Registration, records and your rights

It is for anyone thinking about moving to Spain, planning the move or already there. You will understand who pays what, get your number and record in order, and know your rights if a decision goes against you.

Start with "What your social security contributions actually buy you in Spain". It explains what your contributions give you, and the other pages build on it.

Key rules

• Unemployment minimum: Contributory unemployment benefit needs at least 360 days contributed in the 6 years before you lose your job.
• Employer alta: Your employer must register you (alta) with social security before you start work, and no more than 60 days before.
• Unemployment claim: You have 15 working days after your job ends to claim unemployment benefit, and late claims lose benefit days.
• Reclamación previa: You have 30 days from notification of a refusal or repayment demand to file a reclamación previa, and the body has 45 days to answer.
• Not a plain tax: Contributions fund a defined list of benefits, not a general entitlement to support.
• Minimum periods: Each benefit needs its own minimum contribution period, and the minimum differs by benefit.

Registration, records and your rights: the whole process, step by step

• Get your social security number (NUSS) from the TGSS, or let your employer request it when registering you: before you start work

• Your employer registers you (alta) with social security: before you start work, and no more than 60 days before

• Check your work-life record (vida laboral) for errors and ask for corrections: after your first months of work, then regularly

• Sickness pay needs 180 days contributed in the 5 years before sick leave starts; no minimum for work accidents: when you fall ill or are injured

• Birth and care leave depends on age: no minimum under 21, 90 days in the last 7 years from 21 to 26, 180 days in the last 7 years over 26: when a child is born or adopted

• Your employer reports the end of your job (baja) to the TGSS: within 3 calendar days of the end of the contract

• Claim unemployment benefit at the SEPE: within 15 working days after your job ends

• Check you have 360 days contributed in the 6 years before losing your job; 360 to 539 days gives 120 days of benefit, up to 720 days for 2160 or more: when you lose your job

• If a benefit is refused or a repayment is demanded, file a reclamación previa with the body that decided: within 30 days of the notification

• Wait for the answer; if there is none, it counts as a refusal: the body has 45 days to answer

• Take the claim to the labour court (Juzgado de lo Social): within 30 working days after the refusal or the silence

• Retirement pension needs at least 15 years contributed, 2 of them in the last 15 years: when you plan to retire

Documents you may need

Identity and residence

• A valid passport — Getting your social security number (número de afiliación)
• Your NIE or TIE — Getting online access and appointments (cita previa) with social security offices

Income and work

• A recent payslip — Which social security regime (régimen) applies to your job
• Your vida laboral report from Social Security — Which social security regime (régimen) applies to your job, Checking your employer has registered you (alta) with social security
• Your employment contract — Which social security regime (régimen) applies to your job

Other documents

• The application form to assign a social security number — Getting your social security number (número de afiliación)
• Copy of your alta resolution — Checking your employer has registered you (alta) with social security
• Evidence of the error — Checking your work-life record (vida laboral) and fixing errors
• Portable Document U1 — What you can claim as a newcomer, and when
• A signed authorisation naming your representative — Do you need an adviser (gestor) for social security paperwork?

Each article lists the other documents it asks for, where you need them.

Registration, records and your rights: questions that cross several articles

Which office handles which kind of benefit?

Each office has its own job: the TGSS handles registration and contributions, the SEPE handles unemployment, and the INSS pays retirement, survivor and birth benefits. Mutuas manage work accidents for many employers. Read "Which Spanish body pays which benefit when your life changes" next.

Who pays me when I am off sick?

Your employer pays sick days 4 to 15, then the INSS or the mutua pays from day 16. Your family doctor issues the sick leave note. Birth and childcare benefit is paid directly by the INSS. See "Which Spanish body pays which benefit when your life changes" and "What you can claim as a newcomer, and when".

Does my NUSS work the same way if I am a household or farm worker?

Yes, you get a NUSS in the same way, but contributions work differently in household and farm work. In household work the employer registers you and pays, and since 2024 unemployment cover is included. Read "Getting your social security number (número de afiliación)" and "Which social security regime (régimen) applies to your job".

What documents do I need to get a NUSS?

You normally need your passport or NIE/TIE and the TA.1 application form, and proof of address may be asked for. Apply at a TGSS office with an appointment (cita previa) or online. See "Getting your social security number (número de afiliación)" and "Getting online access and appointments (cita previa) with social security offices".