Social security cover through your move: the whole picture

Terms used

• A1 — The A1 is a certificate from your home social security institution showing you stay under its system while working in another country.
• Alta — The alta is your registration in Spanish social security, which starts your cover and contributions.
• Autónomo — An autónomo is a self-employed person who registers and pays social security themselves.
• RETA — RETA is the Spanish social security scheme for self-employed people.
• TGSS — The TGSS is the Spanish social security office that registers workers and collects contributions.
• INSS — The INSS is the Spanish national social security institute, which handles benefits and contacts foreign institutions.
• Convenio especial — The convenio especial is a scheme letting residents without other cover pay to join Spanish public health care.

Key rules

• One system: Only one country's social security should cover you at a time, so a stay needs either valid proof from home or a Spanish registration.
• A1 source: Your home country's social security institution issues the A1, never Spain.
• Spanish registration: Your employer registers you no later than the day work begins, at most 60 days before it starts.
• Posting limit: A posting from an EU, EEA or Swiss state keeps you in your home system for up to 24 months, with an A1.
• Telework: Telework for under 50% of your time can keep you in your employer's state, but only with an A1 under the telework agreement.

The short version

Only one country's system should cover you at any time. Either you stay under your home system with proof, or you are registered in Spain. Problems come from the overlap (you pay twice) or the space between (you are covered by neither).

Which system covers you at each stage

Before you move. Your home system covers you. Use this time to get any proof of cover you will need.

While you work in Spain. This depends on your situation:

• Sent by your employer from an EU, EEA or Swiss state: you stay in your home system for up to 24 months, with an A1 certificate. Your employer must keep a real business in the home state and stay your direct employer. You must have been covered at home before the posting, and you must not be replacing another posted worker.
• Posted from the UK: the same 24-month idea applies under the EU-UK trade agreement.
• Posted from a country with a bilateral agreement (for example the US, Canada, Chile or Australia): you can often stay in your home system for a limited period, with a certificate of coverage. Each agreement has its own limits, so check yours.
• Employed or self-employed in Spain: you are registered in Spanish social security.
• Living in Spain and working remotely for an employer in another EU state: Spain normally covers you. If you telework for under 50% of your time, you can stay in the employer's state, but only if the telework agreement is applied for with an A1. Spain has signed it. If you also work in other states, doing 25% or more of your work in Spain puts you under Spanish cover.
• From a country with no agreement: Spanish registration is required once you work in Spain. Your home country may still charge contributions on the same work. Whether it does depends on its own law, so ask its social security body.

The document that proves origin cover

For postings from the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK, the proof is the A1 certificate (portable document A1). It is issued by the social security institution of the country you are leaving, never by Spain. Your employer usually applies, often online, before the posting starts. You can apply yourself too. Processing takes from days to several weeks, depending on the country.

Keep the A1 with you. Spanish authorities or inspectors can ask to see it. For agreement countries, the proof is a certificate of coverage from that country's liaison body. The documents list below shows what applies to you.

Who registers you in Spain, and when

If you are an employee, your employer registers you with the Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS). This is called the alta. It must happen no later than the day work begins, and at most 60 days before it starts. Working without it exposes your employer to penalties.

If you are self-employed (autónomo), you file your own alta, in the autónomo scheme (RETA). You can do this up to 60 days before you start, and contributions run from the alta date.

How to avoid paying into both systems

1. Work out your move date, your work situation in Spain and your origin country.
2. Get your proof of cover and compare its dates with your move date.
3. If the proof covers your whole stay, do not register in Spain.
4. If it ends before your stay does, make sure the Spanish alta starts the day after it ends.

How to avoid a gap

Without valid origin cover and without Spanish registration, you have no public healthcare and no contribution record for that period. Close a gap in one of these ways:

• Register in Spain through work.
• Join a Spanish public health scheme for residents without cover (the convenio especial).
• Ask your origin body for a retroactive A1 or certificate.
• Hold private health insurance in the meantime.

If your origin body refuses or is late, ask for a provisional decision on which country covers you. Ask the Spanish TGSS or the national social security institute (INSS) to contact the origin body. You can also use the appeal route in your origin country. Spanish contributions can be registered meanwhile and corrected later.

If you later claim Spanish unemployment benefit using insurance from another country, you need a U1 document from your origin institution. The choices, documents and checklist below help you decide and act.

Choosing between options

Do you stay under your origin social security or move to Spanish cover?

• Stay under origin cover with proof: You are sent to Spain by your employer from an EU, EEA or Swiss state for up to 24 months with an A1, or posted from a country with an agreement and you hold a certificate of coverage.

• Stay under origin cover while teleworking: You live in Spain and telework for an employer in another EU state for under 50% of your time, with the telework framework agreement applied for with an A1.

• Move to Spanish cover: You work in Spain as an employee or self-employed person, or work remotely only in Spain for a foreign employer, or come from a country with no agreement.

Only one system should cover you in an EU, EEA or Swiss move. Hold proof of origin cover for the whole stay, or register in Spain, so you do not pay into both.

Keeping cover without gaps or double payments

• Know your move date, your work situation in Spain and your origin country: before you start

• Check whether you can stay under origin cover. Workers sent by their employer from an EU, EEA or Swiss state can, if the employer does real business there, you stay employed by it, and you were already covered at home. So can people from the UK or from countries with a bilateral agreement, within that agreement's limits. If you live in Spain and telework for an EU employer for under 50% of your time, the telework agreement can keep you in the employer's state. Anyone else working in Spain must be covered in Spain, and may also owe contributions at home.: before you start

• Ask your origin body for proof of cover, then compare its dates with your move date, then make sure Spanish registration starts the day after origin cover ends: in this order, before work starts in Spain

• Keep a posting within 24 months with an A1 certificate, and make sure your employer registers you in Spanish social security no later than the day work begins and at most 60 days before it starts, if you are not staying under origin cover: posting: up to 24 months; Spanish registration: from 60 days before work starts until the first day of work

• Get the Portable Document A1 for EU, EEA, Swiss or UK postings, issued by the origin country's social security institution. For bilateral agreement countries, get a certificate of coverage from the origin agency. Keep it to show Spanish authorities on request.: before work starts, or soon after the move

• If your proof covers your whole stay, stay under origin cover and do not register in Spain. If it ends before your Spanish work does, or you have no proof, register in Spain from the day after origin cover ends.: at the decision point, once you have checked the dates

• If the origin body refuses or is late, ask for a provisional decision on which country covers you, ask the Spanish social security office to contact the origin body, and use the origin country's appeal route. Register in Spain meanwhile and correct it later.: if the origin body refuses or does not answer

• If there is a gap, you have no public healthcare and no contribution record for it. Close it by asking for a retroactive A1 or certificate, by registering in Spain, or by taking private health insurance meanwhile. If you have no work and no cover, ask the Spanish social security office about the convenio especial or another public health scheme for residents.: as soon as you spot a gap or after missing the window

Documents you need

• A1 certificate (portable document A1), issued by the social security institution of your origin country, for EU, EEA or Swiss postings. It proves you stay under origin cover, so you do not pay into Spain as well. Keep it to show Spanish authorities or inspectors on request.

• Certificate of coverage, issued by the liaison body of your origin country, if you are posted from a country with a bilateral agreement with Spain such as the US, Canada or Chile. It shows your home cover continues, so you avoid paying into both systems.

• Retroactive A1 or certificate of coverage, requested from your origin body if your cover has a gap or the proof arrived late. It closes the gap for the earlier period.

• U1 document, issued by your origin institution, if you claim Spanish unemployment benefit using foreign insurance periods. Older E-forms such as the E301 may still appear.

Checklist

• Ask your origin social security institution for the A1 certificate before the posting starts, or for a certificate of coverage if your country has an agreement with Spain.

• Compare the dates on your proof of cover with your move date, so you can see which system covers you at each stage.

• Ask your employer to register you in Spanish social security, which can start up to 60 days before work begins and must be done by the first day of work.

• File your own registration as an autónomo (self-employed person) if you work for yourself, up to 60 days before you start.

• Hold off on Spanish registration if your proof of cover runs for your whole stay, so you do not pay into both systems.

• Arrange private health insurance or a Spanish public health scheme for any period when neither origin cover nor Spanish registration applies.

What to watch out for

• A gap between origin cover and Spanish cover: If your origin cover has ended and you are not yet registered in Spain, you have no public healthcare and the gap period adds nothing to your contribution record. Arrange Spanish registration, a retroactive A1 or certificate from your origin body, or private insurance until cover starts.

• Starting work without registration: Work that starts without the registration filed exposes your employer to penalties, and you have no Spanish cover meanwhile. Make sure your employer files the registration no later than the day work begins, and at most 60 days before it starts.

• Paying into both systems: If you are registered in Spain while your origin proof still covers you, or you come from a country with no agreement, you can end up contributing in two countries. Get the A1 or certificate first and ask your origin body whether it will also charge contributions on the Spanish work.

• Origin body refuses or is late with proof: A late or refused proof leaves you unsure which system covers you. Ask for a provisional decision on which country covers you, and ask the Spanish social security office to contact your origin institution.

Frequently asked questions

Who issues the A1 certificate that proves my origin cover?

The social security institution of your origin country issues the A1 certificate, not Spain. Your employer usually applies, often online, before the posting starts, though you can apply yourself. Processing takes from days to several weeks, and an A1 can be issued retroactively if needed.

Can I start my Spanish registration before my first day of work?

Yes, registration can start up to 60 days before work begins, but it must be done no later than the first day of work. Your employer files it if you are an employee. If you are self-employed, you file your own registration, and contributions run from that date.

What happens if I have no origin cover and no Spanish registration yet?

Yes, you can be left without public healthcare, and the gap period counts for nothing in your contribution record. You can close it with a retroactive A1 or certificate from your origin body, with Spanish registration, or with private insurance meanwhile.

Do I pay social security in Spain if I come from a country with no agreement?

Yes, if you work in Spain you must register and contribute to Spanish social security, whatever your nationality. Your home country may also charge contributions on the same work, which depends on its own law, so ask its social security body before you start.