ARRAIGO SOCIOLABORAL

Arraigo with a job offer

What is arraigo sociolaboral?

Arraigo sociolaboral is a temporary residence and work permit that can apply those foreigners who have been living in Spain for at least 2 years continously.

How long do I need to be in Spain in order to get social arraigo?

You must have stayed for a minimum of 2 years in the country contuniously. That means that if you have left the country for few months and came back, your time starts back to 0.

Can I apply before 2 years if I have a job offer?

No, unfortunatelly even if you have a job offer you need to wait for the time of 2 years to be able to process your application.

When do I need to start the process?

The process starts exactly when you are 2 years starting to count since you arrived to Spain. Generally we use the padron as a proof of your time in Spain. For example if you registered your padron in 10th of January 2024, then by 10th of January 2026 you can already process your arraigo.

What do I need to do before the 2 years?

Basically what you need to do is two things. 1. To make sure that you find and secure a job offer for the time that you will be 2 years.

2. Few months before you will need to start preparing your criminal records certificate to have it ready when you become 2 years.

Is there an interview for this arraigo sociolaboral?

One of the main differences for this new arraigo sociolaboral compared to the old arraigo social is that there is no need to do an interview or provide language certificates to apply. You will only need to have a work offer and then proceed directly to the foreign office. Again, good news as the process will be faster.

Do I need to study the language or do I need any language certificate?

The language certificates were required for the old arraigo social but with the current arraigo sociolaboral there is no need to provide language certificates but as we say it is always beneficial to study the language of the country where you live.

Do I need the conoce program in Madrid?

The Conoce program was a certificate that you had to obtain in Madrid to be able to get the informe of arraigo and then proceed to the Foreign Office. Now the process has changed and there is not need of the informe repport therefore you will no need to get the Conoce program and you will go direcly to Foreign office without any other previous requirements

How can I prove that I have lived in Spain for 2 years? How about if I have a gap in my padron?

The easiest and most common way is to do it through histórico empadronamiento that's why is very important that you register in the municipality in Spain as soon as you arrive so the time starts counting already for your 2 years.

If you do not have a possiblity for the padrón right away or there is a certain time that you are not registered in the padrón don't worry because:

You can show your flight ticket and other evidences that you were in Spain (money remittance, visits to doctor, visits to municipality etc.. and that one generally is also a valid evidence.

What kind of contract do I need?

One of the main requirements if you apply for arraigo sociolaboral with work permit is to have a job contract but how can you have a job contract if you dont have papers yet? well what you need is a job offer in which your employer or boss confirms that once you have papers will hire you so the Spanish Government knows that you won't be a problem in Spain because you will have a job and money.

Generally the contract that we present is indefinido (no ending contract) however it can also be possible to provide a temporary contract.

The minimum hours must be 20 hours per week but can be higher up to 40 hours. In 2025 the minimum salary is 16.576€ gross salary per year.

It can also be possible to present few contracts to achive the minimum 20 hours per week so it is possible to have different employers.

Can my employer be a foreigner or only needs to be Spanish?

The employer can be spanish or foreigner as long as they are residents in Spain and have proof of economical means to cover your salary.

Documents required to start the process

Documents that you will need from your side are:

Full passport (all pages)
Historico (proof of 3 years. You need histórico from each town you lived. If you have a gap in the padrón you need to provide further documents proving your stay)
Proof of other documents (medical records, telephone bills, money remittances etc.)
Work contract (20 hours at least in one or several contracts. House or empresa)
Criminal records certificate from the countries you have lived previosly in the past 5 years.

Documents of the company/employer.

If working in a house:

Declaracion de IRPF of the employer. If one employer does not have enough income is possible to attach the tax income of other employers living together. For example tax income of husband and wife.
Volante de convivencia or volante colectivo (it is the padron of the whole family) It will show how many family members are living in a given address.
NIE or DNI of the employer/s
Certificate of no debt with Social Security
Certificate of no debt with Tax Office (Hacienda)

If working for a self employed (autónomo):

DNI of the employer
Tax income report (IRPF)
Certificate of no debt with Social Security
Certificate of no debt with Tax Office (Hacienda)

If working for a company:

DNI of the administrator
Escrituras o poderes del administrador
Declaraciones de sociedades/IVA
Vida Laboral Empresa
Certificate of no debt with Social Security
Certificate of no debt with Tax Office (Hacienda)

How long is the process?

The total time depends on the province that you live (each foreign office has a branch in each province and their times are different). Generally the total process is around 6-9 months from begining until you receive your application result but that time can be longer if you are lacking documents or if the foreign office needs further evidences.

How long will be the residence permit?

The residence permit that you will get will be valid for one year since the aproval of your residence permit.

How and when can I renew my permit?

The residence permit can be renewed 2 months before expiration of your card and the main requirement is that you are working in that moment and that you have worked at least 3 months during that first year.

There are more options how to renew your papers but the advisable is that you work as much as possible during the first year so you won't have problems at renewal.

How much is the process?

The price depends on the province that you live, the steps that we need to do etc.. but generally the price is around 300€.

What includes our services.

Advising you about the process.
Preparing the application and documents for you and the company.
Presenting and tracking your application.
Obtaining the result and preparing all for finger print.

How to pass my documents?

We work nationally in all Spain so you can bring your documents to our office in Barcelona or send to us via email to info@msmlegalconsulting.es or via whatsapp.