Unemployment benefit in Spain

This page is for people who worked in Spain and lost their job, or who want to know their rights in advance. Amounts are given for 2026.

# Am I entitled to unemployment benefit as a Ukrainian?

Yes, if you worked in Spain, paid contributions and meet the general conditions. The public employment service SEPE states that foreign nationals who live legally in Spain are entitled to unemployment benefit on the same terms as Spanish citizens. The Ministry of Inclusion’s answers for people under temporary protection say expressly that those who worked and lost their job can receive the contributory benefit or the subsidy, depending on their contribution record.

You cannot get unemployment benefit without a residence and work permit: the law on foreign nationals says so expressly. There is no separate unemployment payment specifically for holders of temporary protection.

# How does the contributory benefit differ from the subsidy?

The contributory benefit is calculated from your contributions, so it depends on your wages and your contribution record. The subsidy is a fixed-amount benefit for people with a low income who are not entitled to the contributory benefit or have already used it up.

# Who can get the contributory benefit?

You get the contributory benefit if you meet all the conditions of the law at the same time:

• you were registered with Social Security;
• you paid unemployment contributions for at least 360 days during the six years before you lost your job;
• you lost your job involuntarily: dismissal, the end of a fixed-term contract, dismissal during the probationary period and other cases defined by law;
• you registered as a job seeker and signed an agreement to look for work actively;
• you have not reached the ordinary retirement age.

If you quit voluntarily, you are usually not entitled to the benefit. The law makes exceptions for several cases in which a worker leaves because of breaches by the employer.

# How much is paid, and for how long?

The benefit is 70% of your average contribution base for the last 180 days of work during the first 180 days of payments, and 60% after that. The law sets a minimum and a maximum amount, which depend on whether you have children. In 2026:

The duration depends on how many days you paid contributions in the last six years:

If the contributory benefit was granted on or after 1 April 2025 for more than 12 months, after the ninth month it can be combined with a new job as a top-up to your wages (complemento de apoyo al empleo). According to SEPE, from the tenth month this is €480 for full-time work, and then the amount gradually decreases. People whose benefit was granted earlier can get this top-up on application, but only for full-time work.

# How and when do you apply?

You apply within 15 working days after your last working day; if the employer paid you for unused vacation, the period starts after that vacation period ends. If you apply late, you keep the right, but the benefit is granted only from the date of the application, and you lose as many days as passed between the day it would have started with a timely application and the day you applied.

You can apply:

• at the SEPE electronic office;
• at a SEPE office by appointment, booked online or by phone;
• through any public registry office or by post.

Citizens of non-EU countries submit the original TIE card with a photo, a document showing their bank account and documents from the employer. SEPE must decide within 15 days. You must stay registered as a job seeker for the whole time you receive the benefit.

# Who can get the subsidy?

New subsidy rules have applied since 1 November 2024. Two groups can get the subsidy:

• those who have used up the contributory benefit (if you are under 45 and have no dependent family members, the contributory benefit must have lasted at least 360 days);
• those who lost their job involuntarily and have fewer than 360 days of contributions, but at least 90.

Another condition concerns income: your own income is no more than 75% of the minimum wage, which is €915.75 a month in 2026, or, if you have dependent family members, the income of the whole family divided by the number of its members is no higher than this amount. You must also register as a job seeker and sign an agreement to look for work actively.

Duration of the subsidy for those who have used up the contributory benefit:

For those with fewer than 360 days of contributions: 90 days give 3 months of subsidy, 120 days give 4 months, 150 days give 5 months, and 180 days give 6 months (21 months if you have dependent family members). The subsidy is granted for three months at a time and extended by application every three months.

You also apply for the subsidy within 15 working days. If you apply later but within six months, the entitlement starts from the date of the application; after six months the subsidy is usually refused.

There is a separate subsidy for people aged 52 and over: €480 a month (80% of IPREM, the public index used to calculate income, which is €600 a month in 2026). It requires at least six years of unemployment contributions in Spain and meeting all the conditions for a pension except age.

# Can you go abroad while receiving benefits?

Only within the limits the law allows; any other trip ends your entitlement completely. This matters for trips to Ukraine.

• One trip of up to 30 days a year does not count as a stay abroad, and the payments continue. You do not need permission for it, but your job seeker obligations remain.
• A stay abroad of up to 90 days in a calendar year is suspended rather than ended, provided you notified SEPE in advance and received permission.
• A move abroad for less than 12 months to look for work, to work, to study or for international cooperation is also suspended rather than ended, provided SEPE authorized the departure in advance.

In all other cases, including if you left without permission, stayed abroad for more than 90 days in a year or made a second trip beyond what is allowed, your entitlement to the benefit ends.

# How is the benefit linked to your residence permit?

A residence and work permit is renewed if you receive the contributory unemployment benefit or public assistance for social or labor integration. The Regulation on Foreigners also allows a residence and work permit to be renewed when your job ended through no choice of your own, you worked for at least three months a year and were registered as a job seeker the whole time. This rule does not apply to temporary protection: it is extended by EU decisions.

The minimum living income (Ingreso Mínimo Vital) is a separate Social Security benefit, granted not by SEPE but by the National Social Security Institute (INSS), and in Catalonia, the Basque Country and Navarre by regional bodies. You can receive both benefits at the same time, but unemployment benefit counts as income, so the minimum living income will be lower. More on the page Aid for Ukrainians in Spain.

# What mistakes should you avoid?

• Missing the 15-working-day deadline to apply: the benefit will be granted only from the date of the application, and the days you were late will be lost.
• Quitting voluntarily and counting on benefits: in most cases you will not be entitled to them.
• Going abroad without SEPE permission: apart from one trip of up to 30 days a year, this ends your entitlement to the benefit.
• Leaving the job seeker register while you receive the benefit.