Fast-Track Your Career
Move to Spain
Spain's Startup Law (Law 28/2022) created a dedicated, accelerated visa for highly qualified professionals, with approval through the specialised UGE-CE unit in as little as 10–20 working days. Artemis Law manages your application from offer letter to TIE card.
Is This Visa Right for You?
The Highly Skilled Professional visa is designed for university-educated or highly experienced professionals taking up a qualified role with a Spanish company or group.
Hired by a Spanish Company
You have a job offer or employment contract from a company established in Spain for a position requiring a university degree, master's, or equivalent professional experience.
Intra-Company Transferees
You are being transferred within a multinational group to its Spanish entity, as a manager, specialist, or trainee, under the group's existing structure.
Managers & Senior Specialists
You are taking on a managerial or highly specialised technical role at a company that meets minimum size, turnover, or workforce thresholds set by the regulations.
Family Members
Your spouse/partner and children can apply alongside you for residence authorisations, with full work rights for accompanying adult family members.
What the Highly Skilled Professional Visa Provides
Introduced under Law 28/2022 (the "Startup Law"), this visa streamlines the process for companies in Spain to hire highly qualified non-EU talent. Unlike the standard work permit process, applications go through the UGE-CE, a single, specialised unit that handles both the work authorisation and the residence permit in one combined procedure.
The legal maximum resolution time is 10 working days for highly qualified professionals and intra-company transfers, and 20 working days for related categories. This is far faster than the general work permit regime, which can take several months.
The initial authorisation is valid for up to 3 years (or the duration of the contract if shorter), is renewable, and permits the holder to work exclusively for the sponsoring company initially, with a path to switch employers or to permanent residency over time.
Family members benefit from simplified procedures too, and accompanying spouses or partners receive an independent work permit, allowing them to work for any employer in Spain.
Key Facts at a Glance
Requirements
All documents from outside Spain must be apostilled and officially translated into Spanish by a certified translator. Artemis Law coordinates with your employer's HR team throughout.
Employment Documentation
- Employment contract or job offer from the sponsoring company in Spain
- Description of the role, salary, and duration of the contract
- Evidence the role requires a degree-level qualification or equivalent professional experience
Sponsoring Company Profile
- Company registration documents and tax identification (NIF)
- Evidence the company meets size, turnover, or sector criteria where applicable
- Organisational chart showing the role's position within the company (for intra-company transfers)
Academic & Professional Credentials
- University degree or postgraduate qualification, apostilled and translated
- CV detailing relevant professional experience where qualifications alone are insufficient
- Professional accreditations or licences relevant to the role, where applicable
Identity & Civil Status
- Valid passport with at least one year of validity
- Passport-style photographs to specifications
- Marriage or partnership certificate and birth certificates for any accompanying family members
Criminal Record Certificate
- From every country of residence over the last 5 years
- Apostilled and officially translated into Spanish
- Same requirement applies to accompanying adult family members
Health Insurance & Social Security
- Public healthcare via Spanish social security registration once employment begins
- Private health insurance with full coverage for the period before social security registration takes effect, if required
- Proof of accommodation in Spain
Hiring or relocating as a skilled professional?
Book a consultation with Pina to confirm your eligibility for the fast-track route.
Book Your ConsultationOur Process
From confirming eligibility to collecting your TIE card, Artemis Law works alongside you and your employer's HR or legal team at every step.
Eligibility & Strategy Consultation
We review your role, contract, and qualifications to confirm eligibility under the UGE-CE fast-track and identify any gaps before the application is filed.
Document Checklist & Employer Coordination
Artemis Law provides a checklist for both you and your sponsoring company, and liaises directly with HR or in-house legal teams to gather company-side documentation.
Document Review & Apostille Coordination
We verify every document meets UGE-CE standards, ensuring qualifications and certificates are correctly apostilled and translated before submission.
UGE-CE Application Submission
We submit the combined work and residence authorisation application to the UGE-CE, tracking the case through its 10–20 working day resolution window.
Visa Collection & Travel to Spain
Once approved, we guide you through collecting the visa at the relevant Spanish consulate (if applying from abroad) and your arrival arrangements.
TIE Registration & Family Permits
We assist with your TIE biometric appointment, social security registration, and parallel applications for accompanying family members.
Highly Skilled Professional Visa vs General Work Permit
The UGE-CE fast-track route differs substantially from Spain's standard employer-sponsored work permit.
| Criteria | Highly Skilled Professional (Startup Law) | General Work Permit |
|---|---|---|
| Processing authority | UGE-CE (centralised, Madrid) | Provincial immigration offices |
| Legal resolution time | 10–20 working days | Often 3–6 months or more |
| Eligible roles | Highly qualified / managerial / intra-company transfer | Any role with an approved job offer |
| Labour market test | Not required | Often required (situación nacional de empleo) |
| Initial validity | Up to 3 years | Typically 1 year, renewable |
| Family work rights | Independent work permit for spouse/partner | Family reunification with separate application |
| Employer flexibility | Tied to sponsor initially, can modify later | Tied to sponsor and authorised role |
| Best for | Multinational hires, transfers, senior specialists | Standard local employment contracts |
Not sure if your role qualifies for the fast-track unit? Pina can review your contract and confirm eligibility before you commit to a route.
Why Work with Pina
Artemis Law is a boutique immigration law practice founded in September 2020, led personally by Pina Espinoza. With 10 years of experience exclusively in Spanish immigration law, Pina has supported professionals and the HR teams of companies of all sizes through Spain's residency and work authorisation system.
Pina is a dual-qualified lawyer in both Spain and Germany and works fluently with international HR departments, in-house counsel, and relocation teams, coordinating efficiently to meet the UGE-CE's tight 10–20 day resolution windows.
Whether you are an individual professional with a job offer in hand, or a company relocating multiple employees to Spain, Artemis Law provides the same direct, hands-on attention to every case.
- Dual-qualified lawyer in Spain and Germany, with 10 years in Spanish immigration law
- Direct experience with UGE-CE applications and fast-track timelines
- Comfortable liaising with international HR and legal teams
- Fluent in Spanish, English, and German
- Based in Barcelona, serving all of Spain and the islands
- Transparent pricing and clear timelines from day one
"There Is No Lawyer More Eloquent Than the Heart."
Sylvain Maréchal, 1788. The guiding principle of Artemis Law
What Clients Say
Trusted by professionals and the companies that hire them.
"Pina is the best immigration lawyer I have ever met. She is highly knowledgeable in her field of expertise and can navigate even the most complicated of immigration processes with great ease."
"Pina assisted me with my son's student visa to study abroad. She is an excellent communicator as exhibited by her timely responses and her thorough and clearly written emails."
Dozens of families and professionals have shared their experience of working with Pina. Read their reviews directly on Google.
Transparent Pricing.
No Hidden Costs.
Artemis Law provides a personalised quote at the outset of every engagement, whether you are an individual applicant or a company sponsoring multiple employees.
Our fees reflect the precision required for UGE-CE applications, where missing or incorrect documentation can result in a request for further information that delays the otherwise rapid timeline.
Government fees, apostille costs, and certified translation fees are separate and vary by document and country of origin.
Included in Our Legal Fee
- Eligibility assessment for the UGE-CE fast-track route
- Coordination with your employer's HR or legal team
- Personalised document checklist for applicant and sponsor
- Review and quality-check of every document before submission
- Preparation and submission of the combined work and residence application
- Tracking through the UGE-CE's 10–20 day resolution window
- Support for accompanying family member applications
- TIE registration and social security guidance on arrival
- Direct, personal access to Pina throughout the entire process
Ready to start your role in Spain?
Book a consultation and we will guide the authorisation from start to finish.
Book Your ConsultationCommon Questions
Ready to Make
Your Move to Spain?
Book a consultation with Pina to confirm your eligibility for the fast-track route and get a clear plan and timeline for your application.
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