Article 178.2.d) of the Regulations of the current Immigration Law, approved by Royal Decree 557/2011, states that employers established in Spain who require the incorporation of foreign non-EU workers into Spanish territory may invoke the procedure for obtaining authorisation for the entry, residence and employment in Spain of highly qualified technical or scientific personnel whose purpose in entering Spain is to conduct research work or participate in development activities in R&D centres of recognised standing or in the research and development units of business entities established in Spain.
Pursuant to Article 180.2.d) 1 of the aforementioned Regulations, for this purpose, the employer must obtain, among other documents, a favourable report from the competent state or regional body, certifying compliance with the terms and conditions for the eligibility of R&D&I centres of recognised standing or research and development units of business entities established in Spain. In the event that the report in question was requested from the competent state body, the Subdirectorate General for the Promotion of Innovation was the competent management body of the Ministry of Science and Innovation for the processing and proposal of the report in question, which was finally issued by the General Secretariat for Innovation..
However, the aforementioned articles are repealed by the Sole Repealing Provision b) of Law 11/2023, of May 8, on the transposition of European Union Directives on different matters. Thus, the procedure of reference disappears with the aforementioned amendment.
