European passports
Work is open to you from the first day. The employer needs your NIE to register you: on a short contract, with your home still abroad, a number on form EX-15 does the job. Staying more than three months? Then a single appointment for the green certificate (form EX-18) gives you the number and your registration as a resident, with your contract as the evidence.
Other passports
A NIE does not allow anyone to work. A first job usually needs an authorisation for residence and work, requested by the employer while you are still abroad, then a visa and, once you arrive, the TIE. People already living in Spain may have other routes, decided by the Oficina de Extranjería in Murcia, the only one in the region. British residents under the Withdrawal Agreement may work without any further permission.
The Social Security number
The TGSS, or Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (the body that runs Social Security registration), issues a número de afiliación, your Social Security number. Ask for it yourself, or let your employer obtain it when registering you; either way, it stays yours for life. The seg-social.es office finder gives the TGSS office in Cartagena at C/ Ángel Bruna 20-22.
Working for yourself
Self-employed work, as an autónomo, means registering yourself with the tax agency and with the TGSS. Non-EU nationals need an authorisation that allows self-employment.
Looking for work
The regional employment service, the SEF, assigns its Cartagena employment office to the municipalities of Cartagena, La Unión and Fuente Álamo, and its San Javier office to San Javier, San Pedro del Pinatar and Los Alcázares. Its services are free for those who register as jobseekers, from job offers to training courses and guidance.
Before the first shift
- The NIE, whichever document shows it
- The Social Security number
- A Spanish account for your pay
- Your padrón (municipal register) entry, as proof of address
- A signed copy of your contract
In Cartagena
Workers in Cartagena find the police steps in the city: policia.es lists the NIE, the EU certificate and TIE issue at Menéndez y Pelayo 6. Work authorisations are another matter, handled by the Oficina de Extranjería at Cabezo Cortado, in Murcia.
Questions
My start date is close and my NIE appointment comes later. What now?
Tell the employer the date: registration with Social Security comes before your first day, and it needs the number. Meanwhile, keep looking for an earlier slot across the province.
I work in Cartagena but live in Torre-Pacheco. Where is my padrón?
In Torre-Pacheco: you register where you live, not where you work.
Are the Social Security number and the NIE the same thing?
No. They are two numbers from two administrations: the NIE from the police, the Social Security number from the TGSS.
Official sources
- policia.es: the Policía Nacional’s directory of foreigners’ units for the Región de Murcia (entry 30), Cartagena among them
- Delegación del Gobierno: the one Oficina de Extranjería of the region, at Cabezo Cortado, with its list of procedures and its appointment instructions
- seg-social.es office finder: Social Security offices in Cartagena, the TGSS among them
- SEF, the regional employment service: its employment offices and the municipalities each one covers
- sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es: the State’s online booking of foreigners’ appointments
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