Register as a job seeker in Spain as a foreigner: NIE and work permit

In short: to register as a job seeker in Spain as a foreigner you go to the public employment service of your region. The rule asks for a NIE and, if you are not from the EU, a document proving your right to work (Royal Decree 438/2024, arts. 7 and 9). Access to these services is free (art. 4.b) and opens guidance, job offers and free courses for unemployed people.

In person or by representative? It depends on the region: online with Cl@ve or a digital certificate, or in person with an appointment at the employment office. The sources we reviewed do not mention representation with a power of attorney; by default, get ready to go yourself and confirm with your employment service. For online access, see Cl@ve and the electronic certificate.

Who can register. Under art. 7.1 of RD 438/2024 you must be over 16, have a DNI or NIE and live habitually in a municipality of the region whose employment service registers you. If you are a non-EU foreigner you must also have a recognised right of access to the labour market, and when you register you provide the document that authorises it (art. 9.1.b). The registration can be held at only one employment service at a time (art. 6.2).

What the rule does not say: it speaks of a document that authorises the right of access to the labour market, but it does not list which ones count. Each employment service decides what it accepts, so confirm before you go. On people without a DNI or NIE, the rule only says they can register «according to current regulations».

Depending on your situation

• With a TIE of residence and work, or of an arraigo. Arraigo authorisations carry a work authorisation (RD 1155/2024, art. 131); under socioformativo arraigo, up to 30 hours a week as an employee (art. 131.b). Bring your TIE and your NIE.
• Socioformativo arraigo. To take a course promoted by the employment service, Instruction SEM 1/2025 (paragraph QUINTA.1.d) asks you to register as a «demandante de servicios previos al empleo». That happens once you have the arraigo granted and a NIE, and the training is scheduled and authorised. With the application only filed you cannot yet: in Catalonia, the SOC says so expressly. For the extension, if you finish the training before the year ends, you must prove the title or certificate, be actively looking for work and be registered (art. 132.2.b of RD 1155/2024). See the card on extending the arraigo.
• Extension of other arraigos. The extension of the second-chance, socio-labour or social arraigo is conditional on actively looking for work and being registered with the employment service. Justified reasons, such as illness, disability or retirement age, are exempt (art. 132.2.a of RD 1155/2024).
• Temporary protection (Ukraine). The resolution granting temporary protection includes the residence and work authorisation (art. 5.1 of Order PCM/169/2022). Since it includes the right to work, in principle you meet the requirement of art. 7.1.d. Bring the resolution or your TIE and confirm which document your employment service accepts. Card: how to apply for temporary protection.
• International-protection applicant. You can work from 6 months after the date of the application, if it was admitted for processing and is still unresolved for a reason that is not yours. It is proven by the «autoriza a trabajar» annotation on your applicant document (additional provision 14 of RD 1155/2024). Before that moment you do not have the right to work recognised, so you do not meet the requirement of art. 7.1.d. Card: how to apply for asylum.
• Extraordinary regularisation in process (RD 316/2026). The deadline to apply was 30 June 2026: this only applies if you already filed. With the notice of start you are provisionally authorised to reside and work until your application is decided, and that notice records it (additional provisions 20, paragraph 3, and 21, paragraph 4, of RD 1155/2024). Only an express refusal ends that authorisation; silence after 3 months does not (criterion of the Dirección General de Gestión Migratoria, 22.07.2026). The sources we reviewed do not say whether every employment service accepts that document for registration; ask before you go. Card: provisional authorisation and administrative silence.
• No work authorisation. You do not meet the requirement of art. 7.1.d. See free courses for immigrants without papers.

How to register. Each autonomous community runs its own public employment service and decides how the procedure works; in Ceuta and Melilla the SEPE runs it, according to a SEPE note from 2017. Examples of official pages:

• Andalusia (SAE): online with a digital certificate or Cl@ve; without them, you book an appointment to complete your registration at the employment office. It asks non-EU foreigners to hold an administrative authorisation.
• Valencian Community (LABORA): the first registration is requested with an appointment in Punt LABORA and done at the Espai LABORA that corresponds to your address, which you prove with your DNI or the empadronamiento certificate.
• Catalonia (SOC): the first registration can be done online if you have a DNI. People with a NIE linked to a residence authorisation can request it by phone, and the SOC recommends booking an appointment at the Oficina de Treball. There the registration and renewal document is called DARDO. According to the SOC, after registering you must contact the Oficina de Treball within 30 days to complete your professional profile; otherwise the registration is cancelled.
• Balearic Islands (SOIB): the first registration is done at any SOIB office, and booking an appointment is recommended. Non-EU people present the NIE and an identity document (TIE or valid passport). With a residence authorisation but no work permit, the SOIB registers you for pre-employment services (servicios previos al empleo): training and guidance, no job offers.
• Other regions: look for the job seeker registration on the website of your employment service. The Community of Madrid has its Virtual Employment Office and the Canary Islands have the Servicio Canario de Empleo, whose registration and renewal procedure is called DARDE.

What registration gives you and what it asks of you

• Services. Guidance, job matching, training at work and advice on self-employment, with free access (arts. 4.b and 10 of RD 438/2024). Guidance includes an individual profile, which the service must give you within 3 months of your request (art. 12.3). Then comes a personalised itinerary with an activity agreement, which you have the right to receive at most 1 month after the profile if you ask for it (art. 14).
• Courses and aid. The free courses for unemployed people (art. 5 of Royal Decree 694/2017) and, while you take them, transport, meal, accommodation and childcare aid in the amount set by a ministerial order (art. 25).
• Unemployment benefit. If you are entitled to it, it is requested separately at the SEPE (SEPE note from 2017).
• Extending the arraigo. It is a condition in the cases of art. 132.2 described above.
• Renewal. Renew the registration on the dates your employment service sets, which appear in the DARDE (registration and renewal document). If you do not renew it, you are removed (arts. 8.a and 9.3.a). You are also removed if your authorisation loses validity (art. 9.3.e), and the registration can be suspended while you take a course (art. 9.2.g). If you receive unemployment benefit, see the obligations in the card on free SEPE courses for unemployed people.

Documents

• Valid passport or TIE, with your NIE (the SOIB asks for the NIE and the TIE or passport).
• The document proving your right to work: TIE with work authorisation, temporary protection resolution, applicant document with the «autoriza a trabajar» annotation, or the notice of start of the regularisation. Confirm which one your employment service accepts.
• Habitual address: the empadronamiento; LABORA accepts the certificate to prove your address.
• Details for your profile: occupations you look for, studies, languages and diplomas, work experience and driving licences (art. 9.1).
• Whatever your region asks for: each employment service sets the exact list.

Steps:

1. Gather your NIE and the document proving your right to work.
2. Find the employment service of your region; you can be registered with only one.
3. Request the registration: online with Cl@ve or a digital certificate, or with an appointment at the office, depending on the region.
4. Provide your details: address, occupations, studies and experience.
5. Keep your DARDE and renew the registration on the dates it shows.
6. Ask for guidance and look for free courses for unemployed people.

Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.