The shortage of highly qualified IT profiles is a common problem for developed Europe. And Spanish companies are no strangers to this problem, which is even more acute in the IT sector, which is especially abundant in Malaga.

The lack of profiles to meet the needs of the technological labour market is an obvious problem, which is not going to improve in the coming years.

While on the one hand there is talk of the emigration of talented young Spaniards, due to a lack of opportunities in Spain or of jobs paid in line with their qualifications, the reality on the other hand is that highly qualified IT professionals are needed without delay in Málaga and Spain, which cannot be found in Spain in the quantity and profiles demanded.

One solution is for Spanish companies, or companies based in Spain, to import foreign talent to fill vacancies for highly qualified IT profiles. Currently, the great challenge for technology companies in Málaga is to attract non-EU foreign workers, and to comply with all the administrative bureaucracy that bringing these workers to Spain entails.

But if the greatest difficulty was to comply with the bureaucratic and administrative part of obtaining residence authorisation in Spain for non-EU citizens to work with companies based in Spain, it must be taken into account that the Spanish Administration has recently made a great effort to streamline, facilitate and reduce the requirements, time and documentation necessary to process these residence permits for highly qualified workers, with the reform of Law 14/2013, to support entrepreneurs and their internationalisation and, with this, to be able to provide a solution to the urgent need to incorporate highly qualified IT profiles in technology companies in Spain.

The residence permit for Highly Qualified Professionals allows managers or highly qualified professionals, as the name suggests, to reside and work in Spain in positions in line with their qualifications, such as engineers, computer programmers, architects, experts in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, Hardware developers, radiocommunications experts, experts in photonics and automation, and many other profiles in the Information and Communications technology sector.

This type of residence permit for Highly Qualified Professionals is especially oriented to the recruitment of the following profiles:

  • Non-EU citizens (not belonging to the European Union) who have completed their higher education studies at a university or business school of recognised prestige; or
  • Workers who have at least 3 years of work experience in technical and specialised positions, in accordance with the requirements established by the Law for the incorporation of Highly Qualified Workers in Spain.
  • Managers who play the role of coordinating work teams in companies.

Having specialised legal advice in Immigration Law in Málaga is essential to determine whether a non-EU worker can be hired in Spain as a highly qualified worker, complying with the requirements and practice imposed for the processing of their residence authorisations in Spain.

Issues such as:

are vital when it comes to successfully processing the residence permit for a highly qualified professional based on the Mobility Law (Law 14/2013 of September, on support for entrepreneurs and their internationalisation).

Managers and workers who work in highly technical and specialised positions, who are non-EU citizens and have a higher university degree, or have studied at a business school of recognised prestige, or have at least 3 years of professional experience for the highly qualified position, are suitable profiles to be recruited by means of the highly qualified professional residence permit.

Managers and workers who work in highly technical and specialised positions, who are non-EU citizens and have a higher university degree, or have studied at a business school of recognised prestige, or have at least 3 years of professional experience for the highly qualified position, are suitable profiles to be recruited by means of the spanish highly qualified professional residence permit.

In order to take advantage of the speedy processing of the highly qualified worker’s residence permit i Spain, it is essential to submit a well-founded application, providing each of the necessary documents, in the appropriate format and in the correct manner. It is necessary that the documentation provided by the worker and the company make up a robust administrative file which, when evaluated by the Spanish Administration responsible for Foreigners’ Affairs for the evaluation of applications for residence permits for highly qualified professionals, does not generate doubts and is processed within the advantageous deadlines established by law for these applications, and which companies require.

At Pérez Parras Economistas y Abogados in Málaga we have extensive experience in the recruitment of highly qualified IT profiles for companies in Malaga and Andalusia, as well as for companies in Madrid and Barcelona. Profiles such as professional engineers or technicians in Big Data, Data Scientist, cybersecurity specialists, software programmers, system engineers, radio communications engineers, full-stack developers, Senior Back-end Developers, Machine Learning engineers, etc., are some of the positions that we have frequently processed in recent years for companies in the technology sector, and which have been successfully filled with non-EU professionals who bring talent and experience to the IT sector in Spain.

What are the advantages of applying for a Visa or Residence Authorisation for Highly Qualified Professionals in the face of the shortage of highly qualified IT profiles in the Spanish market?

The advantages of covering the shortage of highly qualified IT profiles by means of non-EU professionals with higher degrees or with demonstrable experience of at least 3 years in relevant positions, as established by the spanish Mobility Law, and through the processing of the Visa, or the Residence Authorisation for Highly Qualified Professionals in Spain, are the following:

At Pérez Parras Economists and Lawyers we are experts in Immigration Law, and we have extensive experience in the recruitment of Highly Qualified Workers for companies in general, and for technology companies in Málaga and Spain in particular, providing a solution to the shortage of highly qualified IT profiles faced by technology companies in Malaga and Andalusia, as well as in Spain in general. We know in detail the procedure and requirements for the fast and effective recruitment of Highly Qualified Professionals, and the obtaining of their residence permits in Spain. We have professionals with double degrees in Immigration Law and Engineering who know the details of the job profiles of Highly Qualified Professionals, and professionals with double degrees in Law and Economics who are experts in international taxation in Malaga, for the tax declaration of residents, non-residents tax return in Málaga and workers to whom the Beckham Law in Spain applies. Do not hesitate to contact Pérez Parras Economists and Lawyers, with offices in the centre of Málaga and Nerja, if you wish to incorporate Highly Qualified Foreign Professionals in the staff in Spain of your company.