Arraigo sociolaboral: which job contract counts and how to apply

Work-based settlement (arraigo sociolaboral) is the route to legal status when you have spent two continuous years in Spain and a company or private employer wants to hire you. The contract is the key: it must add up to at least twenty hours a week and respect the minimum wage or the collective agreement. Since the 2026 reform you can also work provisionally as soon as your application is admitted for processing.

It is governed by articles 126, 127.b) and 130 of the Immigration Regulation (Royal Decree 1155/2024).

Requirements

The general ones for any arraigo:

• Two years of continuous stay in Spain immediately before applying. Time as an applicant for international protection does not count.
• You are not an asylum seeker when you file or during processing, and you hold no other permit and have no other immigration procedure open.
• No criminal record in Spain or in the countries where you lived in the five years before entering.
• The fee is paid.

And the specific one: one or more employment contracts signed by you and by the employer.

Which contract counts

Article 127.b) asks for three things:

1. Pay: at least the national minimum wage (SMI) or the wage set by the applicable collective agreement, in proportion to the hours worked.
2. Hours: the contracts together must reach at least twenty hours a week.
3. Signature: signed by both parties. The start date is conditional on the permit being granted.

More than one contract is accepted in two cases: seasonal work, with consecutive contracts with different employers, and simultaneous part-time jobs for several employers (for example, domestic work in two or three households).

The article sets no minimum contract length, but a very short or implausible contract is a common reason for a request for further documents. The more stable and better documented the offer, the better.

What the employer must meet

The employer must satisfy the requirements of an ordinary hiring of a foreign worker, except the labour-market test, which does not apply here:

• Be up to date with tax and Social Security obligations.
• Have sufficient financial, material or staff resources for the business and to pay the agreed wage.
• Offer conditions in line with labour law and the collective agreement.

In practice, the Immigration Office (Oficina de Extranjería) looks closely at the employer's solvency. If you are being hired by a private individual or a self-employed person, prepare their tax returns and income evidence carefully before filing.

Documents

• Full, valid passport.
• Historical padrón certificate and other proof of the two years.
• Criminal record from your home country (or countries of residence in the five years before entry), legalised or apostilled and translated.
• Signed contract or contracts.
• Employer's documents: tax identification, Social Security registration and proof of solvency.
• Form EX-10 and fee receipt.

The detailed list and the current fee are on the arraigo sociolaboral page.

Steps

1. Gather your evidence of stay and request the criminal record early.
2. Agree the contract with the employer and collect their documents.
3. File at the Immigration Office of your province or online.
4. Once admitted, you receive a notice that processing has started. It must state that you are provisionally authorised to reside and work as an employee until a decision is made.
5. Decision: three months at most. No answer means deemed refusal.
6. If granted, you must be registered with Social Security within one month of notification: the permit only takes effect on that condition.
7. Apply for the card (TIE) within a month of notification.

Duration and what comes next

The permit lasts one year and allows employed and self-employed work, with no limit on sector or province. As expiry approaches there are two paths: extend the arraigo or, if you have kept working, move to an ordinary residence and work permit. Which suits you depends on your contributions and your job situation at that point; see my card is expiring: how to renew for the deadlines.

Common mistakes

• A contract below twenty hours or below the proportional minimum wage.
• An employer with debts to the tax office or Social Security: grounds for refusal even if you meet everything.
• Starting work before admission. The provisional authorisation arises with the start-of-processing notice, not with filing.
• The employer not registering you in the month after the grant.
• Filing with a live asylum claim.

Frequently asked questions

Can I work while my arraigo sociolaboral is being decided?

Yes, from the moment the application is admitted and the notice says so. It is a provisional authorisation to work as an employee that lasts until the decision. Details in working while your application is pending.

Does a domestic worker contract count?

Yes, provided it meets the proportional minimum wage and, adding contracts if you work in several homes, you reach twenty hours a week.

What if the employer backs out after filing?

Without a contract the application loses its basis. If you find another employer, raise it before the decision: depending on timing, it may be better to submit the new contract or to file a new application.

Can I change employer once it is granted?

The arraigo permit is not tied to a sector or territory, so you can change jobs while it is valid.

Who files, the employer or me?

You do. For arraigo the foreign national files; the employer provides their documents and signs the contract.

Your next step

Use the free test to check whether you already meet the two years and what is missing. If your employer is unsure what to provide, Resi explains it on the spot; and if you prefer, we get everything ready for you to file, or we file it for you.