3.7 Cross-border mobility in employment, entrepreneurship and vocational opportunities
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Programmes and schemes for cross-border mobility
Besides participation at national level in European programmes such as Erasmus+ (which includes a specific programme in the scope of cross-border mobility called Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs) and Your first EURES job, Spain has launched a number of specific programmes relating to the cross-border mobility of young people:
The Youth Programme (Programa Jóvenes) is an international mobility programme promoted and funded by the Secretariat of State for Migration, and it is conceived to encourage the social and work integration of Spanish youth living abroad who are under 35 years of age. It includes specific programmes of training and traineeship within companies, professional specialisation and entrepreneurship, as well as of foreign language improvement.
At a national level, not only the Public Administration, but also other bodies launch youth cross- border mobility programmes. Such is the case of the Chambers of Commerce and their Youth Mobility Plan (Plan de Movilidad).
Also at a sub-national level there are programmes promoting cross-border mobility among youth: Programa TLN Mobilicat (Catalonia) or Programa Galeuropa (Galicia).
Legal framework
Companies participating in youth cross-border mobility programmes are obliged to respect national law related to employment and social protection matters, and to guarantee protection and suitable benefits (such as social security, health and accident insurance) both for workers and for people carrying out mobile traineeship or apprenticeship programmes. In addition, they have to guarantee payment and provide a written contract stating professional goals (or of vocational training), duration of the contractual relationship, working hours, rights and responsibilities, payment and dispositions concerning social security.
Depending on the type of stay you will need different types of authorization. In the case of cross-border mobility of youth from the European Union, they shall ask for a registration certificate (certificado de registro) to cover periods of over three months. The authorisation of stay for non-labour practices (Autorización de estancia para la realización de prácticas no laborales) is intended for non-citizens of an E.U. or European Economic Area State or Switzerland and must be carried out within the framework of an agreement signed with a public or private body or entity.
Residence authorisation for the purpose of seeking employment or starting a business project (Autorización de residencia para búsqueda de empleo o inicio de proyecto empresarial) may be requested by foreigners who have been holders of a previous authorisation to stay for studies and who have completed their studies in a higher education institution authorised in Spain, reaching at least Level 6 according to the European Qualifications Framework, corresponding to the accreditation of a university degree.
Initial authorisation for temporary residence and self-employed work (Autorización inicial de residencia temporal y trabajo por cuenta propia) is an authorisation for temporary residence and work for a foreigner who is not resident in Spain to carry out a lucrative activity as a self-employed person.