Staying and working in Spain after you finish studying

Key rules

• Filing window: From 60 days before your student permit expires to 90 days after it expires; filing after expiry carries a fine.
• Employer applies: For an employee permit, your employer files the application, and the job must meet contract and pay requirements.

Your main options after studying

You have three routes: a post-study search period, a switch straight to an employee permit, or a switch to self-employment. Most graduates start with the search period because it gives the most room. Your years of study also count for 50% towards long-term residence.

The job-search and entrepreneurship authorisation

This is the usual first step. You can apply if you finished a degree, master's, doctorate or vocational training in Spain; a language-only stay does not qualify. The authorisation lasts 12 months and cannot be renewed, so before it ends you must switch to an employee or self-employed permit.

The filing window follows the expiry date on your permit, not your graduation date. File before expiry and your stay stays valid while the application is processed. After expiry the application is admitted but carries a fine, and after 90 days you are in an irregular situation and only exceptional routes such as arraigo (residence based on roots in Spain) remain, or you leave Spain.

During the period you can look for work, work and be self-employed, within the rules of that authorisation. You can also use the time to prepare a business project. You need enough funds and health insurance to qualify.

You start by filing the general application form EX-00. You file it online through the immigration electronic portal with a digital certificate, or at the immigration office of the province where you live. When the authorisation is granted you pay the card fee with modelo 790 code 012, which is 16 EUR, before the fingerprint appointment for the TIE. After approval, register with Social Security and update your TIE.

If your application is refused, the appeal deadlines and your options are the same as in Applying from abroad or from inside Spain.

Going straight to an employee permit

You can skip the search period and move to a work authorisation. This works through a job offer, or through the simplified route for graduates introduced by the 2025 reform.

• You must have finished your studies. Since the 2025 reform there is no minimum number of years in Spain as a student.
• For graduates, the national employment situation is not checked.

If you have no job offer yet, the search period is the safer choice.

Becoming self-employed or starting a business

You can apply for a residence and work authorisation for self-employed work. You will need a viable business plan, the licences and qualifications for your activity, and enough investment and funds.

For an innovative project there is also an entrepreneur route.

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen

You need no student authorisation and no post-study authorisation. You follow the EU residence and work rules instead, and you can work freely. The post-study filing window does not apply to you.

UK citizens with Withdrawal Agreement rights are in the same position. Other UK citizens follow this page as non-EU citizens; the student rules are in Who qualifies for student residence.

If you come with a spouse, partner, children or other dependants

Your family members do not move onto the post-study authorisation automatically. If they hold dependent residence authorisations, they renew them when your authorisation changes, applying at the same time as you. Family rules by relationship are in Who qualifies for student residence.

Student to work timeline planner

Two dates drive the plan: when you finish your studies and when your student authorisation expires. If you finish on 30 Jun 2027 and your authorisation expires on 30 Sep 2027, your steps fall on these dates. The filing window follows the expiry date, not graduation.