4 Ways to Get A Job With The Student Visa In Spain

Many students choose Spain as their new residence country in order to study their degree, master or PhD Amazing people, a charming vibe, and delicious food. That makes for the perfect combination to study abroad. The thing is that many individuals while studying in the Spanish territory would also like to work, yet don’t know-how. But doubts are over. In this article we are going to go over the 4 different options you have to get a job with the student visa.

Work authorization granted while you study

The first option you have in order to get as a student may be the easiest one. That is because, in fact, you are allowed to work up to 20 hours per week or full-time provided that the contract is valid for a maximum of 90 days.

You can easily get an internship agreement with your University in Spain, and to even get paid for those hours you will be working.

In terms of the legal procedure to be followed, it will be the company that hires you the one in charge of initiating the process in the corresponding regional government.

Get a job offer as a highly qualified worker

We will now cover the different options that you will have as a student once you have finished your studies. This path is for those who have been studying in the country for just one year.

As you may know, obtaining a work permit in Spain can be really difficult. That is why coming from a student visa, things get much easier.

In this case, you can start working in the country provided that you find a job offer as a highly skilled worker. What does this exactly mean? That, in order for the job offer to be valid, it must meet the following requirements:

• The salary you will earn is above 45.000€ per year
• The position you are offered is as a manager or is a technical position

If you manage to get a job offer that fulfills both conditions, you will be able to easily change your student visa to a work permit at the Big Business Unit and Strategic Sectors of Spain.

Obtaining a regular work permit with the student visa

Let’s suppose that you don’t manage to get a highly qualified offer or that the salary you strive for is lower than the previously mentioned amount. Then, a regular work permit will be the solution. Nevertheless, we find a positive and a negative issue here. On the one hand, in order to go from student visa to work permit, you must have been studying in Spain for a minimum of three years in the country. 

On the other hand, the main upside of applying for the work authorization with the student visa is that the national situation of unemployment will not be considered.

When you apply for a regular work permit in Spain from your country of origin, you must make sure that the concrete job position you are applying to is inside a shortage list defined by the government. If the list does not contain it… you simply can’t get the permit. But with the student visa, all jobs will be valid.

Furthermore, this path is also valid not only for those wanting to enter into an already established company but also for those wishing to start their new company and work on their own project in Spain.

Residence permit for students who look for a job

And what happens for those who haven’t found any job offer? Do they have to leave the country once they finish their studies? The answer is no. At the end of 2018, the Government approved a new law for students who would like to look for a job in Spain or to start a new company. This law grants a residence permit that allows them to stay one additional year in order to achieve that.

In order to get this extension, there are four requirements to be met:

• Demonstrate the possession of 7.000€ in a bank account
• Having a medical insurance in Spain with full coverage
• Passing the last course at the university or school
• The job position that the student is searching must be regarded as a highly qualified one. For those who want to start their own company, they just need to make sure that the project is innovative and that it creates employment in the country.

As this permit is really new, many students have questions regarding their specific situation. That is why, in this case, the advice is to trust reliable immigration lawyers, like Balcells Group, so they can manage the whole process for you.