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Sending staff from a non-EU company to install equipment in Spain: which work authorisation applies now?

The question

We have an industrial project in Spain and need to send several technicians employed by our Chinese company to install and commission equipment for a Spanish client, for up to six months. Which visa or authorisation do they need?

Our answer

Installing and commissioning equipment is productive work, so a Schengen business visa is not enough. Your staff need a residence and work authorisation issued in Spain before they apply for their visas at the consulate.
The route that used to cover this, the transnational provision of services authorisation, was repealed by the new Immigration Regulation (Royal Decree 1155/2024). The Ministry of Inclusion states that these postings are now processed as an intra-company transfer under Law 14/2013 (the entrepreneurs' law), through the Unit for Large Companies and Strategic Groups (UGE-CE), when its requirements are met.
What that means for a six-month project:
  • The application is filed by the company, not by each worker, and is decided in Spain first; the consulate visa comes afterwards.
  • You will need to show the employment relationship with your company, the service contract with the Spanish client, the specific work to be done in Spain, the dates and duration, and the workers' qualifications.
  • Social Security must be settled: whether the workers stay covered in China during the posting or are registered in Spain. There is no bilateral agreement that covers every case, so confirm this before filing.
If the project does not fit the intra-company transfer (for instance, no service contract or group relationship that qualifies), the fallback is an initial residence and work authorisation as an employee, applied for by the Spanish client as employer.
Because several workers and a fixed project date are involved, have the Spanish client or an immigration lawyer confirm the exact route with UGE-CE before booking visa appointments.
Official sources: Ministry of Inclusion, transnational provision of services (repealed route) and Law 14/2013, articles 73 onwards, intra-company transfer.

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