Non-EU foreigners who travel to Spain can apply for a visa or residence permit for the purposes of employment, professional activities or job training relationship with a company or group of companies established in Spain.

There are two types of residence permit for intra-corporate transfers:

Type 1: Intra-Corporate Transferee European Union (ICT-UE) residence permit for managers, specialists and trainee employees.

This permit is granted to work as a manager, specialist and trainee employees for short trips from a company established outside the European Union to a host entity belonging to the same company or group of companies established in Spain.

The terms used above are defined as follows:

  • Manager: a person who has among his functions, the management of the company or a department or subdivision thereof.
  • Specialist: a person who possesses specialized knowledge related to the activities, techniques or management of the entity.
  • Trainee employee: a university graduate who has relocated in order to obtain training in the techniques or methods of the host entity and to receive a payment for it.

Holders of a valid ICT-EU residence permit, issued by Spain, may enter, reside and work in one or several Member States upon notification or request for a permit from the authorities of those States of in accordance with its regulations in application of Directive 2014/66 / EU.

The maximum duration of the transfer will be 3 years in the case of managers or specialists and 1 year in the case of trainees.

Type 2: National residence permit for an intra-corporate transferee:

This permit will proceed for cases that are not specified in the Type 1 category or once the maximum duration of the transfer foreseen in the ICT-UE transfer has elapsed.

The maximum duration for this permit will be 2 years or the duration stipulated in the renewable contract, whichever is shorter.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.