Unemployment Benefits in Spain: The Complete Expat Guide

How paro works in Spain and who qualifies

Spain’s contributory unemployment benefit is often called el paro. You usually need 360 contribution days in the six years before you lost your job. EU and non-EU workers have equal rights if they’re legally resident and meet the contribution rules.

These situations can qualify:

• dismissal, including disciplinary dismissal;
• your employer ending your trial period;
• a temporary contract ending;
• an ERE (collective redundancy plan);
• an ERTE (temporary employment adjustment) that suspends your contract or reduces your hours.

Resigning usually doesn’t qualify. The exceptions are a forced move, major changes to your conditions, a serious employer breach or unpaid wages, and gender-based violence.

Keep your jobseeker registration active. You must also be under the ordinary retirement age and not receive an incompatible Social Security pension or benefit. You sign the acuerdo de actividad (activity agreement) with your application, not when you register. If you’ve contributed fewer than 360 days, see our unemployment subsidy guide.

Deadline to apply: 15 working days

When claiming unemployment benefit, apply within 15 working days after your job ends, or after any paid untaken holiday ends. If you apply late, your benefit starts on the date you apply. You lose the calendar days between the original start date and your application.

How to apply for unemployment benefit

If you’re unemployed, follow these steps to apply.

1. Register as a jobseeker. Use your regional employment service to open the demanda de empleo (jobseeker registration) before applying. See our guide on how to register as a jobseeker in Spain.
2. Complete the application. It includes the activity agreement. You don’t sign it when you register as a jobseeker.
3. Choose how to file. Apply online with a digital certificate, DNIe or Cl@ve permanente with advanced registration. Without a certificate, use the pre-application in your Área Personal (Personal Area). You can also apply at a benefits office with a free cita previa (appointment), at any public registry office or through an administrative post.

   Official SEPE Portal

4. Keep your receipt. Add any documents listed on the receipt and save a copy of your application. Applying is free.

Documents you need

Have these ready before you file. See our SEPE documents guide for help with the paperwork.

• The application form, completed and signed.
• Your identity document, for showing only: DNI (Spanish national identity card) or passport. EU citizens need a passport or national ID, plus their registration certificate with their NIE (foreigner identification number). Non-EU citizens need a photo TIE (foreigner identity card).
• Proof of a bank account in your name.
• If you have dependent children, your libro de familia (family book) or an equivalent foreign document with an official translation.
• The certificado de empresa (employer certificate), only if your employer hasn’t sent it through Certific@2.

How much you get and when it is paid

SEPE pays 70 % of your regulatory base for the first 180 days, then 60 %. Your exact amount depends on your case. For detailed calculations, see our benefit amount guide. These are the 2026 monthly minimums and maximums:

SEPE pays in 30-day instalments between the 10th and 15th of the following month.

How long the benefit lasts

Your paid contribution days set the number of benefit days. The full scale is:

Working or travelling while you claim

If your benefit started on or after 1 April 2025 and lasts more than 12 months, from month 10 it combines automatically with full- or part-time employee work. This is the CAE (employment support supplement).

Before month 10, or on shorter benefits, full-time work under 12 months suspends payment. Work of 12 months or more ends it, and you can then choose between your old benefit and a new one.

Tell SEPE before you leave Spain; see our guide to leaving Spain.

• Up to 30 calendar days abroad a year: payment doesn’t stop.
• Authorised stays of 31 to 90 days: payment is suspended.
• Authorised work, training or volunteer moves under 12 months: payment is suspended.
• Longer or unauthorised moves: your benefit ends.

If your unemployment claim is refused

File a reclamación previa (formal objection) with SEPE within 30 days of the notice. SEPE has 45 days to reply; no reply counts as a refusal. You can then take your case to the social court.

Common problems and how to fix them

No digital certificate

Use the pre-application in your Área Personal without a certificate, or file through a public registry office or administrative post.

Employer certificate missing

Check whether your employer sent the certificate through Certific@2. You only need to provide it if your employer hasn’t sent it.