A seasonal work permit in Spain is a temporary residence and work authorisation for seasonal activities (autorización de residencia temporal y trabajo para actividades de temporada). It lets a worker from outside the EU live in Spain and work for a Spanish employer for no more than nine months in each calendar year, then go home. Under the current Immigration Regulation (Reglamento de Extranjería), one authorisation is valid for four years. The employer applies for it before the worker travels, and the worker comes back each season when the employer calls them. Workers are hired individually or in groups through collective management of hiring in origin (gestión colectiva de contrataciones en origen, GECCO), Spain's circular migration system, mostly in agriculture. You cannot apply from inside Spain. Everything starts with a real job offer from an employer who meets strict conditions on housing, travel and pay.

What a seasonal work permit in Spain covers

The Ministry of Inclusion information sheet on seasonal authorisations defines the holder as a foreign national over 16 who may live in Spain and work as an employee in a seasonal activity, for a maximum of nine months in a calendar year. The legal basis is the Organic Law on the Rights and Freedoms of Foreigners (Ley de Extranjería) and the chapter of the Immigration Regulation on seasonal work.

The main features are:

• Multi-year validity. The authorisation lasts four years, initially linked to a single employer. It stays valid only while the conditions that justified it are still met.
• Annual cap. Work in Spain is limited to nine months per calendar year, even if the season is extended or you change employer during it.
• Annual return. At the end of each season you must go back to your country of origin. The return commitment is a condition of the permit, not a formality.
• Annual call back. From the second year, the employer calls you back (llamamiento) for the next season under the same employment contract, as long as all requirements are still met.
• Employed work only. The permit covers work for the employer named on it, not for other companies, apart from the authorised extensions and changes of employer described below.

The contract used is a fixed-discontinuous contract (contrato fijo-discontinuo). This is a permanent contract under the Workers' Statute for work that is seasonal or intermittent: the job exists every year, but you are only active during the season.

Seasonal work versus other temporary work in Spain

Not every short job is seasonal in the legal sense, and an application filed under the wrong type of authorisation will fail.

• Seasonal or cyclical work is linked to the natural rhythm of an activity: harvests, planting, pruning, packing of fresh produce, or the tourist season in a coastal area. The work has defined active periods that repeat. This is what the seasonal authorisation is designed for.
• Other temporary work, such as covering a production peak, a fixed-term project or a replacement, is not automatically seasonal. A worker from outside the EU hired for that kind of job normally needs the general initial residence and work authorisation for employed work. The information sheet on the initial authorisation for employed work explains that route, covered in our separate guide on applying for a work permit.
• Stable jobs filled through hiring in origin use a different GECCO authorisation for stable migration. It is a full initial permit, not a seasonal one, even though it is processed through the same collective system.

Some consulates call the seasonal visa a temporary work visa for employees. Whatever the label, the test is the same: a seasonal activity, a fixed-discontinuous contract and a commitment to return.

The legal framework behind the seasonal route

Spain applies the EU Seasonal Workers Directive through the Ley de Extranjería and the Immigration Regulation. The new Regulation replaced the previous one and reorganised seasonal and circular migration. Three points stand out.

• A single four year authorisation. The older model, which included a residence and work authorisation of determinate duration often used for circular projects, has been repealed. Seasonal workers now hold one multi-year permit with annual call backs.
• Guarantees written into the Regulation. Rights that used to be repeated each year in the ministerial GECCO order, such as accommodation and travel, now sit in the Regulation itself. The annual order adds detail, including guarantees on accommodation for each season.
• A Supreme Court ruling on agencies. A judgment of the Supreme Court, published in the BOE, annulled the part of the Regulation that barred temporary work agencies from holding seasonal authorisations, authorisations obtained on a change of employer and authorisations within chained contracts. It also annulled the article making electronic filing compulsory for some groups, although the administration may still require it where justified. The rest of the challenged Regulation was upheld.

A separate royal decree amended the Regulation to make an extraordinary regularisation possible. It did not change the articles on seasonal work or collective hiring in origin. Because rules and forms change, always check the official information sheet and the Oficina de Extranjería before filing.

Who can get a seasonal worker permit

The worker must meet every one of these conditions, as listed by the Ministry of Inclusion:

• Be outside Spain and not living there. You cannot switch into this permit from a stay in Spain, whether as a tourist or without status.
• Not be a citizen of an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, or a family member covered by EU free movement rules. Those people work freely and only register.
• Have no criminal record in Spain or in the countries where you lived during the previous five years, for offences that also exist under Spanish law.
• Not be listed as inadmissible in Spain under agreements Spain has signed.
• Not be within the period of a non-return commitment signed after an earlier voluntary return.
• Not pose a threat to public order, security or public health, and not have any of the serious diseases listed in the International Health Regulations.
• Sign a commitment to return to your country of origin at the end of the work.
• Agree to follow health, internal and safety rules at the workplace and in the accommodation.
• Hold any certificate, licence, training or qualification the job requires, for example a licence to drive farm machinery.

There is no language test, no formal education requirement and no minimum salary set by the immigration rules beyond the pay owed under the contract, the collective agreement and the minimum wage rules. The decisive factors are the job offer, the employer's compliance and your clean record.

What the employer must guarantee

The employer carries most of the obligations. The Oficina de Extranjería checks them before granting anything, and labour inspectors can check them during the season.

The labour market test

The national employment situation must allow the hire. For the seasonal route, the employer files a certificate from the Public Employment Service confirming there are no job seekers available for the post. In the GECCO system, the annual order can forecast occupations so that this step is handled within the collective procedure. The catalogue of hard to fill occupations and the wider shortage picture are covered in our separate guide on shortages. Remember that demand for workers is not the same as eligibility for a permit.

The contract

The employer must sign a written fixed-discontinuous contract on the official model. It has to state the place and type of work, the length of the season, working hours and the start date. The employer must also state the planned activity period for the first year and any planned chaining of contracts. Under the Workers' Statute, the order and manner of the call back follow the applicable collective agreement, and a worker who is not called back can challenge this before the labour courts as a dismissal.

Accommodation

The employer must provide adequate accommodation that meets the applicable rules and health recommendations and guarantees habitability and hygiene. Proof must be filed with the application. For circular migration, the annual GECCO order requires accommodation for the whole activity period and for each successive season, and any change must be reported to the authority processing the file.

Travel and insurance

The employer pays the journey from the country of origin to Spain, and transport from the arrival point to the accommodation. The employer must also arrange health insurance covering the worker from the start of the trip until registration with Social Security. In the GECCO procedure, the employer also pays for the required health checks.

Solvency and compliance

The employer must be up to date with tax and Social Security, have enough economic, material or personal resources for the activity and the contracts, and obtain the worker's signed return commitment. Under GECCO, the employer must also guarantee continuous activity during the season. In agriculture, the information sheet sets this at no less than 85 percent of the usual working time in the sector. Equality and anti-harassment measures required by law must be in place.

Applying for the seasonal permit step by step

This is the individual route, used when an employer hires one or a few named workers outside the collective GECCO system. The procedure in the Ministry of Inclusion information sheet runs as follows.

1. The employer files the application. The employer, or a legally authorised representative, submits form EX-06. The information sheet indicates electronic filing through the Mercurio platform of the Ministry of Territorial Policy. The application must go in at least two months before the planned start of work.
2. Documents are attached. These include the employer's identification, the contract on the official model, evidence of the employer's resources, the Public Employment Service certificate, a copy of the worker's full passport, proof of accommodation and the worker's sworn statement committing to return.
3. Fees are paid. The fees are due within ten working days of filing (see the next section).
4. The decision. The authority has one month from the day after registration. If nothing is notified in that time, the application is treated as refused (negative administrative silence). The employer can then file an appeal or a new application.
5. The visa. Once the authorisation is granted, the worker has one month from notification to apply in person for the seasonal residence and work visa at the Spanish consulate for their place of residence. The consulate has one month to decide. The worker must collect the visa in person within one month of notification, or the file is closed.
6. Entry. The authorisation starts on the date you enter Spain, as recorded in your passport. Some consulates advise against buying flight tickets before the visa decision is notified.
7. Social Security registration. The employer must register you (alta) with Social Security within three days of your entry.
8. The TIE card. Within one month of the Social Security registration, you must apply in person for the foreigner identity card (TIE) at the police station or police office for your place of residence. The card shows the seasonal nature of the permit.
9. Return. At the end of the season you return home. Within one month of the end of the authorised period, you must report to the consulate that issued the visa to prove your return.

Foreign documents must be translated into Spanish by a sworn translator, and foreign public documents such as criminal record certificates must be legalised or apostilled unless an agreement exempts them. Some consulates take applications through an external visa application centre. That centre handles appointments and intake only: it does not decide the visa.

Fees for a seasonal work permit and who pays them

Seasonal authorisations carry two state fees, both paid on form 790 (modelo 790). The information sheet sets out who pays which:

• Code 052 is the fee for the residence and work authorisation, paid by the foreign worker. Different sections of the form apply to the initial authorisation, extensions, renewals and changes of employer.
• Code 062 is the fee for the work authorisation, paid by the employer when the authorisation lasts six months or longer. It also applies to extensions, renewals and changes of employer.
• The consular visa fee is paid at the consulate, in advance, and is not refunded if the visa is refused. Fee amounts vary by nationality and are published by each consulate.

The ministry's information sheet gives the form codes but not the amounts. Check the current amount on the official fee form before paying. State fees are the only legitimate charges for the permit itself. A recruiter asking you for money in exchange for a seasonal contract is a warning sign, as explained further below.

The four year authorisation and the annual call back

After the first season, you do not start from zero. The employer calls you back for each new season through a short procedure.

• The employer notifies the call back electronically at least three months before the planned start, unless there is a justified reason for a shorter notice.
• The new activity period cannot exceed nine months, and the terms must match the authorisation. If the employer has changed, the new employer makes the call back.
• The authority decides within one month. Here silence works in the worker's favour: if no decision is notified, the call back is treated as approved.
• To travel, you present your TIE together with the call back decision and a valid passport. You do not need a new visa for each season within the four year period.

The call back is refused if a ground for ending the authorisation applies. According to the circular migration information sheet, it is also refused if, in the previous two years, the worker left the job early without justification, worked for other companies or in other activities outside the authorisation (unless the employer was changed lawfully), breached an earlier return commitment, or did not return home after the previous season. One missed return can therefore cost you the rest of the four year permit.

Extending the season and changing employer

Extension of the season

If your contract with the employer who hired you ends before the nine month limit, the annual activity period can be extended (prórroga). The extension can be with the same or a different employer and in the same or a different area, but it must be in the same occupation and the same sector. Successive extensions are allowed as long as the total stays within nine months and the periods follow each other without a gap. The employer files form EX-06. The authority has three months to decide, and silence means refusal.

Change of employer

A change of employer is allowed after three months of activity under each call back. The new employer must apply before the earlier activity period ends and must meet the requirements of the initial authorisation. The new job may be in a different area and a different occupation, but only in the same sector and only if the national employment situation allows it. There are two specific grounds.

• Serious breach by the employer. If the employer seriously breaches its obligations, you have three months from the evidence of the breach to find a new employer, to apply for a new seasonal authorisation or to apply for an initial residence and work authorisation.
• Unforeseen circumstances. If the job ends for reasons nobody could foresee, you or the original employer must tell the Oficina de Extranjería within fifteen days. A new employer then has one month to apply to take over the post.

The authority decides a change of employer within fifteen days, and silence means refusal. While an extension, renewal or change is pending, you may stay in Spain if the application was filed while the authorisation was valid, the delay is not your fault and the nine month annual limit has not run out. The general rules on changing employer for other permits are covered in our separate guide on changing employers on a work permit.

Collective hiring in origin through GECCO

Collective management of hiring in origin allows several authorisations to be processed together for workers selected in their own countries. The Ministry of Inclusion page on hiring in origin explains that offers can come from one or several employers and are directed preferably to countries that have signed migration flow agreements with Spain. Each year the ministry approves a GECCO order that sets the detailed rules, forms and annexes. The government announcement of the current GECCO order confirms that it covers both stable and circular hiring, in generic or nominative form.

Generic and nominative offers

A generic offer describes the jobs and lets workers be selected in the country of origin. A nominative offer names specific workers. Under the rules described in the ministry's circular migration information sheet, generic offers are the norm. Nominative offers are allowed when the worker already held a seasonal authorisation under this procedure and proved their return home, when the selection is made abroad by a company in the same group that is not mainly a recruiter, or when the Directorate General of Migration Management exceptionally authorises it. The current order widens the nominative route for fixed-discontinuous work, so that circular projects that used the repealed determinate duration authorisation can continue.

Minimum size and who can file

The Regulation allows collective processing for offers of at least ten posts for people outside Spain, according to the ministry's note on the GECCO order. The information sheet linked to the previous GECCO order refers to offers of at least five posts within the procedure, with exceptions allowed by the Directorate General. Check the figure in the current order and annexes. Employers can file themselves or through a representative such as a business organisation. Under the previous order, temporary work agencies could not file GECCO offers. Check how the current order and the Supreme Court ruling apply before relying on an agency.

Selection in the country of origin

The Directorate General of Migration Management reviews the file and forwards the offer through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Spanish embassy or consulate. The mission, the authorities of the country of origin and the employer or its business organisation agree on the date, place and method of selection. A selection committee includes the Spanish administration, the country of origin and the employer side. Workers apply through the official channels of their own country, not by paying an intermediary.

Visas under GECCO

After approval, the employer or representative files the visa applications for all selected workers together within one month. Each file includes the contract with the GECCO annex, the signed return commitment, a passport valid for at least one year, a criminal record certificate and a medical certificate. The consulate issues the visas within five working days. Social Security registration and the TIE then follow the same deadlines as the individual route.

Countries that work with Spain

The information sheet on circular migration under GECCO lists countries with migration flow agreements: Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Morocco, Mauritania, the Dominican Republic and Ukraine. It also lists countries with collaboration instruments: The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Cabo Verde, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Mexico, El Salvador, the Philippines, Paraguay and Argentina. Priority for these countries is a preference, not a closed list, and the countries actually receiving offers depend on each year's demand. The government has also announced a second phase of a programme with Morocco and France for Moroccan seasonal workers, supported by the EU.

Circular migration and the return commitment in Spain

Circular migration means that the same workers come back season after season, building experience with an employer and returning home in between. The ministry reports that most circular participants are women and that most of the activity is in agriculture, across many provinces. The information sheet on seasonal circular migration sets out what return means in practice.

• When the season ends, you must return to your country straight away.
• You must report to the Spanish consulate to prove that you have returned. The individual route sets a deadline of one month from the end of the authorised period.
• Failing to return or to report can lead to refusal of future work authorisations for three years, and it is one of the grounds for refusing a call back.

Overstaying turns a lawful, renewable four year permit into an irregular stay and can block future applications for years.

Renewal and moving to a longer residence permit

Renewing the four year authorisation

When the four year period ends, the authorisation can be renewed for further four year periods. The renewal can be requested by the same employer or a new one that meets the requirements. It must stay in the same sector, although the occupation and the area can change. The application uses form EX-06 with the passport or TIE, the contract signed by both parties, the worker's sworn statement on return and proof of accommodation. The authority decides within one month, and silence means approval. After notification you have one month to apply for the visa, and the employer must register you with Social Security within three days of arrival.

From seasonal work to a two year permit

The ministry's circular migration information sheet describes a path out of the seasonal cycle. A worker who has held a four year multi-year authorisation and met all its conditions, including the return commitment, may apply for a two year residence and work authorisation that allows both employed and self-employed work. The application must be filed within six months after the worker has returned to their country at the end of the four year authorisation. It requires criminal record certificates from the countries of residence during the previous five years, and either an employment contract guaranteeing at least 100 percent of the annual national minimum wage (salario mínimo interprofesional) or proof of means of at least 100 percent of the annual minimum living income (ingreso mínimo vital). The permit can then be extended for two more years or renewed under the general rules. Confirm with the Oficina de Extranjería that you qualify before you plan around it.

Pay, working conditions and Social Security for seasonal workers

A seasonal worker is an employee with the same labour rights as anyone else doing the same job. The immigration permit does not reduce them.

• Pay. Wages follow the applicable collective agreement for the sector and province, and can never be below the national minimum wage. The minimum wage rules include a specific daily minimum for casual and seasonal workers. Pay quoted in a contract is normally gross. Income tax and your Social Security contributions are withheld from it.
• Working time. According to EURES information on working conditions in Spain, normal hours average no more than 40 a week over the year, the daily maximum is normally nine hours, at least twelve hours must separate two working days, and overtime is capped. Collective agreements can set more favourable terms.
• Contract rights. Fixed-discontinuous workers have the same rights as permanent staff, and the call back must follow the order set in the collective agreement, as provided in the Workers' Statute.
• Social Security. The employer registers you within three days of entry. Agricultural employees are covered by the special system for agricultural employees within the general Social Security scheme. Keep a copy of your registration.
• Accommodation costs. The employer must provide adequate accommodation. Whether any amount can be deducted for it depends on the contract and the collective agreement. Read the GECCO contract annex and ask before you sign.

If pay, hours or housing do not match the contract, you can contact the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate, which acts on complaints and can inspect farms and accommodation. A serious breach by the employer is also one of the grounds that lets you look for a new employer, as explained above.

Temporary work agencies and seasonal hiring

As drafted, the Immigration Regulation stopped temporary work agencies from holding seasonal authorisations. The Supreme Court annulled that restriction, so the Regulation no longer excludes them as such. An agency acting as employer must still meet every employer requirement. The GECCO order has its own rules on who may file collective offers. If an agency offers you seasonal work in Spain, check that it is authorised as a temporary work agency, that it will be named as your employer on the authorisation, and that it asks nothing from you beyond the official fees.

Protecting yourself from recruitment fraud

Seasonal jobs in Spain attract fake recruiters because many applicants are far from Spain and do not know the procedure. Keep these points in mind.

• The employer pays your outbound travel, your transport to the accommodation and your health insurance until Social Security registration. Anyone charging you for these is breaching the rules.
• Under GECCO, selection happens through official channels agreed between Spain and your country of origin. Contact your own country's public employment or labour authority, or the Spanish embassy, to check whether a recruitment round is genuine.
• Nobody can guarantee a visa. The Oficina de Extranjería grants the authorisation and the consulate grants the visa.
• Never hand your passport to a recruiter, and ask the employer for the file number of the authorisation decision.

Our separate guide on finding a job in Spain from outside the EU explains how to check employers and use public job services, including EURES.

Practical checklist for a seasonal work permit in Spain

1. Confirm that the job is genuinely seasonal and that the contract offered is fixed-discontinuous.
2. Check that you are outside Spain and have no record that would block you.
3. Gather a passport valid for at least one year, recent criminal record certificates and a medical certificate, legalised or apostilled and translated.
4. Ask the employer for the authorisation decision, the contract, its annexes and accommodation details.
5. Pay your fee (form 790 code 052) only through official channels.
6. Apply for and collect the visa within the one month deadlines.
7. Check your Social Security registration within three days of entry, then apply for the TIE within one month.
8. Return home at the end of the season, report to the consulate and keep your contact details current for the next call back.

Sources and References

• Information sheet on residence and work authorisation for seasonal activities, Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration
• Information sheet on seasonal work in circular migration under GECCO, Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration
• Hiring in origin, Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration
• Announcement of the GECCO order, Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration
• Government press release on the GECCO order and circular migration, La Moncloa
• Information sheet on the initial residence and work authorisation for employed work, Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration
• Supreme Court judgment on the Immigration Regulation, Official State Gazette (BOE)
• Workers' Statute, Official State Gazette (BOE)
• Living and working conditions in Spain, EURES, European Commission