City
Relocation & immigration — Barcelona
Catalonia
Barcelona is Spain’s international business hub: multinational employers, a dense startup ecosystem and a large expat professional class. Housing is competitive and bureaucracy busy, so local expertise really pays off here.
In Catalonia some procedures have regional specifics; our partner lawyers know the Barcelona offices and Catalan-language requirements.
Services in this city
Residency & Legal StayBarcelona is the one place in Spain where a work-and-residence case is split between two administrationsLearn more →Company Formation & BankingA non-EU founder incorporating in Barcelona has a step nobody in Madrid hasLearn more →Taxes & AccountingBarcelona's tax picture has two administrations in itLearn more →Turnkey RelocationThe decision families most often get wrong about Barcelona is schoolingLearn more →Property Buyer’s AgentBarcelona is the most heavily regulated residential market in Spain, and the regulation is Catalan rather than nationalLearn more →Residency After the Golden VisaBarcelona's post-Golden-Visa routes are mostly work-based, which in Catalonia means an extra administrative step that did not exist under the investment visaLearn more →Translation & ApostilleBarcelona is the city where translation runs in two directions at onceLearn more →Temporary Protection (Ukrainians)Barcelona has one of Spain's four CREADE centres, so first applications for temporary protection are handled here directly rather than referred elsewhereLearn more →
Local context: Barcelona
| Extranjería office | Oficina de Extranjería de Barcelona — the busiest in Spain, where appointment availability is the usual bottleneck |
|---|---|
| Work authorisations | Filed with the Generalitat, not the state — a separate procedure with its own portal |
| Company registry | Registro Mercantil de Barcelona |
| Local context | Multinational employers and a dense startup ecosystem, so employer-sponsored and highly-qualified routes are common here |
| Work authorisation | Granted by the Generalitat, not the state (Real Decreto 1463/2009) — Catalonia is the only community with this competence |
| Residence permits | Central Oficina de Extranjería — so a work-and-residence case spans two administrations |
| Tax administration | Agencia Tributaria (state) + Agència Tributària de Catalunya for regional taxes |
| Forms and notices | Frequently issued in Catalan |
Sources: Real Decreto 1463/2009 (BOE) · Generalitat de Catalunya — Treball · Cita previa — Sede electrónica · Agencia Tributaria
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