As we have already indicated in previous blogs, the residence permit for employment roots took a 180º turn as a result of the rulings of the Supreme Court initiated with the now famous ruling of 25/03/2021, which, although it raised many hopes, also raised many questions that the Administration (in a display of bad judgment) responded to with the Instruction SEM 1/2021 published in June, which caused each of the Foreigners’ Offices to demand different requirements, issuing different resolutions depending on where in Spain the foreigner was registered.
Therefore, taking into account that the province of Barcelona has taken the longest to resolve these procedures (6 months on average), there was great expectation to know what criteria would be established in order to grant such a longed-for permit.
Well, taking into account that in mid-September we were the first office to receive a work permit under the new criteria, since then we have been granted 25 work permits, the balance of which have all been granted, except for 4, 2 of which were self-employed and the other 2 were part-time. All this allows us to conclude that the criteria adopted by the Barcelona Foreigners’ Office to grant work permits are as follows:
They are only refusing applications made by those who were self-employed, or were employed but part-time, or simply did not reach the minimum 6 months of contributions.
They also do not accept applications made by those who still have their red card in force, but accept to remedy the application by submitting a waiver of the red card.
On the other hand, the following applications are accepted:
Those submitted only with the work life report (no work contracts or pay slips need to be submitted).
Those with discontinuous work (i.e. the 6 months need not be continuous).
And they have even been granted to foreigners who had lodged an appeal against the refusal of asylum (both administratively and judicially) and even to people who were still registered and continued working.
From here on, the question for those who have had their permit frustrated, either because they are self-employed or because they are part-time workers, is: What do we do from now on?
Obviously, our firm advises appealing, and not to be intimidated by the Administration. In fact, we have already appealed these unfavourable rulings in the contentious-administrative courts of Barcelona, as we continue to believe that the Ministry of the Interior, through its Instruction SEM 1/2021, made a twisted interpretation of the Supreme Court rulings, and they say what they say, which is that the permit must be granted to those who can prove that they have worked for 6 months in a period of 2 years. Nowhere does it state that it has to be full-time work, in an irregular situation, or as an employee, but as simple as having worked for a period of 6 months in the last 2 years. That is why we advise you to appeal, and not to be afraid of the courts because, as demonstrated by the Supreme Court rulings, they are there to defend our rights against the many arbitrary actions of the Administration.
Finally, with those who have obtained their permits through this new channel, we can honestly say that it has been very exciting to see how in the last few weeks we have managed to change the lives of many people, some of whom have even started to cry when they received our phone call, which has made us very emotional, as we are people first and foremost. Congratulations to all of them, and thank you very much for trusting our office, especially for the circumstances, because they were among the first to decide, when it was a complicated time because in many places of the RRSS (honestly, I do not know why) messages were introduced that all this was a hoax, and little less than we were accused to offices like ours of wanting to deceive people generating false expectations.
Well, as it has already been demonstrated, the labour roots are already a reality, and if you think you can apply for it, do not hesitate to contact us and be one more of those who have obtained their permit through this route.
Call us on 931454520!!!