One of the desires of many Colombians is to settle in other countries, either to improve their lifestyle, for academic options or for better job offers. Whatever the case, the government of Spain recently made a series of modifications to its immigration law that from now on expands the facilities so that migrants have better options.
(Spain approves budgets for 2023, marked by social spending).
The modifications are so relevant that experts in this field assure that this is a golden opportunity for those Colombians who have dreamed of settling in Spain, given that the new immigration law offers opportunities that range from fast residence and work permits, to possibilities for open your own company.
The Spanish company Larea & co, specialized in Immigration Law, assures that since it ishe European country is generating a response to the more than 2 million unemployed that Colombia still has.
Larea points out that the moments of highest consultation with migratory interests have been the pandemic, the national strike and the recent change of government, moments in which there was greater concern about the labor and economic stability of the country.
(Employment options in Spain where you do not need to be a professional).
These are some of the modifications to the immigration law that will allow greater access to employment:
Student Work Permit
One of the greatest difficulties faced by those who migrated to Spain to study was the lack of work permits, which meant that many of them had to commit irregularities in order to support themselves or be forced to return as they could not get a qualified job due to lack of of a work permit, thus seeing how opportunities slipped away.
Thanks to the recent modification to the Spanish immigration law, now those who migrate for academic purposes are granted a work permit.
“Since the person obtains their first stay permit for studies, they also receive their work permit for a maximum of 30 hours per week (in Spain the weekly working day is 40 hours), that is, they leave a margin of 10 hours so that, depending on the type of studies you are doing, you have the possibility of doing both things at the same time”, explained Dr. Diana Jimena Gómez Ariza, CEO of Larea.
Job search.
Facilities for online business
All those people who wish to open a company in Spain and who, due to their business model, do not need a physical headquarters, have benefits before the government as stipulated in the modification of the regulations.
Previously, the law required a series of requirements such as business plans, investment plans, proof of rental of premises, etc., which practically made it impossible to start your own business, but with the modification of the immigration law, things changed because the modality of self-employment, that is, “That whoever creates their own job, will be able to do it in a simpler and less expensive way than before.”
According to Breisy Corcino, an expert in the law of entrepreneurs and foreign investment, “In Spain, newly created companies and self-employed workers have several benefits, one of them is that the social security fee that must be paid monthly is discounted and instead of paying between €300 and €380 per month, You pay a flat fee of €80 for the first year and you can request an extension of this benefit for one more year”.
Facilities for residence and work
The experts agree that one of the best modifications to this law lies in the possibility that students have of changing their stay permit for studies to one for residence and work, a permit that will already begin to count for the two years of residence that will be asks Colombians to obtain Spanish nationality.
“Students will save two years of bureaucratic procedures, since they will be able to change their stay permit for studies to one for residence and work as soon as they complete 12 months in Spain, not like before when they had to wait 3 years with their student permit to be able to obtain their residence and work permits. Thus, now students will be able to apply for Spanish citizenship after 3 years of being in Spain (1 as a student with a work permit and 2 with residence and work) and not after 5 as used to happen”, said the CEO of Larea.
Although it is not included in the package of new measures, the expert Meryem Hamedoum Torres assures that there is an option that could be considered the easiest and that has as its only requirement to demonstrate that the citizen has a total of 28 thousand euros (does not count real estate).
(Reform in force that speeds up the hiring of foreigners in Spain).
“What the law requires is that this person has €28,000 to stay in Spain for a year without having to work, has private medical insurance and has no criminal record. This permit is given for one year and is renewed for four more and is a residence permit, which means that two years after entering Spain, you can apply for nationality. So, if what you are looking for is to obtain Spanish citizenship quickly, this is the best way, because in just 2 years Colombians who carry out this procedure and remain in Spain for 6 months and 1 day per year will be able to request it, without have made departures from the country for more than 3 consecutive months and have the financial means to do so”, explains Hamedoum Torres, who is also a partner in the firm, Larea.
