Your Company
Got You Here.
Now You're
on Your Own.
The relocation package covers flights and the first hotel. After that, everything — NIE, flat, bank, health card, school places — is on you. Here's the complete checklist your HR team forgot to give you.
You accepted the offer. You negotiated the package. You landed at El Prat on a Tuesday with two suitcases, a company laptop, and the name of an HR contact who took 3 days to reply to your first email.
Welcome to Barcelona. Your employer's job is done. Yours has just started.
This guide is built for Indian professionals who arrived through corporate relocation — where the company brought you here but the system expects you to figure out everything else. Four weeks. 23 tasks. Everything in the right order.
Before the Checklist: What Your Employer Actually Owes You
Many Indian employees don't know what their employer is legally required to do versus what is optional. Knowing this before you arrive changes the conversation with HR — and saves you money.
Email your HR contact before you arrive and ask which of the "varies by package" items are included. Get it in writing. Many Indian professionals assume things are included that aren't — and leave on the table things that are actually in their package but never offered proactively.
Week 1: The Survival Layer
Week 1 is not about setting up your life in Barcelona. It's about getting functional enough to survive the next three weeks. Five tasks, in this order.
Do this at the airport or within hours of arriving. You need data for Google Maps, WhatsApp, and every appointment booking system you're about to use. Yuptel offers Indian-community-specific plans with consistently better rates than Movistar or Vodafone walk-in prices.
Before you have a Spanish IBAN, you need somewhere money can land and from which you can pay. No NIE needed. Covers personal expenses, remittances to India, and the deposits you'll need before your Spanish bank account is active.
NIE appointments in Barcelona book out 4–6 weeks. You cannot open a full Spanish bank account, sign a rental contract properly, or access most government services without it. Go to pide.gob.es as soon as you have stable internet. If your employer's gestor is handling this, confirm the appointment date with them within 48 hours of arrival.
If your company isn't covering a hotel or serviced apartment, you need 3–4 weeks of short-term housing before you can realistically sign a permanent rental. Post in the Catalunyaar WhatsApp community immediately — room shares and short-term sublets at significantly lower than Airbnb rates typically get responses within hours.
Get your official employment start date confirmed in writing — this date governs your Beckham Law deadline, your Social Security registration, and your future residency timeline. Also confirm: who is handling your TIE application — the company gestor or you independently.
Week 2: The Paperwork Foundation
Week 2 is where you build the infrastructure your Barcelona life runs on. Each task unlocks the next thing on the list.
Start flat searching from Day 1 — by Week 2 you should be close to signing. Requirements for corporate employees: landlord must allow Padrón registration (non-negotiable), and it must be a 5-year residential lease (contrato de arrendamiento de vivienda). Community leads in the WhatsApp channel consistently produce better deals than Idealista for Indian professionals.
The Padrón is your municipal registration — proof that you live at your address. Without it you cannot renew your TIE, access healthcare fully, or enrol children in school. Book at ajuntament.barcelona.cat. Bring: signed rental contract, passport, and the Padrón application form.
You need a Spanish IBAN for your salary, rent direct debit, and utilities. Most banks require NIE + Padrón + employment contract. If NIE is delayed, ask HR for an employer letter confirming employment — CaixaBank and BBVA sometimes accept this. Ask specifically for "cuenta sin comisiones" — most banks offer it but won't volunteer it.
As a Social Security contributor you're entitled to free Spanish public healthcare from Day 1. But you must register at your local CAP first. Bring: Social Security number (your employer has it), Padrón certificate, and passport. Find your CAP at catsalut.gencat.cat → "Troba el teu CAP".
The Beckham Law gives qualifying foreign employees a flat 24% income tax rate instead of Spain's progressive rates (up to 47%) — for 6 years. Application must be filed within 6 months of your employment start date. Miss the window and it cannot be applied retroactively. Potential saving: €10,000–30,000+ per year. Full guide: Employee Series Post #3.
Week 3: Settling Your Life
By Week 3 you have a flat, a bank account, and healthcare registration. Now you build the infrastructure of an actual life here.
You'll need electricity (Endesa or Naturgy), gas (Naturgy), and internet separately. You need your NIE or passport, Spanish IBAN, and the flat's CUPS number (ask your landlord). Compare internet plans at Micompara.com. Budget €80–120/month for electricity + gas + internet combined. Set all as direct debits from your Spanish bank.
If you confirmed eligibility in Week 2, Week 3 is when you actively start the application. Your gestor files Modelo 149 with the Agencia Tributaria. You need: passport, NIE, employment contract, and evidence you were not resident in Spain in the 5 years before arrival. Don't leave this until Month 5 — gestors get busy and rejections need time to appeal.
Contact the Oficina Municipal d'Escolarització (OME) as soon as you have a Padrón certificate. Mid-year arrivals are handled through emergency placement — your children have a legal right to a school place regardless of when in the year you arrive. Bring: passports, birth certificates (apostilled), Padrón certificate, vaccination record. Full guide: Simple Man Series Post #5.
Set this up once, correctly, in Week 3 — not ad hoc every month. Link your Wise account to your Spanish bank. Set a regular transfer schedule. Also: contact your Indian bank and convert your savings account to NRE/NRO status. You're now legally an NRI and maintaining a resident account violates FEMA regulations. Full guide: Simple Man Series Post #4.
Your Indian licence is valid in Spain for 6 months from your residency start date. After that, you need a Spanish licence. India is not on Spain's automatic exchange list — you'll need to take the Spanish theory test (teoría). Start the process in Week 3. Book via trafico.gob.es. Theory test is available in English.
Week 4: The Professional Layer
Week 4 is the layer most Indian corporate employees skip — because life is now functional and work has started. These tasks are less urgent but matter significantly over a 2–5 year career in Barcelona.
Spanish employment law is significantly more protective than Indian law — but only if you know what's in your contract. Key terms: notice period (preaviso), severance (finiquito), probation period (período de prueba — typically 6 months for professionals), vacation (minimum 22 working days/year), and non-compete clauses. Get your gestor or a Spanish-speaking community member to walk you through it. Full guide: Employee Series Post #6.
Your first Spanish payslip will look nothing like an Indian payslip. The gross-to-net calculation involves IRPF (income tax withholding), employee Social Security contributions (6.35% of gross), and other deductions. Beckham Law registrants: verify your IRPF withholding is 24% flat on Month 1 — errors happen. Full breakdown: Employee Series Post #4.
Your NIE appointment booked in Week 1 is likely coming up. Core documents: passport + photocopy of all pages, 2 passport photos, completed EX-17 or EX-18 form, Tasa 790-012 fee receipt, employment contract, Social Security registration confirmation. Bring originals and photocopies of everything. Arrive 15 minutes early. Address: Oficina de Extranjería, C/ Mallorca 213–233, Barcelona.
Most Indian tech employees work in English and assume Spanish can wait. Two years later they're isolated from local colleagues, dependent on English-speaking services for everything, and finding social integration significantly harder than it needed to be. Spanish at work level is achievable in 6–8 months. Start now: Duolingo daily + intercambio (language exchange) weekly. Your colleagues will notice and respect it immediately.
If you did this in Week 3, confirm it's complete. If not, do it now. Maintaining a resident savings account in India as an NRI violates FEMA and can result in the account being frozen. Contact your Indian bank and request NRE or NRO conversion — often doable online or by email with supporting documents (NRI declaration + passport copy).
If your family isn't arriving immediately, start the reunification process paperwork in Week 4 — not Month 9. Minimum requirements: 12 months legal residence, housing inspection pass, and salary above minimum threshold (~150% of IPREM). Processing takes 2–4 months. Starting early means your family arrives as soon as you're eligible, not 4 months after. Full guide: Employee Series Post #7.
5,000+ Indian expats in Barcelona. Most have been through exactly what you're going through. The tech community within Catalunyaar has members from most major Barcelona employers — Glovo, Typeform, Factorial, consultancies, banks. You will find people from your own company. Housing leads, gestor referrals, Beckham Law questions answered by people who've been through it.
By end of Week 4, you should know exactly which immigration document you're on and what it means for changing employers, EU mobility rights, and the path to permanent residency. Most Indian tech professionals don't know this until it matters — usually when a better job offer arrives. Full guide: Employee Series Post #2.
The Beckham Law: 6 Years of Flat 24% Tax. 6 Months to Apply.
If you've just arrived on a work permit and haven't worked in Spain in the last 5 years, you very likely qualify for the Beckham Law — flat 24% income tax for 6 years instead of Spain's progressive rates up to 47%. The application must be filed within 6 months of your employment start date. Miss it and it's gone. The complete guide — who qualifies, how to apply, how much you save — is Employee Series Post #3.
Read Post #3: The Complete Beckham Law Guide →5,000+ Indian expats. Someone from your company is already in the community.
Flat leads, gestor referrals, Beckham Law questions answered by people who've filed it, tax advice from Indian professionals who've navigated both India and Spain — all in one place.
