Spain Introduces 4-Year Seasonal Work Permit for Foreigners, Lists Six Requirements

• Spain's Ministry of Inclusion published the GECCO Order 2026, introducing a four-year seasonal work permit for foreign nationals hired collectively from their home countries
• The permit allows holders to work up to nine months per calendar year under fixed-term contracts, with a mandatory return home at the end of each employment period
• Over 25,000 circular migrant workers participated in Spain's seasonal programmes in 2025, a 25% increase from the previous year, with women making up 92% of participants

Spain has introduced a new legal framework for the collective hiring of foreign seasonal workers, with the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration publishing the Order for the Collective Management of Contracts in Origin, known as the GECCO Order 2026, in the country's Official State Gazette.

The order establishes multi-year work permits valid for up to four years, with provisions for extension where workers continue to meet the required conditions.

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It governs collective hiring agreements concluded in workers' home countries and sets the terms under which circular migration programmes can operate in Spain.

What the GECCO Order 2026 covers

Under the scheme, permit holders may work for a maximum of nine months within any calendar year through fixed-term intermittent contracts. Workers must return to their country of origin at the end of each employment period before being called up again.

Several conditions apply to participation. Applicants must not be residing in Spain at the time of application, and each batch of authorisations must cover a minimum of 10 jobs to qualify for joint processing.

Employers are required to provide accommodation for workers throughout the entire period of activity and during any subsequent call-up, and must notify the processing body of any changes to those arrangements.

The 2026 order has been updated to align with Spain's new Immigration Regulations, known as RELOEX, which came into force in May 2025. Rights and protections previously included in annual ministerial orders on a year-by-year basis are now embedded directly within the RELOEX framework, offering workers more stable and consistent legal guarantees.

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Circular migration in Spain reaches record levels

Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration Elma Saiz described 2025 as a record year for circular migration in Spain. According to the ministry, 25,767 workers from 17 countries took part in seasonal programmes that year, spread across 21 Spanish provinces, with agriculture accounting for the largest share of activity.

The figure represents a 25% increase compared with 2024. Over the past three years, more than 65,000 workers have participated in such programmes: approximately 19,000 in 2023, over 20,000 in 2024, and more than 25,000 in 2025.

Women accounted for 92% of circular migration programme participants in 2025. That proportion is set to remain significant under a newly launched regional initiative: on 16 December 2025, Spain, France and Morocco agreed to launch WAFIRA II, a circular migration programme running from 2026 to 2028. The programme will support 3,000 Moroccan workers, predominantly women, in seasonal roles across both Spain and France.

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Spain names African countries eligible for visa-free entry

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Spain had officially listed its 2026 visa entry requirements, under which citizens of eight African countries qualify for visa-free access.

Citizens of Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Lesotho, Mauritius, Seychelles, Cape Verde and Rwanda are exempt from prior visa applications as of April 2026.

Source: YEN.com.gh