Do we need to open a Spanish company to work here?

Not necessarily. A company from another country can provide services in Spain by posting its workers, as long as it meets the notification and documentation obligations. If the activity becomes continuous, another structure may suit better, but that is a tax and employment decision for a consultancy.

Does everything have to be translated?

Not everything, and not always with a sworn translation. It depends on the document and on who reviews it. The usual approach is to translate whatever the administration or the client cannot interpret on their own.

Our workers were trained in our own country. Is that enough?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on the content, the hours and the job. It is the point that generates most rejections, so check it before committing to dates rather than on the day of entry.

How long before the start date should we begin?

The more time, the better. If the documentation is complete, a couple of weeks can be enough. If training, adequate insurance cover or REA registration is missing, the timing is set by whoever issues each item.

Can you deal with the Spanish client directly?

Yes. Much of the work is precisely understanding what the client is asking for and turning it into specific documents, and doing that directly with their technician saves a lot of back and forth.

Foreign companies working in Spain: the documentation your client will ask for

First step: notifying the posting

When a company established in another country sends workers to provide a service in Spain, Law 45/1999 requires that posting to be notified to the labour authority of the region where the work will take place, before it starts rather than afterwards. The notification covers the company details, the posted workers, the Spanish company receiving the service, the work centre and the expected dates.

That notification is the foundation for everything else. Many Spanish clients ask for it as the very first document, and without it the rest of the file does not move. You also need a contact person in Spain and the employment documentation available in case the Labour Inspectorate requests it.

REA registration when it is a construction site

If the work is a construction site, the Registry of Accredited Companies comes into play. Foreign companies acting as contractors or subcontractors have to be registered just like Spanish ones, although the application is made with documents issued in their home country.

This is where the process most often stalls: you have to evidence the preventive organisation, the workers' training and the company's standing using paperwork issued outside Spain, and not all of it is accepted at face value. It is worth resolving before committing to a start date.

How documents issued abroad are treated

A practical rule: the closer a document is to a public European register, the easier it is accepted. The more it depends on a system specific to your own country, the more explaining it will need.

A1 form: proves your workers remain insured in their home country. It is one of the few documents accepted without argument.
Incorporation deed and tax details: usually requested translated, and in some cases with a sworn translation.
Public liability insurance: having it is not the issue, the issue is whether it covers work in Spain and up to the limit the contract requires.
Preventive training: the most common source of rejections, because content and hours do not always match what Spanish rules require.
Medical fitness certificates: accepted if current and issued as fitness for the specific job, but worth checking in advance.
Tax and social security clearance: issued by your own administration and valid only for a short period.

Training is the critical point

A worker can have fifteen years in the trade and every certificate his own country issues, and still find that the Spanish client will not accept it. It is not bad faith: the technician reviewing the file has to justify that the training covers the risks of that job under Spanish rules, and a certificate in another language and another system does not always let him do that.

In construction there is also the sector collective agreement, which sets specific hours and content per trade. So in many cases the fastest way out is not to argue about equivalence but to complete the missing training before starting.

And finally, the client's CAE platform

Once all of the above is in order, it has to be uploaded to whichever platform your client uses, which may be Nalanda, CTAIMA, e-coordina, Metacontratas, Obralia, Dokify or another. That step is the same as for a Spanish company, with one difference: the reviewer will be looking at documents he does not recognise at first sight.

That is why it helps to upload each document under the requirement it belongs to, with its translation attached where it has one, rather than as a loose bundle. A well organised file clears in days; an improvised one can spend weeks going back and forth.

How EntraObra can help

We work from Spain and deal with both the client and the administration in their own language. We review exactly what the Spanish company is asking for, tell you which of your documents work as they are, which need translating and which will have to be completed here. Then we prepare the file, upload it to the platform and follow the statuses until they are cleared.

EntraObra is an independent document support service: we are not a CAE platform, not an external prevention service and not a labour consultancy. Anything that must be issued by an accredited body or by the administration we coordinate with whoever issues it. Final acceptance always rests with the client and the relevant authority.