Who can work as an agent in Spain

Spain does not ask agents for a national licence, but it does ask every foreigner for the right to live and work here. Your nationality decides your route. This lesson explains each route in plain words, and what you must never do while you wait.

First, an NIE is not a permit

Every foreigner who works, buys or does business in Spain needs an NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero). It is a personal identification number for tax, contracts and Social Security. The Ministry of the Interior is clear: it identifies you, but it is not a residence or work permit.

In Spain you apply on form EX-15 at a police station or foreigners’ office, with an appointment, your passport and the fee on form 790 code 012 (€9.84 according to Universidad Autónoma de Madrid). From abroad, you apply at a Spanish consulate. Many non-EU workers find the NIE already printed on their work visa.

Route 1: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

If you hold a passport from an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you can work in Spain as an employee or as self-employed, with no work permit.

1. Arrive and start looking for work or clients.
2. If you stay more than three months, register in person at the foreigners’ office or police station of your province. Royal Decree 240/2007 sets this duty.
3. The Ministry of the Interior says the registration certificate is issued on the spot and shows your NIE.

Route 2: non-EU nationals as employees

If an agency wants to hire you from outside the EU, it applies for an initial residence and work permit for you. The rules come from Organic Law 4/2000 and its new regulation, Royal Decree 1155/2024, in force since 20 May 2025.

According to the Ministry of Inclusion’s information sheet:

• The job must be on the quarterly list of hard-to-fill occupations, or the employer must show it could not fill the post locally, including by posting the offer on the public jobs portal.
• The contract must guarantee work for the life of the permit.
• The decision is due within three months. Silence means refusal.
• Once approved, you apply for the visa at the consulate within one month, enter Spain, register with Social Security and apply for your foreigner identity card (TIE).

Be realistic. Check whether the job appears on the current list for the province. If it does not, the employer must first prove it could not hire locally, which adds time. Ask early whether the agency will really sponsor you.

Route 3: non-EU nationals as self-employed

You can also apply for a residence and self-employment permit to work as an autónomo agent. The Ministry’s sheet asks for:

• The licences your activity needs (in some regions, that means the agents’ register in lesson 3).
• Proof of your qualifications or experience.
• Proof that your planned investment is enough, for example a viability report from a self-employed association.
• No criminal record.

You apply in person at the Spanish consulate where you live. The first permit lasts one year and is limited to one region and one sector.

A note for British agents

Since 1 January 2021, UK nationals are non-EU citizens in Spain. As visitors they can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area, and they cannot work on that basis. A British agent needs one of the non-EU routes above.

Company routes

Some agents set up their own agency as a company, usually a limited company (SL). A company does not give you a right to work by itself. If you are non-EU, you still need a residence permit that allows you to run that business. Talk to an immigration lawyer before you invest.

What is not allowed

• Working on a tourist stay. Showing villas “on commission” while you visit is illegal work, even if paid in cash.
• Starting before the permit and visa are granted. An agency that asks you to “start now, papers later” is putting you at risk.
• Treating the NIE as a permit. It is not.
• Promising clients a visa through property. The golden visa for property purchases ended on 3 April 2025 (La Moncloa).

Your quick check

You are	You need
EU, EEA or Swiss	NIE and registration certificate after three months
Non-EU, hired by an agency	Employee residence and work permit, visa, TIE
Non-EU, self-employed	Self-employment residence and work permit, visa, TIE

Immigration rules move fast, so check the official source before you act. Practise these points in Spain rules training, and read the full guide to becoming an agent in Spain.

This lesson is general information, not legal or immigration advice.