This Tuesday, 26 July 2022, or the following Tuesday, 2 August, the Council of Ministers will approve the new regulation on foreigners. It will come into force 20 days after publication in the Official State Gazette.

The preamble of the regulation explains that 50% of Spanish companies have difficulty in finding workers.

This law will affect and benefit those who wish to come to Spain to work and their families.

It will also benefit those who are in an irregular situation in Spain and non-EU students who wish to come to Spain to study.

It benefits them in that a Spanish company can make a contract for them directly in their country of origin.

This was the case before the economic crisis of 2008,

From now on, a very agile procedure is established so that the company that needs to fill a job can make a contract in the country of origin.

From our office, we will also create a job exchange on our own website through which those who want to come to Spain to work can offer themselves and offer themselves, so that companies can access the data of people and can contact them.

With regard to those who are in their country of origin and want to come to Spain to work and live by creating a business activity, it is very important to know that the entire procedure for creating a business activity, either as a self-employed person or by setting up a company, has been modified.

The new regulations benefit people who want to come to Spain to create their own business activity because, since its approval, it will not be necessary to have a large economic investment. From now on, it will not be necessary to create jobs.

Anyone interested in becoming self-employed in Spain will be able to do so by simply creating their own job.

It favours them in several aspects:

– One of them is the fact that instead of three years, with two years of demonstrable irregular stay, this person can have access to social roots, in this case it would be roots through training, by committing to take a training course, a course that is recognised by the Ministry of Education. In this case, he/she would be allowed to stay in Spain for a year without work, as he/she would be a student.

Once he has passed the course, he could apply for a residence permit for two years. He could even apply for it on his own account. As Villena underlines, this is a huge advantage for those who are in an irregular situation and want to enter the labour market.

– With regard to the social roots of those who are in an irregular situation, the new immigration regulations will change their situation.

The employment contract they provide does not have to be for one year full time, it can be temporary as long as the amount of the payroll is equal to or higher than the minimum wage, i.e. around €1,160.

– Another important modification is to be able to access regularisation by means of employment roots.

Those who have been working for six months in the last two years and who want to be able to access the “arraigo laboral” do not have to prove it with a labour inspection report. It can be demonstrated by any valid evidence, for example, Whatsapp messages from the employer, neighbours, even locals who have seen that they have been working for six months irregularly.

It is also important to prove that you have been self-employed for at least six months.

The third group that will benefit from the New Immigration Law will be students.

People who want to study in Spain, whether it is a higher degree or a master’s degree, will be able to do so while working up to 30 hours a week, almost a full day.

Let’s look at an example: a person who does not have the financial means to travel or stay, but who has the possibility of coming with a work contract, will meet the requirements to come to Spain.

The length of stay for study purposes is also reduced, as well as the possibility of changing it to a residence as an employee with a contract, or as a self-employed person, i.e. as a freelancer.

The obligation to stay for three years for studies in order to be able to change to a residence permit is reduced, with no time limit, i.e. the person who completes a higher degree or Master’s degree, always for more than six months, will be able to obtain the residence permit.

It should be noted that this work that the student is allowed to do is a job that can also be self-employed (as a freelancer), for example a computer scientist, someone who wants to come to study and carry out his or her own activity and obtain economic means.

The authorities expect that once the regulation is published and enters into force, there will be a flood of applications, especially from those in an irregular situation.

To deal with this situation, a centralised support unit has been created to provide services to the different immigration offices.

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