Depending on your unique situation, you can qualify for several social benefits and welfare programs as an immigrant in Spain. Spanish residents are supported by a strong social security system. Workers, single proprietors or firms, students, government workers, members of affiliated labor cooperatives, and self-employed people are all covered by the welfare system. It is crucial to have legal immigrant status to get social benefits and welfare in Spain. This entails possessing a valid visa or residency permit that enables you to live and work in the nation.
Empadronamiento
To get social benefits, you must first register with your local town hall or city council via a procedure known as “empadronamiento.” Your residency in a certain municipality is established via this registration, which is often necessary to use local services and benefits.
Social security number
The Spanish government will need to provide you with an international social security number, known as an NIE. To access a variety of services, including public advantages, you need this number.
Program for foreigners’ integration (programa de integración de personas extranjeras)
This initiative intends to assist foreigners in assimilating into Spanish society. It offers advice, information, and help on a variety of topics, including public rights, jobs, housing, and language study. Local government authorities or groups that serve immigrants may answer your questions regarding this program.
Social support
If you are having trouble making ends meet, you may qualify for public assistance programs like the Minimum Income (Ingreso Mnimo Vital). It is a means-tested benefit designed to guarantee a minimal quality of living for families and individuals in need. It is important to get advice from a public worker or the local social services office (Servicios Sociales) since requirements and application procedures differ.
What the Spanish welfare system offers
Benefits offered by Spain’s welfare system include:
Sick pay benefits
You are eligible to receive sickness cash perks (sick pay) for up to 365 days (plus an additional 180 days on a doctor’s recommendation). You must have paid societal security payments for a total of 180 days during the preceding five years and are unable to work due to illness or an accident. For the first 20 days, you get 60% of the monthly contribution basis, and then 75%. By providing a medical certificate to your employer—or the INSS if you work for yourself—you may get illness pay benefits.
Pregnancy perks
Permiso de la Maternidad, a paid leave of absence, is available to employees and certain self-employed women beginning on the day the baby is born. A formal adoption or foster care decision can also be the reason. You will get a daily amount equivalent to 100% of your typical daily salary in the month before the start of maternity leave for 16 straight weeks. You must have paid into social security for at least 180 days during the preceding seven years if you are over 26. Or, if you’re under 21, 360 days during your whole working lifetime. Paternity benefits, which have identical conditions, are available to fathers who have made equivalent contributions. To apply, you must contact your regional INSS. If your work puts your pregnancy in danger, you can be eligible for a maternity risk-benefit that starts on the day your employment contract ends. If you work and/or reside in Spain for the first three years of a child’s life, you may be qualified for a tax credit of around EUR 100 per month. Additionally, self-employed individuals are exempt from making two-year social security contributions of around 240 EUR.
Retirement and pensions
You will be qualified for a state pension when you reach retirement age, which is currently 65 years and 5 months. You must have made at least the minimum required contributions for at least 15 years—at least two of which must have occurred in the 15 years before retirement. The average pension salary at the moment is EUR 900. You must fill out a pension application form and submit it to your neighborhood INSS to apply.
Invalidity and other benefits
You can be eligible for invalidity benefits if you have a chronic illness that keeps you from working. Pension and rehabilitation are included as benefits. The Disability Evaluation Board (EVI) is where one may apply for invalidity payments. There is no minimum contribution period if the condition was brought on by your employment. If it wasn’t, you had to have been contributing to a plan for a certain number of years, based on your age and the time you became disabled. You may be qualified to apply for survivors’ benefits if your relative has been contributing for at least 500 days in the five years before death. No previous insurance is necessary for occupational illnesses or workplace accidents.
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