A1 Certificate for Posted Workers in Spain for Employer-Managed by Jobbatical

An A1 certificate is an official document that confirms which country's social security legislation applies to an employee working temporarily in another state. For a posted worker in Spain, the A1 certificate keeps your employee in their home country's social security system and exempts your company from paying Spanish contributions during the assignment. Issued under EU Regulation 883/2004 or the UK–EU TCA for HMRC A1 certificates the A1 certificate is mandatory and frequently checked during Spanish labour inspections in 2026.

To apply for an A1 certificate from HMRC, your company first confirms its eligibility with HMRC using form CA3821, then files form CA3822 for each employee via the UK Government Gateway or by post. HMRC A1 certificates can take up to around 10 weeks (2026), so apply well before the assignment starts. Jobbatical prepares and submits these HMRC A1 certificate applications on your behalf and tracks each one to issuance. Verify current forms with HMRC before submission.

How long an A1 certificate takes depends on the issuing authority. Automated portals in the Netherlands (SVB) and Germany can take days to a few weeks, the Spanish TGSS is largely digital, and HMRC A1 certificates can take up to around 10 weeks (2026). The A1 social security certificate itself is generally issued free of charge by most authorities; budget only for any certified translations or the separate posting notification. Always submit the A1 certificate request before the posting begins.

Yes. Employees posted to Spain from the Netherlands need an SVB A1 certificate to prove they remain in the Dutch social security system and avoid dual contributions. Dutch employers apply online for the SVB A1 certificate via TWinternet or My SVB (eHerkenning is required), and the A1 certificate is issued free of charge, usually within about 6–8 weeks (2026). Jobbatical manages SVB A1 certificate requests alongside the corresponding Spanish posting obligations.

No. The A1 certificate and the Spain posted worker notification are two separate obligations. The A1 certificate covers social security confirming which country's system applies while the posted worker notification (desplazamiento) is a labour-law declaration filed with the Spanish authorities before the assignment. Employers posting staff to Spain usually need both. Jobbatical handles the A1 certificate and can coordinate the Spanish posting notification so nothing is missed. The filing deadline, what the declaration must contain and how inspectors cross-check it against the A1 are set out in our guide to posting workers to Spain.

Jobbatical manages A1 certificates for posted workers end to end, whatever the home country. Our specialists identify the competent authority HMRC in the UK, SVB in the Netherlands, TGSS in Spain, DVKA in Germany, CLEISS in France and others prepare and file each A1 certificate, track it to issuance, and store it for labour inspections. For HR teams running several postings at once, we centralise every A1 certificate request on one platform with automatic renewal alerts.