Spain: Stricter Requirements for Entrepreneur’s Act Applications to Increase Document Gathering Time

• Higher education certificates. Spanish authorities now require that higher education certifications (for instance, a university diploma) be apostilled according to the Hague Convention, or legalized (in addition to the sworn Spanish translation that was already required). Previously, they could be submitted without these requirements.
• Professional experience pathway. Applicants applying under a professional experience pathway must now include documentation issued by a social security/labor authority or other competent authority in their country of origin certifying the employment periods and the name of the employer. This document must also be apostilled according to the Hague Convention or otherwise legalized. It must also be translated into Spanish by a sworn translator. Previously, such applicants only needed to submit a letter from their employer certifying the work period.

These rule changes will increase the time it takes to gather documents for affected applications. Affected applicants and their employers should start preparing application materials earlier in the relocation process.

These new criteria – which come in the wake of management changes in the Large Companies Unit of Spain’s immigration authority – were applied without notice and without any apparent transition period.

Fragomen is engaging with Spanish authorities regarding whether pending applications submitted prior to the effective date of these changes must also include these documents. We will report on related developments.