Arraigo sociolaboral: contract, hours and salary required

«Arraigo laboral»: what happened to it

Many people still search for «arraigo laboral», with good reason: for years it was the route for those who could prove a past employment relationship while irregular. The 2025 Regulation reorganised it and that name no longer appears in the law. What exists now is:

Arraigo sociolaboral, which looks forward: it is proved with current or future employment contracts.
Second-chance arraigo, for those who held a residence permit and lost it.
For those who worked while irregular and cooperate with the Labour Inspectorate or the courts, article 129.2 keeps a specific cooperation permit, separate from arraigo.

If someone tells you that «arraigo laboral means six months worked», they are quoting the previous rules. The current one works differently.

What exactly the contract must provide

Article 127.b) sets three conditions read together:

Salary: at least the statutory minimum wage or that set in the collective agreement applicable when applying, in proportion to hours worked.
Hours: the contracts must add up to a working week of no less than twenty hours overall.
Employer: must meet the requirements of article 74 of the Regulation, except section 1.a).

More than one contract is allowed in two specific cases: seasonal work or work tied to seasonal production, where two or more consecutive contracts with different employers fit; and activities carried out part-time and simultaneously for more than one employer, in the same or a different occupation.

It is an important opening for sectors such as hospitality, agriculture and care, where a single twenty-hour contract is the exception rather than the rule.

Provisional permission to work

Here is the advantage that sets this type apart. Article 130.5, as worded by Royal Decree 316/2026, provides that once the application is admitted and until the procedure is decided, the applicant is provisionally allowed to reside and to work as an employee. The notice of the start of processing states so expressly.

Once the procedure is decided and the permit granted, its effectiveness is conditional on the person being registered in the relevant Social Security scheme within one month of notification. That month is non-negotiable and easily lost: warn the employer before filing, not after receiving the decision.

General requirements, asked for in every type

Article 126 of the Regulation requires them to be met cumulatively, that is, all at once:

Being in Spain when the application is filed and not being an applicant for international protection with an open file.
Having stayed in Spain continuously for at least the two years before the application. Arraigo familiar is the only exception: it requires no minimum stay.
Not being a threat to public order, security or public health.
Having no criminal record in Spain or in the countries of residence during the five years before entering Spain, for offences provided for in Spanish law.
Not being listed as non-admissible in countries with which Spain has an agreement to that effect.
Not being within a period of commitment not to return to Spain.
Having paid the processing fee.
Not holding a stay or residence permit and not being a party to another procedure to grant, extend, renew or modify permits. This last requirement is new: it was added by Royal Decree 316/2026 and has been in force since 16 April 2026.

That last point deserves attention because it changes the strategy of many files: you can no longer have two procedures open at once. If an application is in progress, it must be decided or withdrawn before applying for arraigo.

How the procedure works

A permit for exceptional circumstances requires no visa and is applied for in person before the competent body, except for minors or people who need support to exercise their legal capacity, where their legal representative may file it.

With the application you provide a full copy of your valid passport, registration card or travel document valid in Spain; the signed employment contract where required; and the documents proving the specific situation claimed. For arraigo you also provide the criminal record certificate from the country or countries where you lived during the five years before entering Spain. The immigration office requests the Central Criminal Records report and the police report ex officio.

There are two cases where third-country records need not be proved: having stayed continuously in Spain for the five years immediately before the application, or having proved it in a previous application within those five years without having left since.

If the documents are incomplete, the administration requests correction with a deadline that cannot exceed fifteen days. If it is not corrected, the file is closed as withdrawn. That is by far the most frequent reason for the lost files that reach this gestoría.

Tracking the file needs no phone calls: see how to check the status of an immigration file. Once the permit is granted, there is one month from notification to apply in person for the foreigner identity card.

What we check in the contract before filing

Files fail on the contract far more often than on time in Spain. What we look at, in this order:

That the applicable collective agreement is correctly identified and the agreed salary respects it, not just the general minimum wage.
That the hours add up to a real twenty per week overall, contract by contract.
That the employer is up to date and meets article 74, including the solvency to sustain the contract.
That the occupation and the workplace are described precisely.
That signatures and dates are consistent with the filing date.

And a warning we always give: a contract signed for the file but not going to be performed is a serious risk for both parties, not a shortcut.

Want us to check your case before filing?

Registered gestora administrativa, ICGA Valencia. We review the requirements and documents before touching the file. Free first consultation.

Frequently asked questions

Is a contract of exactly twenty hours enough?

Yes. The Regulation requires a working week of no less than twenty hours overall, so twenty meets it. Fewer hours do not, even if the salary is high.

Can I add several contracts to reach twenty hours?

Yes, in two cases: seasonal work, with two or more consecutive contracts with different employers; and part-time simultaneous work for more than one employer, in the same or a different occupation.

Can I work while the application is being decided?

Yes. Once the arraigo sociolaboral application is admitted, you are provisionally allowed to reside and work as an employee until the procedure is decided. The notice of the start of processing says so expressly.

What happens after the permit is granted?

Its effectiveness is conditional on being registered in the relevant Social Security scheme within one month of notification. In that same month you must apply for the foreigner identity card.

Does arraigo sociolaboral allow self-employment?

The application rests on employee contracts, but the permit granted allows both employed and self-employed work, with no geographic or occupational limit.

Legal basis

Official sources

Written by Irina Klein. Reviewed by Elena Alonso Volostnova, registered gestora administrativa (ICGA Valencia). Updated on 5 October 2026. This page is general information and does not replace personalised advice on your case.

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