Survival Guide for Marie Curie Research Fellows in Spain

Survival Guide for Marie Curie Research Fellows in Spain:

The Fellow Document

(Version 1.1, September 1999)

This Fellow Document is a guide for Marie Curie Fellows in Spain with respect to social security, taxation, and administration. Some further information (e.g. about social life, etc.) is also available, but dependent of the place where you are. Most universities or research centres have offices of information for foreign students. Since the law is subject to constant change, this document will be updated regularly. The latest version can be found on the World Wide Web pages of the Spanish Group of the Marie Curie Fellowship Association.

It is important to emphasise that this document is neither exhaustive nor legally binding. The Spanish Group of the Marie Curie Fellowship Association cannot accept any legal responsibility for the correctness of this guide. Feedback is welcome on the content and usefulness of the Fellow Document (if you have any suggestion about this guide, please send it by E-mail to ).

Introduction

The Marie Curie Fellowship Association has been created to provide a distinctive identity for the scientists past and present recipients of European Community research grants. The objectives and activities of the Association are:

• to create a more visible identity and to increase the prestige of Marie Curie Fellows
• to facilitate contact between Fellows during and after their Fellowship
• to establish structural links with the research environment, including industry
• to stress the European dimension of Marie Curie Fellowships
• to enhance the public's appreciation and understanding of science

The Spanish Group has similar objectives at a national level, with emphasis on the two following points:

• to enhance communication among Marie Curie Fellows in Spain and to establish a network through the use Internet facilities (electronic mailing list, WWW site) and through regular meetings in form of discussion groups, seminars and workshops to different topics.
• to solve practical problems arising for new Fellows in Spain.

This document addresses the second objective. Although it does not pretend to resolv all potential problems, it brings together practical information otherwise scattered in different places and provides advice to guide MC Fellows during their stay in Spain.

The Information is organised as follows:

1. Introduction
2. History of European grant schemes
3. Principles behind the fellowship
4. Arrival in Spain, practical steps to take when arriving and leaving Spain

1. First steps in Spain
2. General Information about Spain
3. Cultural diversity
4. Language
5. Brief outline of general information
6. Residency Permit
7. Accommodation
8. Money and banks
9. Kindergarten & schools
10. Transportation

Driving-Licence and Automobile

1. Arriving Formalities. The Contract.

3.1 The Host Institution and the Contract

3.1.1Arriving and Establishing Contact

3.1.2Find out who is responsible for the administration of your Fellowship in the host institution.

3.1.3Get informed!

3.1.4Meet the administrator and talk about your grant.

3.1.5If you are asked to sign the contract immediately at the meeting: Do not!

3.2The Contract

3.2.1The basic features of a grant contract

3.2.2The calculation of the grant allocation by the Spanish law

3.2.3Holidays

4.General Conditions for the Community Provisions on Social Security

4.1Social Security in Spain

4.2Health insurance

4.2.1Health and Insurance

4.2.2Hospitals and Physicians

4.2.3Maternity Insurance

4.3Unemployment

4.4Retirement and pension schemes

1. Tax System
2. General Rules of Taxation
3. Introduction
4. Tax liability: Who have to make the "Declaración de la renta"
5. Income tax
6. Tax allowances and relieves

1. Introduction

A person working in Spain paid by the Marie Curie Fellowship scheme will, in principle, has the same rights and obligations as other persons working in the Spanish labour market. They will be legally employed as individuals for a fixed period with their salary based on the collective agreement between the relevant trade union and the Spanish State. A person's legal position concerning employment does not alter according to whether he/she is employed by a state organisation, public organisation, private organisation or an international (or intergovernmental) organisation when it comes to the status of the person employed. A contract stating the conditions and length of employment has to be made between the person and the organisation concerned.

Principally these arrangements will not differ from contracts in the Spanish labour market. The contract will normally state the wage and pension conditions which apply in this collective agreement. In all other aspects the research fellow will have the same status as an employee in Spain and can receive residence and work-permits in accordance with EU-rules, as long as they are employed to do research activities in accordance with the contract. However, under the 5th Framework Programme of the EC, Category 20 fellows will normally be considered in Spain as doctorate students. If they are registered as Ph.D. students at a Ph.D. programme and following the courses in relation hereto and they are here as part of their Ph.D. project they will be looked upon as students.

As the Marie Curie Fellowship programme emphasises the research activities, and the research is part of the expected outcome of the work, it can be assumed that most of those coming to Spain would be considered as working in Spain. They will then be employed as researchers on a contract with a wages in accordance with collective agreements and the correct level of wages will be dealt with in an agreement between the institution and the research fellow.

In relation to the social and fiscal regime, this division has mainly an impact on coverage of different types of social benefit. For instance, a person considered as a student would have less coverage and would not be able to use the specific tax, since this applies to researchers only.

1.1 History of European grant schemes

Since the launching of exchange of scientists in the EURATOM RTD programme about 6000 researchers received EEC fellowships. The fellowship programme has undergone a number of modifications since its initiation in the 50's. They have changed not only the total number of grants per year but also the nature of the grant contract. The timetable below provides a summary of the evolution of the fellowship:

First Framework Programme 1958-1986

· direct contract between the Commission and fellows

· individual fiscal responsibility of fellows

· scale calculated since 1981 in ECU

· a correction coefficient serves to equalise purchasing power in each country

· 1985-1986 research allocations for the host institute

Second Framework Programme 1987-1991

· since 1989 readjustment of the scale to account for social security costs

Third Framework-Programme 1990-1994 : Human Capital and Mobility (HCM)

· contracts between the commission and the host institution

· the host institution signs a contract with the grant holder respecting national social and

fiscal regulations

· the general conditions define the amounts to be paid to the host institutions

· the grant accounts for differences in the cost of living in member states, salary costs

covered by the employer for hiring a researcher, and travel allowance

· the different social and fiscal contributions in the member states lead to variations in

net salaries from one country to another

Fourth Framework Programme 1994-1998 : Training and Mobility of Researchers (TMR)

· a proposal for a unique contract between the grant holders and the Commission has

been rejected by the national delegations of France, Germany and Denmark

· grants should provide income comparable to those of national researchers at an

equivalent level

· in comparison with the HCM programme the TMR gross salary has been reduced by

about 10% (cat 20) or 15% (cat 30) of gross income in many countries, but

publications and conferences have no longer to be covered by the salary

· mobility allowance has been introduced Generally speaking, the changes are towards

localisation of the contract both in terms of its administration and integration into the

employment infrastructure of the host country.

Fifth Framework Programme 1999-2002 : Marie Curie Fellowships (MCF)

· Time for Category 20 grant has been reduced to 9 months.

1.2 Principles behind the fellowship

The actual amount allocated in the grant, is jointly determined by the Commission and the representative of the host country. Fellows funded under the same category and working in the same country should receive the same standardised grant regardless of marital status. The grant should be similar to the salary of local researchers of equal qualifications and experience in the host country. Furthermore, a monthly flat-rate and possibly tax free allowance should be offered as a compensation for the higher costs for living in a foreign country. Besides the aforementioned principles concerning remuneration, another principle is the integration of the fellow into the local social security system.

1.3 Arrival in Spain; practical steps to take when arriving and leaving Spain

The researcher should first establish contact with the Spanish laboratory involved in the project, particularly with her/is supervisor as s/he will often know the best way to get in contact with different public and administrative persons. Usually s/he will introduce you to some person/s, generally from the laboratory, who can help you in finding accommodation, social life, etc. Afterwards you should start solving some administrative issues such as open a bank account, contact the administrative officer of your host institution to sign your contract, apply for a National Security number, chose your doctor under the national insurance scheme if it were the case, etc. This problem solving may take some time and you will probably have to queue more than once. Do not despair if some civil servant of any department is not able to give you the required information. It would be preferable, but not needed, if someone from the lab can accompany you to solve these questions –Spanish people are known to be very kind and generous in giving a helping hand to foreigners, especially if your Spanish is not yet good-.

1. First steps in Spain

2.1General Information about Spain

Climate and geography:

The country consists of a continental territory and two archipelagos: Balearic islands and Canary islands and two cities on Northern Africa: Ceuta and Melilla. Its total peninsular surface is 493.486 km2, with 39,434 million inhabitants and a growth rate of 0.2 in 1991. Spain is the third biggest country in Europe, after Russia and France, and the second most mountainous, after Switzerland. The population is mostly concentrated on the coasts, with exception of Madrid.

Although Spain lies in the temperate zone, its rugged relief gives rise to a great diversity of climates.

The Cantabrian mountains mark the first well-defined climatological dividing zone. To the north of this range, i.e. in the narrow northern strip, where the Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia are situated, lies what we may call rainy Spain, with a maritime climate par excellence, with only slight variations in temperature, mild winters and cool summers, an almost constantly cloudy sky and frequent rainfall, although less so during the summer. This climate, which is typical of western Europe, favours a northern European type of

vegetation.

To the south of the Cantabrian range lies dry Spain, which has extremely varied climated, always characterised by scarce rainfall and a pitiless burning sun in an intensely blue sky, occasionally crossed by shortlived, fierce local thunderstorms.

In terms of surface area, rainy Spain accounts for about a third of the country, while the other two thirds make up dry Spain.

Spain has an height average of 660 m, and almost 50% of the surface is between 600m and 1200 m. The Spanish ”meseta central” is the biggest plateau in Europe, and it is bordered by different mountain chains. The highest ones are Sierra Nevada in the South with the highest peak of the continental Spain (Mulhacen, 3.482m)., and the Pyrenees in the North, with a height average over 2000 m. The highest peak of the whole Spanish territory is the vulcano Teide in the Canary Islands, reaching 3.711 m. There are several Natural Parks and an important wild life, including bears, wolves, lynxes, and a numerous variety of birds and plants.

Spain is a democratic state with a parliamentary monarchy. The country is divided into 17 ”Comunidades Autonomas”, autonomous regions with different competences. The Spanish Constitution insures religious freedom. Most people are traditional Roman Catholic, but other denominations are active, namely in the main cities. Euro is the official currency, but as in the rest of the E.U., legal tender will only be available by 2002. Until then, the "peseta" is the money of current use. Conversion rate is 1 Euro = 166.386 Pts.

2.1.1Cultural diversity

“Spain is different”. Almost everyone in Europe has heard this old slogan from the sixties. But, is Spain really that different? And, also, what makes it different?

First, we can consider Spain as a very diverse country with much more to offer than sun and beaches. In fact, Spain is one of the biggest countries in the European Union (only the unified Germany and France have a bigger surface), and a rich cultural diversity exists inside of its borders. In this text, we will to present Spain, and attract you to come and work in Science in Spain. Yes, Science too.

In merely 100 Km, the weather, the countryside, the cities, the people, the gastronomy is absolutely different. It happens quite a lot of times when traverse Spain. The topical South, hot, with the constant presence of the Islamic heritage in the monuments and in the phenotype of the people, the universal Andalusia, in fact has all these things, and, of course, many others. How many of you know that only a few Km away from Seville, in Cadiz, which is in the middle of the hottest area of continental Europe, there is a small group of mountains called the Sierra de Grazalema, which has the highest rainy measure of Spain?. Even higher than in the green North and comparable to many places in the United Kingdom. Something similar occurs in the mountains between the dry Extremadura and Seville, where the pigs with which produce one of our national treasures, the Iberian ham, pata negra, are grown. Just in the East of the same Andalusia, in Almería, you can find a real dessert, a place that you have probably seen in many of the spaghetti-westerns. Surprised? This is only one example; we will give you some more, but you can discover them yourself by coming to Spain.

Two big cities, with equivalent populations and importance, are Madrid and Barcelona. Madrid is the capital, a modern city that has rapidly developed during this century, especially during the last 50 years. It is the real crossroad of the country, an open place where people converge from all different regions, and now, many people from all the European countries who come to work and study. Madrid is the highest capital in Europe, 700 m above sea level, which provides it with a continental weather, dry and hot in the summer, cold in the winter. The winds blowing from the mountains in the near vicinity clean the atmosphere of the industrial agglomeration, something already known since the Medieval Ages: King Philip II built the famous monastery in these mountains where he wanted to finish his days: El Escorial. And Velázquez, the great painter of the XVIIth century born in Seville, moulded it in his series of portraits of the Royal family. Madrid, obliged to him, exhibits his major works as part of the masterpieces that from the permanent collection of the famous Prado Museum -known as one of the most important art museums in the world. More recently, Madrid has been complemented with more modern collections found in the Thyssen Museum and the CARS (Queen Sofia Arts Centre): many experts say that Madrid only needs one piece of Leonardo da Vinci to reach the highest place in the pictorial ranking. Neighbour to El Prado, you can find the oldest Botanical Garden in the world.

The historical rivalry with Barcelona, the biggest city in the European Mediterranean coast, is one of the motors that contribute to development in Spain. Barcelona traditionally cumulated a lot of industry, and was the classical way of mixture between Europe and Spain after the decadence that started at the end of the XVIIth century. The rich Barcelona, mixture of gothic tradition and modernist architecture (Gaudí, of course), the cosmopolitan population in constant contact with Paris and France in general, and through them with Europe, supposed the cultural influx in the last two centuries, a modern equivalent of the Santiago’s route in the Medieval Ages.

Although it is true that in Madrid and Barcelona there is a large industrial concentration, and the great majority of the research centres in Spain, it is also true that Spain is one of the more decentralised countries of the European Union. The dispersion of the relatively small Spanish industry, with the classical big industrial poles of Catalonia and the Basque country, was transformed in the recent democratic system started in 1975-77 in a country with a decentralised administration divided in 17 autonomic regions. Many efforts are developed now by these regional administrations, which results in an emergent decentralised economical activity. For example, even in classical agricultural communities, as are both Castilles-Leon, North of Madrid, and Castille-La Mancha (birth-place of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, since Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid) South of the capital and Extremadura. And if it is true that both Madrid and Barcelona have close to four million inhabitants, cities like Valencia, Bilbao, Seville, Malaga, Saragossa have populations ranging between half and one million, with important and diverse economical activities.