The EU Blue Card: the route for highly qualified workers

The EU Blue Card is one of the 2 types of residence authorisation for highly qualified professionals regulated by article 71 of Ley 14/2013 (the Spanish Entrepreneurs Act). It is aimed at non-EU citizens (excluding nationals of the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland) who are going to join a company in Spain for a highly qualified position.

Regarding qualifications, article 71.2.a) requires higher education training with a minimum duration of 3 years, equivalent to at least level 2 of the Spanish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education and level 6 of the European Qualifications Framework. Alternatively, 5 years of knowledge, skills and competences backed by comparable and relevant professional experience for the profession or sector of the contract are accepted.

For information and communications technology professionals and managers, the law itself reduces this experience to 3 years, which must fall within the 7 years prior to the application. This is the only route where a profile without a university degree enters with relative ease, and it should be documented with contracts, payslips, working life records and certificates of duties, not just a CV.

If the profession is regulated (medicine, nursing, architecture, engineering with attributions, law and similar), in addition to the degree, you must prove the homologation or recognition in accordance with the sectoral regulations. This point is what delays files the most, because the recognition of the degree is processed in a different and prior procedure.

The general requirements of article 62.3 of Ley 14/2013 (the Spanish Entrepreneurs Act) also apply: being of legal age, not being irregularly in Spanish territory, having no criminal record, having health insurance and sufficient financial resources, and paying the tasa (official fee).

Article 71 bis.1.c) of Ley 14/2013 (the Spanish Entrepreneurs Act) sets the threshold between 1.0 and 1.6 times the average gross annual salary, and refers to regulatory development. That development is Orden PJC/44/2026, of 27 January, which places the threshold at 1.4 times the average gross annual earnings per worker published by the National Statistics Institute in the Annual Wage Structure Survey.

On 28 May 2026, the INE published the 2024 data, which set that average earning at €29,540.26. Since June 2026, according to the official note from the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit, the general threshold for the EU Blue Card is €41,356.36 gross per year and the reduced threshold is €33,085.09.

The reduced threshold (0.8 coefficient) only applies in 2 cases: hard-to-fill occupations classified in groups 1 and 2 of the National Classification of Occupations, and people who have obtained the required qualification a maximum of 3 years before submitting the application. If the card is renewed within that period, the reduced threshold remains applicable as long as the initial 3 years have not concluded or 24 months have not elapsed since the first EU Blue Card.

Salary matching errors are the most frequent cause of denial and almost always arise from comparing different magnitudes. The threshold is the GROSS ANNUAL salary set in the contract: per diems, unconsolidated remuneration in kind, non-guaranteed variable bonuses, and the cost of Seguridad Social (the Spanish social security system) borne by the company are not counted. In part-time contracts or those lasting less than 1 year, the figure compared with the threshold is the one resulting from the annual remuneration actually agreed, not the full-time equivalent.

Another typical mistake is taking the reduced threshold for granted without being able to prove it: if the degree was obtained more than 3 years ago and the occupation is not listed as hard-to-fill, the reference is the general threshold, and the difference between the two exceeds €8,000.

The application is submitted electronically to the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit, and the granting corresponds to the Directorate General for Migration (article 76.1 of Ley 14/2013). The authorisation is valid throughout the national territory, regardless of the province where the services will be provided.

The maximum resolution period is 20 days from the electronic submission of the application. If the Administration does not resolve within that period, the authorisation is understood to be approved by administrative silence, which represents a substantial difference compared to the general immigration regime. The resolutions are reasoned and allow an appeal (recurso de alzada) in accordance with articles 121 and 122 of Ley 39/2015.

The submission of the application extends the validity of the residence or stay situation held by the applicant until the procedure is resolved, so that anyone who is already legally in Spain does not fall into an irregular situation while waiting.

The company proves its requirements only once and is registered with the UGE-CE, with a registration valid for 3 renewable years. Any modification of the conditions must be communicated within 30 days; if it is not communicated, the company ceases to be registered (article 74.2 of Ley 14/2013).

The tasa (official fee) is paid using modelo 790 código 038, section 7.1, once the application is admitted for processing and within the following 10 working days. Managora calculates the amount that corresponds to your case and communicates it to you in writing before you pay anything. You can see the updated amount of our fees in the procedure's file.

This is the advantage that the national authorisation does not offer. Directive (EU) 2021/1883 and article 71 bis.4 of Ley 14/2013 recognise 2 forms of mobility. Short-term mobility allows the holder of an EU Blue Card issued by another Member State to carry out a professional activity in Spain for 90 days in any 180-day period, without the need for any additional authorisation.

Long-term mobility requires having resided for at least 12 months in the first Member State as an EU Blue Card holder, or 6 months if you have resided in more than 1 Member State. Once that period is completed, you have the right to enter, reside and work in Spain by applying for a new EU Blue Card here. The application can be submitted by the company or the worker, even while still residing in the first State, and if you are already in Spain it must be submitted before 1 month has elapsed since entry.

An overlooked detail: the holder of an EU Blue Card from another Member State is authorised to start working in Spain from the moment the application is complete, without waiting for the resolution. The application must be accompanied by the card from the first State, a valid travel document, a contract or firm offer of at least 6 months, proof of the salary threshold and, if the profession is regulated, the recognition of qualifications.

Regarding the family, article 62.4 allows the spouse or partner with an analogous affective relationship, minor children or economically dependent adult children who have not formed their own family unit, and dependent ascendants to apply for the authorisation jointly and simultaneously or successively. If they are submitted at the same time, they are resolved at the same time. In cases of mobility, if family members do not submit their application together with the holder's, they have 1 month from their entry into Spain.

The Directive also guarantees that the spouse can carry out self-employed or employed activity without waiting periods. In practice, this means that the family is not blocked: they can work from the moment they obtain their authorisation.

The validity of the authorisation is 3 years. If the contract lasts less than 3 years, the authorisation is granted for the duration of the contract plus 3 additional months, never exceeding 3 years (article 71.3 of Ley 14/2013). When the validity exceeds 6 months, you must apply for the TIE (the physical foreigner identity card).

The renewal is requested during the 60 days prior to the end of validity and is granted for 2 years if the requirements that generated the right are maintained. Article 76.3 adds a safety net: if the application is submitted in the 90 days following the end of the previous authorisation, the validity is also extended until it is resolved, without prejudice to any sanctioning file that may be initiated. After 5 years of residence, you can access long-term residence.

Unemployment does not mean the automatic loss of the card. Article 71 bis.3 allows it to be revoked or its renewal denied when the holder no longer has a valid highly qualified contract and accumulates more than 3 months of unemployment having been a holder for less than 2 years, or more than 6 months if they have been one for at least 2 years. In these cases, a period of 3 months is granted to look for new employment, or 6 months if you have already been a holder for at least 2 years.

The Spanish EU Blue Card is also revoked when its holder moves to another Member State and obtains an EU Blue Card there, because the new one replaces the previous one.

Managora diagnoses the profile and the offer before submitting anything, checks the fit of the qualification and the salary threshold, prepares the documentation with its apostilles and translations, and submits the file to the UGE-CE on your behalf. You can see the updated amount in the procedure's file and start today.