# Work under international or temporary protection > When asylum applicants and people under EU temporary protection can work as autónomos in Spain. - Page: https://autonomo.eus/steps/protection - Part: Part A: Right to work - For: Asylum applicants and people under temporary protection - Last checked: 14 October 2026 > This page explains the routes. It is not legal advice. Before you apply, check your case with a lawyer. [Free legal help in Euskadi](https://autonomo.eus/steps/legal-help) Asylum applicants and people under temporary protection can work as autónomos. **Asylum applicants may work if there is no decision 6 months after they apply.** ## Asylum applicants - **What it is:** your applicant document (*documento de solicitante de protección internacional*), often called the red card (*tarjeta roja*). - **Can you work as an autónomo?** Yes. If there is no decision 6 months after you applied, you may work, as an employee or self-employed, in any sector. This comes with your application, so there is nothing separate to apply for. - **Where your work authorisation shows:** on your applicant document. Your first document, the receipt for your application (*resguardo*), is valid for 9 months. Renew it at the police before it expires (see the offices below). The renewed document is the red card, valid for 1 year. Once 6 months have passed, the red card shows your work authorisation in its lower right panel. - **Questions about your application:** call the Ministry of the Interior's asylum line on 910 006 910. It answers in Spanish, Arabic, English and French. - **If your application is refused:** you may have to leave Spain unless another permit applies to you. [Talk to a lawyer straight away](https://autonomo.eus/steps/legal-help). - **If you are granted protection:** with refugee status or subsidiary protection, you may work from the day it is granted. You get a foreigner ID card (*TIE*) that shows your protection. The Policía Nacional issues it, by appointment: see [Get your TIE card](https://autonomo.eus/steps/tie-card). The card can take several months. Until then, your grant decision (*resolución*) with your passport shows your right to work. ## Where you apply and renew your document In Euskadi, these Policía Nacional offices handle asylum applications (*Solicitudes de Asilo y Refugio*). Ask the office where you applied for an appointment to renew your document before it expires. Other police contacts: [book a police appointment](https://autonomo.eus/steps/offices#book-a-police-appointment). ### Álava **Vitoria-Gasteiz:** Brigada Provincial de Extranjería y Fronteras, Oñate s/n. Phone 945 209 642. ### Bizkaia **Bilbao:** find the office for Bizkaia on the Ministry of the Interior's [list of offices for asylum applications](https://proteccion-asilo.interior.gob.es/es/proteccion-internacional/pema/direcciones-utiles/). Or call 910 006 910 and ask where to apply in Bizkaia. ### Gipuzkoa **Donostia:** Comisaría Provincial, José María Salaberría s/n. Phone 943 449 809. ## Temporary protection - **Who it is for:** people covered by the EU's temporary protection, such as people displaced from Ukraine. - **Can you work as an autónomo?** Yes, while protection lasts. It currently runs until 4 March 2027. - **Where you apply:** at the Policía Nacional in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Bilbao or Donostia/San Sebastián, with an appointment (*cita previa*) from the [Government's appointment system](https://icp.administracionelectronica.gob.es/icpplus/index.html). The Ministry of Inclusion's [list of police stations](https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/ucrania-urgente/listado-de-comisarias) names them. - **Your document:** the police give you a receipt for your application (*resguardo de presentación de solicitud de protección temporal*). You may work 24 hours after you get it, as an employee or self-employed. - **Your TIE card:** the Ministry of Inclusion's [questions and answers for people from Ukraine](https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/ucrania-urgente/preguntas-frecuentes) explain when and how you get it. Information line: 913 990 009. ## Before you register as an autónomo This guide starts the autónomo steps in [Part C](https://autonomo.eus/steps/lanbide-grants) once you hold your TIE card. ## Rules are changing The new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum has applied since 12 June 2026. Spain is preparing a new asylum law. Before you act, read the [Ministry of the Interior's asylum office page](https://www.interior.gob.es/opencms/es/servicios-al-ciudadano/tramites-y-gestiones/oficina-de-asilo-y-refugio/), call its asylum line on 910 006 910, or [ask a lawyer](https://autonomo.eus/steps/legal-help). ## Official sources - [Ministry of Inclusion: international and temporary protection](https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/migraciones/iniciativas-para-la-insercion-laboral) - [Ley 12/2009 on asylum](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2009-17242) - [EU decision extending temporary protection](https://www.boe.es/doue/2025/1460/L00001-00003.pdf) - [Ministry of the Interior: Asylum and Refugee Office](https://www.interior.gob.es/opencms/es/servicios-al-ciudadano/tramites-y-gestiones/oficina-de-asilo-y-refugio/) - [Ministry of the Interior: offices for asylum applications from 12 June 2026](https://proteccion-asilo.interior.gob.es/es/proteccion-internacional/pema/direcciones-utiles/) - [Policía Nacional: offices for foreigners](https://sede.policia.gob.es/portalCiudadano/_es/dependencias_localizador_accesible.php) - [Basque Government: hiring refugees, documents and work authorisation](https://www.euskadi.eus/contenidos/informacion/comision_de_asilo/es_def/Asilo-2023.pdf) - [Basque Government: leaflet on asylum documents (2024)](https://euskadi.eus/contenidos/documentacion/contratacion_personasrefugiada/es_def/Triptico-Asilo-2024-ES.pdf) - [Ministry of Inclusion: temporary protection](https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/ucrania-urgente/proteccion-temporal1) - [Ministry of Inclusion: police stations for temporary protection](https://www.inclusion.gob.es/web/ucrania-urgente/listado-de-comisarias) Next step: [Get free legal help](https://autonomo.eus/steps/legal-help.md) --- Free, independent information. Not an official government website or a gestoría. General information, not legal, immigration or tax advice. Confirm current requirements with the authority before you act. Report a mistake: a@halawa.io. Source: Autónomo.eus (https://autonomo.eus).