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Highly qualified technicians and scientists hired by the Administration or by entities promoted or controlled by the Administration or professors hired by a Spanish public university:
The Council of Ministers Agreement dated 16 February 2007 approved the instructions that determine the procedure for authorizing entry, residence and work in Spain for foreigners whose professional activity involves matters of economic, social or labor interest, or related to research and development work, or teaching that require a high level of qualification.
These instructions apply to highly qualified foreign technicians or scientists hired by national, regional or local governments or by entities dedicated to the promotion and development of research promoted or controlled primarily by the former and foreign professors hired by a public university to whom any of the exemptions cited above apply.
The hiring entity or employer wishing to take advantage of this situation must submit the application for residence and work employed by others to the Secretariat of State for Immigration and Emigration's Office of Immigration, together with the contract or job offer, providing a descriptive report on the project or, when applicable, a certificate from the president of the university, or the person delegated for that purpose, regarding fulfillment of the established requirements and certification of the fact that the worker has the qualifications required to exercise the profession or an officially recognized degree, when appropriate.
The national nature of the employment will not be taken into consideration when granting the authorization.
Within one month of receipt of the resolution, if it is favorable, the foreigner must apply for the corresponding visa at the Spanish diplomatic mission or consular office corresponding to their place of residence, which will be resolved within ten working days.
An application may be processed at the same time for temporary residence authorization, with or without a work permit, for the family members of the professor, technician or researcher with whom they will be residing.
The family members include the spouse, their children and those of the spouse under the age of 18 or disabled and unmarried, as well as the ascendants of the worker and those of the spouse when under their care and there are reasons that justify the need to authorize their residence in Spain.
The hiring entity or employer wishing to take advantage of this situation must submit the application for residence and work employed by others to the Secretariat of State for Immigration and Emigration's Office of Immigration, together with the contract or job offer, providing a descriptive report on the project and on the company, entity or employer, as well as the researcher's résumé and certification from the authorities at the Ministry of Science and Innovation or the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade regarding fulfillment and justification of the established requirements, an employment contract or job offer and certification of the fact that the worker has the qualifications required to exercise the profession or an officially recognized degree, when appropriate.
The formalities are exactly the same as those described for the previous case.
For more information, access the Secretariat of State for Immigration and Emigration website (http://extranjeros.mtin.es), in the Large Businesses Unit (UGE) section.
In addition to the situation described in the section above, researchers may, in some cases, apply for a work exemption to carry out their activities in Spain. Although foreigners over the age of 16 to whom the community status does not apply will require the corresponding work authorization in order to conduct a compensated employment or professional activity, either self-employed or employed by others, Spanish immigration law offers certain exemptions from that authorization, some of which may affect certain groups of people who conduct research activities:
This situation must be certified by submitting the invitation or employment contract, signed by the legal representative of the corresponding entity, describing the project and the professional profile required to carry it out.
This situation must be certified by submitting the invitation or employment contract for teaching activities, signed by the legal representative of the corresponding Spanish university.
This situation must be certified by submitting the authorization from the Ministry of Science and Innovation or the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade to participate in the international scientific mission.
Civilian or military officials from foreign national administrations who come to Spain to conduct activities by virtue of cooperation agreements with the Spanish Administration.
This situation must be certified by submitting the certificate issued by the pertinent foreign National Administration and the justification of those aspects.
If not a resident in Spain, the foreigner must apply for the corresponding residence visa through the Spanish consular office corresponding to their place of residence, accompanying the application with the applicable documentation for each work permit exemption case. The consular office will verify the exemption and process the residence visa in accordance with the regulations for temporary residence permits, although in a shorter period of time.
If residing in Spain, the foreigner must apply for recognition of the exemption and indicate that they comply with these conditions at the Government Representation Department, or Government Representation Office for single-province Autonomous Communities, corresponding to the province in which the work center is located, submitting the certifying documentation. This situation will be considered rejected if the Government Representation Department or Office has not made a decision on it within three months. The corresponding Government Representation Department or Office may request any additional documentation deemed pertinent to certify that the foreigner is eligible for any of the work permit exemption situations, as well as any reports necessary from other administrative entities.
The validity period for the exemption will be the same as the duration of the activity or program carried out, up to a maximum of one year for the initial recognition, two years for the first renewal and another two years for the next renewal, if the circumstances for which the exemption was granted still exist.
The residence visa issued in these cases will include the initial residence authorization with the work permit exemption and it will take effect from the date on which entry is made, as indicated on the visa, passport or travel document. The worker must apply in person, within one month, at the corresponding office, for the foreigner identification card. Furthermore, once the visa has been collected, the worker must enter Spain while the visa is valid, within no more than three months.
There are to kinds of contracts of this type: to conduct a research project and to incorporate researchers into the Spanish Science and Technology System, described below. For more specific details, visit the Public Employment Service (INEM) web page at INEM in the employment / contracts section.
In the case of part-time research contracts, see the "Job Market in Spain" chapter.
Research personnel in training are protected by a special legal status. This statute covers research personnel in training at the university level who are beneficiaries of aid programs for scientific and technical training and specialization programs through, at least, the corresponding official doctoral studies.
Research personnel in training, in the programs included in the Registry, will have the right to receive economic aid. . Research personnel in training also have a right to the collaboration and support of the host entities, centers or institutions for the proper development of their studies and research, their integration into the entities at which they carry them out, as well as to participate in the statutes and government and representative bodies at the host universities and public entities. They may participate in complementary calls for aid to attend scientific meetings or for in-house training and improvement at other centers. They will also have intellectual property rights to the results of their activities.
Research personnel may fall under different legal statuses:
The participating entities must notify the general research aid program Registry of the aid programs included in this statute. These entities must designate a tutor (Doctor) to coordinate and guide the grant activities and ensure that the training program is carried out correctly. The grantee may not be required to perform any activity that is not related to their research. However, those who receive university grants may collaborate in teaching duties up to a maximum of 60 hours per year.
The entity providing the grant will have the obligations established for employers in the General Social Security Plan.
For Social Security purposes, research personnel in training who receive grants are treated in the same way as workers employed by others. They must be registered in the General Social Security Plan, which will cover them, and they may exercise all of the associated rights, except those related to unemployment coverage.
PFor more detailed information, see Royal Decree 63/2006, dated 27 January (published in the Official Spanish Gazette (BOE) on 3 February 2006) or visit the web page of the Official Spanish Gazette (BOE):
www.boe.es / http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2006/02/03/pdfs/A04178-04182.pdf
In March 2005, the European Commission presented the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers which aim to contribute to the development of an attractive European job market for researchers.
The charter and the code of conduct are recommendations from the Commission to the Member States, which are invited to apply the voluntarily.
The European Charter for Researchers is a collection of general principles and requirements that define the roles, responsibilities and rights of the researchers and the employers and fund providers.
The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, which is not much different than the standard rules governing contracts, stresses the importance of open, transparent recruitment processes and of diverse, experienced recruitment committees.
The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers and the European Charter for Researchers are available on the web page www.euraxess.es.
