Lorraine Williamson
What happens when Spain urgently needs specialised workers but the bureaucracy drags on for months? A new measure introduced this autumn aims to answer that question by reshaping how foreign university degrees are handled when a candidate already has a firm job offer.
From 10 September 2025, the Secretaría General de Universidades has authorised an accelerated route for applicants with confirmed employment in highly qualified roles—an intervention that could reshape the country’s ability to attract global talent at a time when many strategic sectors face persistent shortages.
Spain has long wrestled with slow, paper-heavy recognition procedures, often leaving international candidates—many already living in Spain—waiting months or even years for their qualifications to be homologated. This bottleneck has become increasingly difficult to justify as engineering firms, ICT companies, scientific institutions and certain health-related professions struggle to fill vacancies.
Under the new resolution, applications will no longer move strictly in the order they were received. Instead, officials can pull forward files from candidates who present:
A job contract or pre-contract for a highly skilled role.
A written statement from the employer confirming that formal recognition is required to take up the post.
A university qualification of at least three years that corresponds to the appropriate Spanish level.
This shift does not relax the academic standards themselves, but it does remove the waiting-room effect that has frustrated both companies and candidates.
Homologation still stands – but the queue moves faster
The adjustment has prompted some confusion, largely because it arrived just as the Spanish Court of Auditors released a sharply critical assessment of the recognition system. That report highlighted significant backlogs and outdated procedures, sparking speculation that Spain was planning to make professional experience a substitute for formal homologation.
The ministry has been clear: the legal requirements remain unchanged. Anyone entering a regulated profession still needs the appropriate recognition or equivalence. What has changed is timing. Candidates with a concrete offer will see their file examined right away, while the substantive review—course content, level, comparability—remains fully intact.
Why the Court of Auditors stepped in
The auditors’ report landed with force because it outlined deep structural issues. In particular, it recommended that Spain explore adopting an EU-style model for non-EU nationals, under which extensive professional experience—typically between five and fifteen years—could act as a pathway to work without prior homologation.
The watchdog also urged the government to invest in additional staff, modern systems, and streamlined procedures to reduce the burden of thousands of pending files.
But these remain recommendations, not reforms. The government has not endorsed the proposal to treat experience as a replacement for official recognition.
How this fits into Europe’s broader shift
Across Europe, the need for highly skilled workers is shaping migration and labour policy. EU directives already call for quicker qualification checks, simplified administrative routes and better mobility for professionals in STEM, healthcare and digital industries. Spain’s move sits comfortably within this trend.
Officials also note that many applicants are not new arrivals. They are international residents already settled in Spain—raising families, paying taxes, and qualified to work—but blocked by slow administrative steps. Accelerating their files is seen as one of the quickest ways to relieve pressure on essential sectors.
What this means for jobseekers and employers
For candidates with legitimate job offers, the change could transform the experience. Waiting times should fall dramatically because their applications will be prioritised the moment employment is confirmed. The outcome—approval or rejection—will still depend on the academic assessment, but reaching that point should be far quicker.
For employers, especially in technical and scientific fields, it may ease recruitment headaches that have dragged on through months of unprocessed paperwork.
A system under pressure—and preparing for evolution
The accelerated route is ultimately a stopgap while Spain works out how to modernise a system that has not kept pace with changing labour needs. Whether future reforms will incorporate the Court of Auditors’ recommendations remains to be seen, but the signal is clear: Spain can no longer afford a recognition model that slows the arrival of skilled professionals.
Source: El Economista