The almanac
Hired for the harvest: papers before day one
Farms, cooperatives and packing houses hire across the region. What an employer needs from you before your first day, depending on your passport.
The fields and warehouses of the region keep produce moving through much of the year, and hiring follows the crops. When a contract comes up quickly, the paperwork is what slows people down, so it pays to know the sequence in advance.
Holding a European passport, you can work from day one. What your employer needs is your NIE, to register you with social security. For a short contract, the plain number is enough; if you are staying beyond three months, the EX-18 green certificate, is the right request.
Without a European passport, the number on its own will not let you work. First comes an authorisation joining residence and work, usually set going by the employer, and then a TIE, starting with the toma de huellas. Residents already in Spain sometimes qualify through arraigo instead, a file the Delegación’s office at Cabezo Cortado deals with.
Wherever you live, Molina de Segura, Alcantarilla, Lorca or the city itself, check which of the offices of the region is closest. The comisarías of Molina de Segura, Cartagena, Lorca and Yecla all list NIE procedures, and a nearer appointment means less time away from work.
If you would rather start the request online, you can apply for your NIE online with Gestoraz while you wait for the contract details.
