What this guidebook covers
Employing a foreign national without a work permit is fined €10,001 to €100,000 per worker, on top of registration and unpaid contributions with a surcharge. Repeated cases can be a crime, with up to 18 months in prison. The new Immigration Regulation (RD 1155/2024) came into force on 20 May 2025.
This guidebook covers 5 standards for dealers and workshops with foreign staff, with 11 checkpoints: a permit before starting, a job that matches the permit, tracking expiry dates, contractors and subcontractors, and Social Security registration. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no work permit but must still be registered. The guidebook PDF is in Spanish.
The 5 foreign worker standards
| Code | Standard | Ideal fix time |
|---|---|---|
| EXT-01 | Permit before starting | Immediate |
| EXT-02 | Job matches the permit | 7 days |
| EXT-03 | Expiry dates tracked | 72 hours |
| EXT-04 | Contractors and subcontractors | 30 days |
| EXT-05 | Registration and contributions | Immediate |
How to run a Spanish foreign workers compliance audit, step by step
- Confirm what applies. List every non-EU worker and every contractor working on site (car wash, cleaning, vehicle transfers, temp agencies). EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no permit but must be registered.
- Walk the site, standard by standard. Score each of the 11 checkpoints Pass, Fail or N/A. N/A only where the standard rules it out, with the reason recorded. Cross-check staff against permits and NIE numbers against the Social Security registration report, compare permits with actual duties, check expiry dates for the next 90 days and request documents from 3 contractors.
- Capture the evidence. A pass counts only with proof captured at the time of the audit: personnel files with TIE copies, permits and contracts, the expiry calendar and renewal receipts, contractor certificates and the Social Security registration report.
- Give every fail an owner and a fix time. Record what you saw and who owns the fix. Each standard carries an ideal fix time, from immediate to 30 days, counted from audit submission (see the table above).
- Fix it, then prove it. The site fixes the cause and uploads proof of closure; the auditor checks the proof before closing the finding.
- Re-check at the next audit. Confirm closed findings stay closed, and look for the same fail at your other sites so one gap doesn't repeat across the network.
Who this guidebook is for
- Management: understand the risk per worker
- HR: track permits and expiry dates
- Auditors: cross-check staff, permits and contractors
A reference document, not legal advice. Fines and rules change: check the current text with the regulator or your legal adviser before acting.
