Highly qualified professional permit (PAC) and EU Blue Card in Spain

Is it for you?

This permit is for you if a company in Spain wants to hire you for a skilled role and you are not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen. It is governed by Ley 14/2013, Spain's Entrepreneurs Act, which fast-tracks international talent with much shorter timelines than the general immigration system.

There are two routes. Both are handled by the UGE-CE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos, the government's Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit):

• National highly qualified professional permit (PAC): valid for Spain. An advanced vocational diploma (Técnico Superior) or three years of equivalent experience is enough.
• EU Blue Card (Tarjeta azul-UE): the EU-wide permit for skilled work. It asks for more education and a contract of at least six months, but gives you advantages across the EU.

Which one suits you?

If you meet the Blue Card requirements, it usually gives you more. It can lower the salary you need. It lets you count years lived in other EU countries towards EU long-term residence. And after 12 months you can move to another EU country under simplified mobility rules.

The national PAC fits if your training is vocational, if you have experience but no degree, or if your contract is shorter than six months.

For example, if you finished your degree two years ago and the offer is €35,000 gross a year, the Blue Card with the reduced threshold could work. The national PAC would not.

Ley 28/2022 (the startups law) made this permit easier to get and extended Ley 14/2013 permits from two to three years. Then Ley 11/2023 moved the EU Blue Card into Ley 14/2013, which is why the new immigration regulation (Real Decreto 1155/2024) no longer covers it.

Working remotely for a company outside Spain? Then look at the digital nomad visa instead.

Requirements

What you need

• Not be an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, or a family member covered by EU free-movement rules.
• Be over 18 and not be in Spain irregularly.
• No criminal record in Spain or in the countries where you lived in the last two years.
• Not be listed for refusal of entry in countries that have an agreement with Spain.
• Public or private health insurance with an insurer authorised in Spain.
• Enough money for you and your family. Your employment contract usually proves this.
• Pay the government fee (tasa).

Education or experience

• National PAC: a qualification at least at level 1 of MECES (Spain's higher-education qualifications framework), which is a Técnico Superior diploma. Exceptionally, three years of comparable professional experience.
• EU Blue Card: a higher-education qualification of at least three years, at MECES level 2 (bachelor's level) or above. Or five years of comparable experience. For IT and communications roles, three years within the last seven are enough.
• If your profession is regulated in Spain, your degree needs official recognition (homologación).

Minimum salary in 2026

Orden PJC/44/2026 sets the threshold at 1.4 times Spain's average gross annual earnings, as published by INE (the national statistics office). Using the 2024 figure (€29,540.26), the UGE-CE published these amounts in June 2026.

The reduced threshold is 80% of the standard one. It applies if you obtained your qualification in the three years before applying. It also applies if the job is in groups 1 and 2 of Spain's occupation classification (CNO-2011) and on the official list of hard-to-fill occupations.

When INE publishes new data, the threshold changes for applications filed one month later. Check the current figure before the contract is signed.

What the company needs

The company does not have to be large, reach a minimum turnover or belong to a strategic sector. It does have to:

• Prove it exists: tax ID (NIF), registered deed of incorporation and the signatory's powers.
• Offer you a contract that complies with the law and the collective agreement (convenio colectivo), at the current minimum salary.
• If it files the application, sign it with its electronic company representative certificate.

Your family

Your spouse or partner, your minor children and your dependent parents or other ascendants can join you. So can adult children who depend on you financially and have not started a family of their own. They apply with form MI-F, at the same time as you or later.

Documents

What the UGE-CE usually asks for in the first application:

• Form MI-T, signed by the company or by you.
• A full copy of your valid passport.
• Criminal record certificates from every country where you lived in the last two years, plus a signed statement covering the last five years.
• Your degree, legalised or apostilled (and recognised if the profession is regulated), or proof of your experience.
• Health insurance, unless you are already covered by Spain's public health system.
• From the company: NIF, registered deed, proof of representation and the signatory's DNI or NIE.
• The employment contract, signed by both parties.
• Proof that the fee has been paid.

For the visa, the consulate asks for a passport valid for at least one year, a criminal record certificate, a medical certificate, a copy of the signed contract and proof of the visa fee.

Foreign documents must be translated into Spanish and legalised or apostilled, unless a treaty exempts them. The UGE-CE may ask for other documents.

Step by step

1. Check the offer with the company. Choose the route, check the salary and whether your profession is regulated.
2. Gather your documents. Order criminal record certificates, legalise or apostille your degrees and get sworn translations.
3. Online filing. The company usually files on the UGE-CE online portal (sede electrónica). The official information sheet also lets you file yourself or through a representative.
4. Fee. Paid with form 790, code 038, item 7.1, within 10 working days of the application being accepted for processing.
5. Decision. The UGE-CE has 20 days. If it does not reply, the permit is deemed granted (silencio positivo, approval by silence).
6. Visa. You have one month from the notice to the company to apply in person at your Spanish consulate. It decides within 10 working days, and you have one month to collect the visa.
7. Arrival. Enter Spain within the visa's three-month validity. The company registers you with Social Security within three months of your arrival.
8. TIE. Within one month of that registration, apply in person for your TIE (foreigner ID card) at the police.

Your family can apply at the same time as you. If you already live in Spain on another permit, talk to us first: your route may be different.

Costs and fees

Each family member pays their own fee under the same item. Add sworn translations, apostilles and, if needed, degree recognition.

Fee 038 amounts as shown on the EU Immigration Portal (European Commission). The official 790-038 form calculates the exact amount when you pay. TIE fees are set by Orden PJC/617/2025.

With us, you can start with a free call or a €50 personalised advice session.

Common mistakes

• Falling short on salary. What counts is the gross annual salary in the contract. With part-time hours, the UGE-CE still requires the full annual salary.
• Picking the wrong route. If you graduated three years ago or less, the Blue Card's reduced threshold may work for you. The national PAC has no reduced threshold.
• Degrees not legalised or recognised. In regulated professions, recognition is mandatory.
• Missing criminal records. You need a certificate from each country where you lived in the last two years.
• The wrong health insurance. The insurer must be authorised to operate in Spain.
• Missing deadlines. One month to apply for the visa, one month to collect it, and one month after Social Security registration to apply for the TIE.

Duration and renewal

The first permit lasts three years. If your contract is shorter, it lasts as long as the contract plus three months, up to three years.

• When: in the 60 calendar days before it expires, or within 90 days after (a penalty procedure may be opened). If you apply on time, your permit stays valid until the decision.
• How long: two years. You can renew again for two-year periods while you still meet the conditions.
• How: online with the UGE-CE, paying fee 790-038, item 7.2. The decision takes 20 days, with approval by silence.
• Then: apply for your new TIE within one month of the decision.

Lost your job? Under a June 2025 management criterion, you keep your residence while you receive the unemployment benefit you are entitled to. For the Blue Card, EU rules allow it to be withdrawn after more than three months of unemployment (six if you have held it for two years or more).

After five years of legal, continuous residence you can apply for long-term residence. With a Blue Card you can add years lived in other EU countries, as long as the last two are in Spain with the card. Your legal residence in Spain also counts towards Spanish nationality.

How we help

We are immigration consultants in Madrid. This is how we help:

• We review your degree, experience and job offer, and tell you which route fits best: national PAC or EU Blue Card.
• We check the salary against the current threshold and whether you can use the reduced one.
• We prepare the UGE-CE file with the company: form, documents and fee. If a licensed representative is needed to file, we work with partner professionals.
• We guide you through criminal records, apostilles, sworn translations and degree recognition.
• We support you with the visa, Social Security registration and the TIE appointment, and remind you about renewal in good time.

Start with a free call or book a €50 personalised advice session.