to exercise.
• You must prove that the investment that you planned for your project is sufficient to support your business.
• The activity that will be carried out must fall under the social security scheme for self-employed workers.
• It must comply with the requirements established by current legislation for the opening and operation of the business activity.

You apply at the Immigration office where you reside, and then if the Immigration Office approves your application, they will notify you that you need to register in Spain as self-employed.

Your business plan, evidence that you have sufficient funds to finance the launch of your company, and your appropriate education and work history are three crucial components of this application.

Additionally, you must be able to prove that once your business is up and running, you will have customers. A few letters of intent from prospective Spanish clients attesting to the fact that they will retain your professional services once your permit is granted will serve as evidence of this.

For further insights on how to register as an “autónomo” in Spain, see our extensive article “How to get a self-employed work visa in Spain“.

Another good option for transforming your non-lucrative visa into a work visa is the Spanish start-up visa, also known as the Spanish entrepreneur visa.

You may be wondering if it is preferable to apply for a Spanish start-up/Spanish entrepreneur visa rather than a standard self-employment visa to obtain your work permit in Spain if you intend to launch your own business following your non-lucrative visa stay.

Below you can see the difference between a regular self-employed visa and a start up visa.

• For your business proposal to be approved under a start up visa, it must involve a significant technological component and have a great deal of room for growth and innovation.
• When it comes to the Entrepreneur visa application process, the government is more stringent and selective.

It can be challenging to comprehend the startup visa application procedure. It makes no difference if you have been to Spain before on a non-lucrative visa; the application procedure is the same whether you are already a resident without the right to work, a student, or a non-resident.

For more information on this visa, check out our comprehensive article “How to get the entrepreneur visa in Spain”.

Generally speaking, switching your non-lucrative visa to a work permit is easier than other initial visa procedures. You already have a residence permit in Spain and you are familiar with the immigration process in general.

Depending on the work permit you decide to apply for, you need to prepare the documents accordingly. The advantage of applying for a modification into a work permit after a being for 1 year on a non-lucrative visa is that you don’t need to go back to the Spanish Consulate in your country, and instead can file your application directly in Spain.

Feel free to contact us using the form below if you need help with your application. Our team of experts is ready to provide support and guide you through each step of the application process.

This article is written in collaboration with Mara Pelzer, a member of the Legal Support Team at Klev&Vera.