Intra-EU mobility: researchers and students already residing in another EU country

Yes, in most cases. Directiva (UE) 2016/801 (Directive (EU) 2016/801) created a mobility regime within the Union designed precisely so that a researcher or student already admitted in one Member State does not have to repeat the entire procedure in the second one. Spain has transposed this into Ley 14/2013 (the Spanish Entrepreneurs Act) (articles 61, 62 and 72) for researchers, and into Real Decreto 1155/2024, of 19 November (Royal Decree 1155/2024) (article 59), for students.

The practical difference is huge. The mobility route is structured through a prior communication: you do not request a new authorisation, but rather the Spanish Administration is notified that you will carry out part of your activity here, covered by the permit from the first State. The Administration has 30 days to oppose with reasoned grounds. If it does not oppose, the move can take place.

The requirement that conditions everything is that the authorisation issued by the first Member State is valid and covers the entire mobility period. If it expires halfway through the stay, the communication falls through and the case must be rethought through another route.

It is worth being clear that mobility is not the same as a new authorisation from scratch. Mobility recognises a right you already have: that is why it is faster, cheaper and more fragile, because it depends on an external permit that you do not control.

The researcher holding a valid EU residence authorisation issued by another Member State does not go to the Immigration Office. Their file is handled by the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (UGE-CE) and the communication is submitted electronically at its online headquarters.

The person submitting the communication is not the researcher, but the business entity that will receive them in Spain or its duly accredited representative. This point is frequently overlooked and is a common reason why the communication fails to take effect.

The time to communicate is also strictly defined: when the application for authorisation is submitted in the first State, if mobility to Spain is already foreseen at that stage, or, once the researcher is admitted in that first State, as soon as the mobility project is known.

With the EU research mobility communication form, you must provide a valid travel document, the authorisation from the first Member State covering the mobility period, the hosting agreement or contract signed in the first State with the expected duration and estimated dates, and proof of having health insurance and sufficient financial resources for the researcher and, where applicable, for their family.

The Directorate-General for Migration Management can oppose with reasoned grounds within 30 days from receiving the complete communication in 3 scenarios: the required conditions are not met, the documents were acquired fraudulently or have been forged or tampered with, and the validity period of the authorisation in the other Member State has expired.

For students, everything depends on a single question: is your stay covered by a European Union or multilateral programme that includes mobility measures, or by an agreement between 2 or more higher education institutions?

If the answer is yes, we are looking at Type 2 mobility and the communication is enough. You have the right to enter and stay in Spain for up to 360 days to complete part of your studies at a Spanish higher education institution. The communication is submitted by the higher education institution or centre registered in the Registry of Higher Education Institutions and Centres, electronically via Mercurio, to the Immigration Office of the province where the activity will begin. The deadline is before entering Spain and, at the latest, 1 month after. The Government Delegation or Sub-delegation has 30 days to oppose.

If the answer is no, we are looking at Type 3 mobility and there is no shortcut: you must request an authorisation, although with a significant advantage, no visa is required. You submit the modelo EX-00, pay the tasa (official fee) 790 código 052 under section 1.1.1 and prove, among other things, admission in the other Member State, admission to the Spanish higher centre, health insurance with benefits similar to those of the National Health System and financial means referenced at 100% of the monthly IPREM (€600 per month in 2026).

Regarding financial means, it is worth clearing up a widespread misunderstanding. Having your accommodation paid in advance does not replace the proof of means: what it does is reduce the amount required of you, because part of the expense is already covered, but you must still demonstrate that you have funds for your maintenance during the stay. Submitting the proof of accommodation and nothing else is a common reason for denial.

In the Type 3 route, the resolution must be issued within a maximum period of 1 month from when the application enters the competent body and, according to the official information sheet, silence is positive. After the favourable notification, there are up to 3 months to enter Spain, and if the stay exceeds 6 months, the TIE (foreigner identity card) must be requested personally in the month following entry.

There is also the reverse movement (Type 1 mobility): the student with a visa or long-term stay authorisation issued by Spain who moves to another Member State within a Union or multilateral programme. In that case, they stay up to 360 days per Member State upon prior communication to the destination authorities, in accordance with that country's regulations.

In the case of the researcher, their family members can accompany them during the validity of the authorisation. The official information sheet considers family members to be the spouse or person with an analogous affective relationship, minor children and adult children who, being financially dependent on the holder, have not formed a family unit of their own, and dependent ascendants.

This has a direct documentary consequence: the proof of financial resources and health insurance must also cover the family members who are moving. Submitting only the holder's is one of the defects that generates the most requests for additional documents.

The Directive equally protects the family against an opposition: if the Spanish Administration opposes the mobility, the first Member State allows the re-entry without further formalities of the displaced foreign person and their family. If the move had not yet taken place, the denial resolution simply prevents it.

Managora reviews the entire family unit before submitting, so that the situation of those accompanying you is not resolved separately or left unprotected halfway through the stay.

The most expensive mistake is over-processing: requesting a new Spanish authorisation when the case fit into mobility. You pay official fees that did not apply, lose weeks of procedure and, in the worst-case scenario, the researcher or student arrives late for the start of the project or course.

The second mistake is getting the wrong counter. Researchers go to the UGE-CE. Students go through Mercurio, to the provincial Immigration Office. Submitting the researcher to the Immigration Office does not speed anything up and consumes the calendar.

The third is about standing. The communication is not signed by the interested party: for researchers, it is submitted by the hosting entity or its accredited representative, and for Type 2 students, only by the higher education institution registered in the Registry created by Real Decreto 1155/2024 (Royal Decree 1155/2024). An unregistered centre simply cannot communicate.

The fourth is documentary: authorisations from the first State that expire before the mobility ends, hosting agreements without an expected duration or estimated dates, foreign documents without translation by a sworn translator and without consular legalisation or Hague apostille, and files that provide paid accommodation believing that this means financial means do not need to be justified.

The fifth is about the calendar: communicating when the student has already been in Spain for 2 months. The deadline is before entry and, at the latest, 1 month after it occurs.

Managora prepares the communication or application, organises the documentation of the centre and the interested party, submits it to the UGE-CE or the corresponding Immigration Office and monitors the opposition period until the end. You can see the updated amount on the procedure's page.