ARRAIGO SOCIAL

Arraigo social with a job offer

What is arraigo social?

Arraigo social is a temporary residence and work permit that can apply those foreigners who have been living in Spain for 3 years continously, and currently don't have papers.

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

You must have stayed for a minimum of 3 years in the country contuniously. That means that if you have left the country and come back, your time starts back to 0.

Can I apply before 3 years if I have a job offer?

No, unfortunatelly even if you have a job offer you need to wait for the time of 3 years to be able to process your application.

When do I need to start the process?

The process starts exactly when you are 3 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 2022, then by 10th of January 2025 you can already process your arraigo.

What do I need to do before the 3 years?

Basically you will need to make sure you study the language and obtain language certificates and that you secure that an employer when you are 3 years will offer you a contract. There is not much more that you can advance.

If you have family member in Spain and you will have a job offer you will no need to provide any language certificate.

STEP 1 (interview process)

If you do not have a first degree family members in Spain (with papers already) the process starts by presenting the documents to have an interview to check that you are integrated and know a bit of the language. Most of the people pass the interiew so don't worry about it.

If you have family members you need to go directly to step 2 and you will not need to do the interview.

If you have family members but you dont have a job offer/contract click here

Documents required to start the process

The initial documents that you will need 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.)
Language certificates (or proof that you have knowledge of the language of your province + spanish)
Work contract (40 hours in one or several contracts. House or empresa)

What type of job contract do I need?

One of the main requirements if you apply for arraigo 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 30 but we always say as 40 because the minimum salary in the contract per year should be equal as 40 hours. In 2024 the minimum salary is 15.876€ brutos. So your boss can put 30 hours in the contract but anyway the salary will be as 40.

It can also be possible to present few contracts to achive the minimum salary and lastly it can also be possible to make a contract of 20 hours only if you have children in Spain.

In the following video we explain it.

The contract can be in a company or in a house. Both have the same chances to be accepted. The important is to prepare well the documents required.

Your boss can be foreigner or Spanish. The important is that they have legal residence in Spain (NIE). Doesn't matter if they just arrived.

Can I present more than one contract?

Yes we have applied with more than one contract (2 or 3) and it was accepted however we recommend applying with 1 or 2 bosses as is risky because the chances that one might back up during the process are high.

How can I prove that I have lived in Spain for three 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 3 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:

1. 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.

2. The foreign office allows you to have up to 120 days of no proven stay. That means what if in the 3 years there is 4 months that you dont have any evidence that you were here it they will still consider your application. Having said that, we strongly recommend to keep evidences of your 3 years in Spain by having at least an evidence per month that you were in Spain if you do now have padrón record.

What do they ask in the interview for the arraigo social?

The interview process is something that worries many of the applicants however it should not be. The interview will be carried out by the social workers of the municipality on the location where you live.

The first porpuse of the social workers that will do the interview is to check whether you actually understand and speak Spanish (and Catalan if you live in Catalonia) and they will find this out by asking you basic questions about yourself, your family, your hobbies, your personal details etc.. basic general questions that if you have studied the language for a bit you will know.

The second is to understand how you belong to the community. That is, these questions will mainly focus on what you have done in the last 3 years in the country and your current situation. All this to see if you can really benefit from arraigo. If you do not have a contract of employment, it will also be checked to see if you have sufficient financial means.

You can always asks us and we will explain you the most common questions thay they ask.

STEP 2. (Foreign office)

After you obtain the informe of arraigo social (result) or if you have a family member in which case you can start directly in this step the following thing is to present the documents in the Foreign Office which will be the ones that will finally study your application and give your result for the residence permit application.

The documents that you will need for the second step are:

Full passport (all pages)
Historico (proof of 3 years) updated (less than 3 months). 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.)
Informe (result) of the arraigo social interview from step 1.
Updated work contract/s (less than 3 months)
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)
  - Vida Laboral Empresa
  - 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 many hours of Language Certificate required for Arraigo?

At least 45 hours certificate of SPANISH and 45 hours of CATALAN. Kindly click here: Language Requirements for Arraigo to read further details on the minimum hours needed.

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.