Spain planning to grant more work visas

Spain is planning to grant more work visas to address the labour shortage in tourism and construction sector_ Spain's Inclusion_ Social Security and Migration Minister Jose Luis Escriva said on June 3.

According to the Minister_ the government intends to relax the work visas for foreigners to meet the worker shortage in tourism_ agriculture_ construction and technology industries.

The government is planning to allow around 50_000 non-EU students to combine studies with work. It will also facilitate access to work permits to those who have a previous connection with Spain through family_ residence or at least two years' work_ even if it was informal.

The most demanding job vacancies in the country are telemarketers_ sales representatives_ delivery vehicle drivers and software developers.

Spain's economy was hit hardest in euro zone by Covid-19 pandemic and shrunk by 11% in the year 2020. Though unemployment is still high_ pandemic encouraged more workers to join the formal economy as official contracts were needed to collect furlough payments.

As a result_ formal employment has reached a record high_ causing shortages in some areas.

Though Spain's tourism industry is rebounding after Covid-19 pandemic_ the companies are struggling to find workers to clean hotel rooms. The fear of staff shortage could also hinder Spain's ability to realize pandemic recovery projects funded by the European Union (EU).