Corporate Immigration: International Talent Mobility for Businesses in Spain

Corporate Immigration Spain: end-to-end management of work permits, visas, and international talent mobility for companies operating in Spain. The Spanish framework provides fast-track routes for qualifying profiles — ICT permit (Art. 73 Ley 14/2013), Highly Qualified Professional (Art. 71 Ley 14/2013), EU Blue Card (Law 11/2023 + Orden PJC/44/2026) — all processed at the UGE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos) with a statutory resolution period of 20 working days and no labour market test. The Golden Visa was fully abolished by LO 1/2025 (effective 3 April 2025) in all modalities. For companies, the critical compliance requirement is the Beckham Law (Art. 93 LIRPF): the Modelo 149 election must be filed within 6 months of the employee’s first Social Security registration — a deadline that, if missed, permanently forecloses the regime for the entire assignment. We coordinate the permit and Beckham Law election in every corporate immigration mandate. See also: digital nomad visa, immigration practice overview.

Attracting international talent is today a competitive factor for any company seeking to hire the best, regardless of nationality. Spain’s immigration framework offers multiple pathways, but navigating it effectively requires specialist knowledge: the rules vary by candidate profile, company size, function type, and they change regularly.

Work Permits in Spain: ICT, Highly Qualified Professionals, and Digital Nomad

Corporate immigration in Spain conceals bureaucratic complexity that many companies discover only when they have already committed to a key hire: unpredictable timelines, requirements that vary by autonomous community, and the threat of refusals that jeopardise strategic appointments. Errors in documentation or the choice of an incorrect immigration pathway can delay an executive’s onboarding by months.

Our team analyses the candidate’s profile, applicable regulations, and the most suitable pathway: ICT for intracompany transfers within a corporate group, highly-qualified professional authorisation for senior external hires, the digital nomad visa for remote workers, or the EU Blue Card for professionals with a university degree. We manage the entire process end to end.

Since April 2025, the real-estate route of the Golden Visa has been abolished by Law 1/2025. We advise on the remaining alternatives for investors: public debt investment, business activities of general interest, and the digital nomad visa.

Beckham Law and Tax Coordination for International Executives

For international executives relocating to Spain, we coordinate the immigration process with the Beckham Law special tax regime (Article 93 LIRPF), which allows qualifying individuals to pay a flat 24% rate on Spanish-source income for the first six years rather than progressive rates on worldwide income that can exceed 47%. Coordination with our tax planning team ensures the executive’s arrival is optimised from every angle. Entity management and international personnel mobility are two sides of the same coin: corporate structure conditions the pathways available for intragroup transfers.

Regulatory Framework in Spain

The corporate immigration framework in Spain operates under: LO 4/2000 (LOEx, as amended) — the foundational statute governing foreign nationals’ rights and the administrative sanctions applicable to violations (fines up to €100,000 for serious infractions under Article 55); RD 1155/2024 (new RELOEX, in force from 20 May 2025, replacing RD 557/2011) — the updated implementing regulation setting out procedural requirements for each permit type; Law 14/2013 — which introduced the fast-track routes for ICT, highly qualified professionals, investors, and entrepreneurs, processed through UGE (20 working days vs 3–5 months standard); EU ICT Directive 2014/66/EU — transposed in RELOEX, harmonising intracompany transfer rules across the EU; Law 28/2022 (Startup Law) — which introduced the digital nomad visa and improved the startup entrepreneur authorisation; and LO 1/2025 — which abolished the Golden Visa (investor residence permit) in all modalities effective 3 April 2025.

Measurable Results

• Selection of the optimal immigration pathway for each employee or executive profile
• ICT permits via UGE resolved in 20 working days (vs 3–5 months standard route)
• Coordination with the Beckham Law special tax regime for international executives
• Family reunification managed in parallel with the principal permit
• Full post-approval support: NIE, Social Security, bank account, and renewals

Intracompany Transfer (ICT): The Key Instrument for Multinational Groups

For multinational groups with subsidiaries in Spain, the ICT permit is the most efficient pathway for the mobility of managers, specialists, and trainee employees. It allows an employee of a foreign group company to be transferred to the Spanish subsidiary with faster processing than a standard work permit (20–30 working days when correctly prepared) and a duration of up to three years (extendable).

The key advantage over a standard employed-worker permit is the absence of the national employment situation test: the company does not need to demonstrate the absence of qualified national candidates, eliminating one of the most frequent obstacles in ordinary permit applications. We manage ICT applications in coordination with our employment law and entity management teams.

Residency Alternatives Following the Full Abolition of the Golden Visa in 2025

Organic Law 1/2025, effective 3 April 2025, abolished the Golden Visa (investor residence permit) in its entirety — all modalities, including real estate, public debt, investment funds, and shareholdings. There is no longer any investor-residence route available in Spain. The practical alternatives for those seeking Spanish residency are:

Digital nomad visa (Law 28/2022): for non-EU citizens working remotely for foreign companies or clients. This has become the most accessible residency route for non-EU nationals with sufficient economic capacity. It requires evidencing minimum income (typically above 200% of the national minimum wage) and proof of a remote employment or professional relationship. A well-documented application can be processed in one to three months.

Entrepreneur visa (Law 14/2013, as amended by Law 28/2022): for those relocating to Spain to develop an innovative business project, assessed positively by ENISA or another accredited body. Substantively different from the former investor residence: requires developing a genuine business project in Spain, not merely investing capital.

Non-lucrative residence visa: for individuals with sufficient means to support themselves without working in Spain. Does not offer the Beckham Law tax advantages. We advise on the interaction between this visa and Spanish income tax, wealth tax, and non-resident tax obligations.

Beckham Law coordination for new residents: for those relocating to Spain for employment or to direct a company, the coordination between corporate immigration and the Beckham Law fiscal regime is the differentiating element of BMC’s advisory. We manage both processes in parallel, coordinating with non-resident tax and tax planning specialists.

Common Errors in Corporate Immigration Management

1. Starting the application without sufficient lead time. Work permits can take 45–90 days to resolve, depending on the competent authority and administrative workload. Starting too late forces contract extensions in the country of origin, changed start dates, and in some cases, breach of contractual commitments with the employee.

2. Incomplete or incorrectly formatted documentation. The UGE and regional Immigration Offices apply strict criteria on format, translation, and apostille. A police certificate without the Hague apostille, a payslip without official company letterhead, or a contract that does not expressly state the worker’s category are frequent grounds for a remediation request — adding weeks to the process.

3. Failing to coordinate immigration with the tax regime. The Beckham Law election has strict deadlines: Modelo 149 must be filed within six months of Social Security registration. Many companies process the permit first and only then consider the tax regime — by which time months have already passed since the employee’s arrival. Coordination from the outset between the immigration and tax teams is essential.

4. Confusing the EU citizen regime with the general regime. EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals do not need a work permit in Spain, but must register with the Central Register of Foreigners and obtain a NIE. Treating them as if they need a work permit incurs unnecessary costs and delays. Conversely, treating a third-country national as an EU citizen can create a situation of inadvertent irregular status.