Barcelona’s Maritime Museum buzzed with more than 6,000 newcomers, long-term expats and local employers on Saturday 25 October 2025 as the city staged its 12th International Community Day. The free, city-hall-backed fair has become a key soft-landing platform for global talent relocating to Catalonia and a barometer of Spain’s attractiveness to high-skilled migrants.
Seventy-seven exhibitors—ranging from relocation agencies and international schools to digital-nomad tax advisers—offered one-stop information on housing, healthcare, visas and entrepreneurship. Conference tracks focused on Spain’s new Start-up Law, the one-year digital-nomad visa and practicalities of obtaining NIE numbers and social-security registration within ten days of arrival.
Deputy Mayor Maria Eugènia Gay told attendees that Barcelona wants to “double the number of scale-ups employing foreign talent by 2030” and pledged faster municipal empadronamiento (town-hall registration) appointments—a persistent bottleneck for work-permit applicants. HR directors from multinational firms such as HP and Nestlé hosted workshops on dual-career support and schooling options, highlighting the corporate demand for smoother family relocations.
For would-be entrepreneurs, ACCIÓ—the Catalan trade agency—ran clinics on the €1.5 billion Deep-Tech Fund that offers matching grants to foreign-founded start-ups relocating research teams to Barcelona. Meanwhile, language NGOs provided Catalan crash courses and volunteer opportunities aimed at combating perceptions that expats live in an English-speaking bubble.
Organisers reported a 15 % increase in first-time visitors compared with 2024, reflecting the surge in digital-nomad applications since Spain’s remote-worker visa opened in January. Feedback surveys suggest that clear information on Spain’s evolving immigration framework—and the chance to network with lawyers and peers—remains the main draw.
Seventy-seven exhibitors—ranging from relocation agencies and international schools to digital-nomad tax advisers—offered one-stop information on housing, healthcare, visas and entrepreneurship. Conference tracks focused on Spain’s new Start-up Law, the one-year digital-nomad visa and practicalities of obtaining NIE numbers and social-security registration within ten days of arrival.
Deputy Mayor Maria Eugènia Gay told attendees that Barcelona wants to “double the number of scale-ups employing foreign talent by 2030” and pledged faster municipal empadronamiento (town-hall registration) appointments—a persistent bottleneck for work-permit applicants. HR directors from multinational firms such as HP and Nestlé hosted workshops on dual-career support and schooling options, highlighting the corporate demand for smoother family relocations.
For would-be entrepreneurs, ACCIÓ—the Catalan trade agency—ran clinics on the €1.5 billion Deep-Tech Fund that offers matching grants to foreign-founded start-ups relocating research teams to Barcelona. Meanwhile, language NGOs provided Catalan crash courses and volunteer opportunities aimed at combating perceptions that expats live in an English-speaking bubble.
Organisers reported a 15 % increase in first-time visitors compared with 2024, reflecting the surge in digital-nomad applications since Spain’s remote-worker visa opened in January. Feedback surveys suggest that clear information on Spain’s evolving immigration framework—and the chance to network with lawyers and peers—remains the main draw.
出典： Spain in English
