Procedure · Gestión colectiva de contrataciones en origen
Collective hiring at origin in Spain (contratación en origen)
How Spanish employers recruit workers abroad in bulk, and the rules that protect the workers selected — starting with the one that says the whole selection must be free to them.
Checked at source ·
- Official fee
- Free for the worker. Neither the authorities nor any intermediary may demand payment for taking part in the selection
- Official name
- Gestión colectiva de contrataciones en origen
- Forms
- —
- Steps
- 15
- Documents required
- 6
Source: Boletín Oficial del Estado — Real Decreto 1155/2024, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento de la Ley Orgánica 4/2000 (texto consolidado). Checked .
Who needs one
Workers recruited abroad for jobs in Spain, and the employers and employers' organisations that run those processes.
Step by step
Nobody may charge you to take part
Workers are selected in their country of origin, with the participation of that country's competent authorities where applicable, and neither those authorities nor any other intermediary may demand any payment from them for taking part in the selection process. Selection processes abroad are expressly free for workers and must respect fair recruitment rules. Anyone asking you for money for a place on one of these processes is not running one.
What the procedure is
A way of granting many initial residence and work permits, or many seasonal permits, at the same time, for workers who are neither in nor resident in Spain, processed collectively from offers put forward by one or more employers. It also governs the call-backs for seasonal workers selected this way in later years.
The three things it is used for
Stable migration — collective hiring through simultaneous initial employed work permits. Circular migration — collective permanent-seasonal hiring through simultaneous seasonal permits plus the call-backs for later entries across the permit's multi-year life. And job-seeker visas, which are approved through the same annual order.
The annual forecast decides whether the labour-market test applies
Each year the Ministry may approve a forecast of the occupations, and where applicable the number of posts, that can be filled this way, taking the national employment situation into account. Where an occupation is in that forecast, the labour-market test is not checked again for it. Where there is no forecast, or for occupations left out of one, the procedure can still be used — but the national employment situation must then be verified in the ordinary way first.
Who can apply, and who cannot
Employers wanting to hire workers who are not in or resident in Spain. They can apply directly or through whoever holds their legal representation, which may be an employers' organisation — and several employers can hand the same organisation the job of managing offers presented jointly. Temporary employment agencies cannot use this route at all.
Ten posts minimum, and the posts must match each other
An offer — generic or nominative — must contain at least ten jobs, unless the annual ministerial order sets a different floor. Smaller employers can pool: applications accumulating offers from two or more employers to reach that number are allowed. The posts in one offer have to share homogeneous characteristics so they can be processed together, and the offer must describe the working conditions precisely, including the place and the type of contract.
File electronically, three months ahead
Applications go to the labour and immigration units of the Government Delegations or Sub-delegations, or to the Immigration Office holding the delegated competence, for the province where the work will be done. They are filed electronically at least three months before the planned start of work, unless there is good reason otherwise, with a memorandum justifying the offer and a statement of whether training is proposed in the country of origin or in Spain.
Where: Government Delegation or Sub-delegation for the province where the work will be done
How the selection abroad works
Favourably reported applications go to the Directorate-General for Migration Management, which authorises the selection process in the country of origin. It is carried out in cooperation with that country's authorities. The applying employers may take part if they ask to, as may representatives of the Directorate-General, and the most representative trade unions and employers' organisations of either country may take part as advisers. Where the flows agreement and local law allow it, employers may commission the selection to companies in the country of origin, with the Directorate-General able to supervise.
And how it can be stopped
At any point in the selection, if the Directorate-General for Migration Management learns that fair recruitment rules are not being respected, it may order the process ended, with reasons. It also reports quarterly to the tripartite labour immigration commission on the selection processes carried out.
Contracts are signed before you travel, in a language you understand
A written employment contract is required, containing the same conditions as the job offer the permit comes from. It must be signed by the worker before entering Spain and must state the essential elements — place and type of work, length of season, hours, start date — including the wage for seasonal contracts. Where the worker does not know enough Spanish, or the language the contract is written in, the employer must hand over a translated copy into a language they understand before it is signed.
What the employer owes you
For circular migration, the full seasonal package: accommodation on the terms set for seasonal permits, both journeys, the health insurance and the translated contract. For stable migration, the employer covers the cost of the journey to Spain from the country of recruitment and the transfers between the point of arrival and the accommodation — and where they do provide accommodation, it must meet the same standards as for seasonal workers, including the caps on what may be charged for it.
Information, and training that must be free
Before the contract is signed, the employer must ensure the selected worker has clear information, in a language they understand, about the guarantees, rights and obligations of taking part, the terms and conditions of the hiring and the pay, including what was in the job offer — and must answer their questions before the contract starts. When the permit is issued, written information on rights and obligations, including how to complain, must be given in a language they understand. Where training courses are run, in Spain or in the country of origin, they are completely free for the workers.
The deadlines at the Spanish end
After the selection, the immigration police report on any grounds for refusal and assign each worker a foreigner identity number within a maximum of two days — extendable to five where the number of workers makes it unavoidable. The Government Delegate or Sub-delegate then decides within a maximum of one month and notifies the employer immediately, after which the employer or their representatives file the visa applications at the consulate.
Coming back a second year: nominative offers, and no visa
Nominative offers can be used where the workers previously held a Spanish seasonal residence and work permit and have evidenced their return to the country of recruitment. Processing is the same as for generic offers except that the selection has already happened. After the first year of a seasonal permit, the employer simply notifies the call-back and the annual work period, respecting the contractual terms of the authorised occupation — and in that case no visa is needed.
Two years of consequences for getting it wrong
Applications are refused where the employer has incurred, in the two years before, any of the grounds for refusal set for the type of permit concerned, and the Directorate-General can refuse an employer's offers outright without processing them further. On the worker's side, having abandoned the work early without justification, worked for an unauthorised employer, or broken the return commitment within the previous two years can exclude them from circular migration processes and is a ground for refusing a call-back.
Documents you need
The job offer
Generic or nominative, at least ten posts of homogeneous characteristics, describing the working conditions precisely including place and type of contract, translated where it is aimed at a country whose official language is not Spanish.
Memorandum justifying the offer
Filed with the application, stating whether training is proposed in the country of origin or in Spain.
The employer's file for the permit type concerned
For stable migration, the requirements of the ordinary initial employed permit. For circular migration, those of the seasonal permit and of its annual call-backs.
Written contract, signed before entry
Containing the same conditions as the offer, with the essential elements, and with a translated copy given to the worker beforehand where they do not understand the language it is written in.
Proof of accommodation, where it applies
Compulsory for circular migration, and to the same standards where an employer provides it under stable migration.
For nominative offers: proof of the earlier return
That the worker held a previous Spanish seasonal permit and returned to the country of recruitment.
Common questions
Can a recruiter charge me to join one of these processes?
No. The Regulation says workers are selected in their country of origin without the authorities or any other intermediary being able to demand payment from them for taking part, and that selection processes abroad are free for workers. Anyone charging you for a place is not running a lawful process.
What is collective hiring at origin?
A procedure for granting many work permits at once — either ordinary initial permits or seasonal ones — to workers who are not in Spain, processed together from offers put forward by one or more employers, with selection carried out in the workers' own country.
How many jobs does an offer need?
At least ten, unless the annual ministerial order sets a different floor. Employers can pool their offers to reach that number, and several can hand the management of a joint application to the same employers' organisation.
Can a temping agency hire me this way?
No. Temporary employment agencies are expressly excluded from presenting applications under this procedure.
Will I have a contract before I travel?
You must. The contract has to be in writing, contain the same conditions as the offer, and be signed before you enter Spain. If you do not understand the language it is written in, the employer must give you a translated copy before you sign it.
How long does the Spanish side take?
After the selection, the immigration police have two days — five exceptionally, where the number of workers requires it — to report and assign identity numbers. The Government Delegate then decides within a maximum of one month, and the employer files the visa applications afterwards.
Do I need a visa to come back for a second season?
No. After the first year of a seasonal permit, the employer notifies the call-back and the annual work period, and no visa is needed for that entry.
Do I have to pay for the training?
No. Where training courses are run for selected or preselected workers, in Spain or in the country of origin, they are completely free for the workers.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from one of these. We do not cite other guides, because a copy gives us no way to notice when the original changes.
- Real Decreto 1155/2024, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento de la Ley Orgánica 4/2000 (texto consolidado)Boletín Oficial del Estado
- Cita previa de extranjeríaMinisterio de Política Territorial y Función Pública
This is information, not advice
Your own case depends on your nationality, your current status and your history with the administration — none of which a web page can see. Confirm anything that matters with the responsible authority or a qualified professional before you act on it.