Workers with a European passport
You may work from the first day. A short contract only calls for the NIE; when the job keeps you here past three months, take your contract to an appointment for the EX-18 green certificate. The employer then registers you with social security, which gives you your own affiliation number.
Workers on a non-EU passport
Working needs an authorisation that combines residence and work, usually requested by the employer before you travel, then a visa and, after arrival, the toma de huellas for the TIE. Those already living in Spain may qualify for other routes, such as arraigo.
Locally, arraigo and changes of status appear on the list of the Delegación’s foreigners’ office, which shares the Cabezo Cortado site with the police.
SourceDelegación del Gobierno en la Región de Murcia, extranjería (opens in a new tab)
Before the first payslip
- Your NIE, or the TIE that shows it
- A social security affiliation number
- An account at a Spanish bank to be paid into
- Your entry on the padrón where you sleep
- A copy of your contract, kept safely
In Murcia
Workers living in Alcantarilla, Molina de Segura, Las Torres de Cotillas or Santomera can request the NIE at Cabezo Cortado or at the Molina comisaría, both in our guide to the offices of the region. Non-EU workers deal with the Oficina de Extranjería for the authorisation itself, in the same Cabezo Cortado complex.
Questions people ask
Is a NIE enough to start a job?
For Europeans, it is. Everyone else needs a work authorisation as well; the number by itself gives no right to work.
Who registers me with social security?
Your employer, when you start. The affiliation number you receive is yours for life, like the NIE.