All Ley 14/2013 statuses
Intra-company transfer · ICT

Transferring to your company's
Spanish office

Being transferred to Spain from an office of the same corporate group outside the EU? This status has two modalities and three entry routes.

Two modalities — art. 73.3, Ley 14/2013

Art. 73 · Transfer from outside the EU

ICT-EU

  • Manager / specialist: permit for up to 3 years.
  • Trainee employee: permit for up to 1 year.
  • EU mobility: the holder can move to other EU member states without a new permit — just a notification; the Dirección General de Migraciones has 20 days to object.
Art. 73.3.b · National modality

National ICT

  • When it applies: outside ICT-EU cases, or once the maximum ICT-EU period has been used up.
  • Duration: 3 years, or the length of the transfer if shorter.
  • For companies: a simplified collective procedure is available — registering the corporate group with the UGE for 3 years (renewable), which exempts you from re-proving some requirements on every new application.
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We haven't found a dedicated official "ICT-EU renewal" procedure: per the text of the law, the national modality (art. 73.3.b) applies precisely once the maximum ICT-EU period has run out. We're verifying this point separately before publishing an article on renewal.

Three entry routes

The transfer is formalised on the basis of one of three relationships with the group company:

  • Employment relationship — an employment link with the group company.
  • Professional relationship — a non-employment professional link.
  • Vocational training — an internship within the corporate group.

A common condition across all three routes — at least 3 months of a prior relationship with the group company at the time of the application (art. 73.2.c).

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ICT is only for people who are not yet within EU territory at the time of application. You can't switch an existing Spanish status into ICT — art. 73.1 requires a visa for both modalities and, for ICT-EU, this also follows from EU Directive 2014/66/EU.

First application

An intra-company transfer needs a visa matching the duration of the transfer and an intra-company transfer residence permit (art. 73.1, Ley 14/2013). The requirements of art. 73.2 are the same for both modalities. The modalities differ in where they apply and in their maximum duration (art. 73.3), as explained above.

Requirements

What you need to prove

  • Real activity: of the company and, where relevant, of the corporate group (art. 73.2.a).
  • Qualification: a higher-education degree at least equivalent to MECES level 1 (level 5A), or at least 3 years of professional experience comparable to such a qualification (art. 73.2.b).
  • Prior relationship: at least 3 months of continuous prior employment or professional relationship with one or more companies of the group (art. 73.2.c).
  • Company documents: proving the transfer (art. 73.2.d).
  • General requirements of art. 62: including health insurance, sufficient financial resources and payment of the fee.
Process

How the application works

  • Where: electronically with the UGE (art. 76.1).
  • Timeline: the UGE decides within 20 days. If there is no decision within that time, the permit is treated as granted (art. 76.1).
  • Visa: issued by the consulate, normally within 10 business days. The visa is valid for one year or for the permit's duration, if shorter (arts. 75.4 and 75.5).
  • After approval: if the permit is valid for more than 6 months, you must apply for the foreigner's identity card (TIE) (art. 76.2).
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The law does not set out separate document lists for ICT-EU and for the national modality. We confirm what the UGE asks for before filing. If the company is entered in the UGE register (see below), part of the requirements need not be proved when filing.

Company registration with the UGE: collective processing

A company or group of companies can ask for collective processing of permits: planned management of a temporary quota (cupo) of permits submitted by the company or group. To do this, the company registers with the UGE (art. 74.1, Ley 14/2013).

Benefits

What registration gives

  • Duration: the registration is valid for 3 years and can be renewed (art. 74.1).
  • Exemption: when filing, a registered company does not have to prove real activity, the worker's qualification or the 3 months of prior relationship (art. 73.2.a, b and c). The company's documents on the transfer and the general requirements of art. 62 still apply.
  • Checks: the authorities may verify these requirements on their own initiative, so the company must keep the supporting documents (art. 74.1).
Conditions

Limits and obligations

  • Who it does not apply to: companies or groups that, in the 3 years before the application, were sanctioned for a serious or very serious breach of immigration law, or did not show compliance in the authorities' checks (art. 74.2).
  • Proof once: the company proves the requirements once and is entered in the UGE register. This also covers the permits of highly qualified professionals (art. 76.4).
  • Changes: any change in the conditions must be reported to the UGE within 30 days; otherwise the company is removed from the register (art. 76.4).

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