Winter seasonal workers will have to wait five months to obtain a new temporary permit

Seasonal workers who want a new temporary immigration permit for the winter must wait at least five months from the expiration of the previous authorization. The Government approved this condition on October 28, 2026, through decrees 423 to 427/2026, published in the Official Bulletin of the Principality of Andorra (BOPA) no. 124, dated October 29, 2026, in the Regulations section. The measure applies to five seasonal activity sectors and is incorporated as a new article into the special quota regulations for the 2026-2027 winter season.

The five decrees modify the regulations that the same Executive had approved a week earlier, on October 21, 2026 (decrees 409 to 413/2026), which established the special quota of temporary immigration authorizations and temporary cross-border work authorizations for the entire season. Those regulations totaled 5,100 authorizations and did not provide for any period between the end of one authorization and the request for the next. The new decrees are based on articles 25.5 and 26.5 of Law 9/2012, of May 31, amending the Qualified Law on Immigration, and on the non-renewable nature of this type of authorization, and grant the Government the power to determine by regulation the necessary period to request a new one of the same type.

A new article with the same wording in all regulations

The added text is identical across the five regulations and has been inserted as article 4 bis, except in the hotel sector, where it becomes article 5 bis because that regulation has eleven articles. The official wording states that “to obtain a temporary immigration authorization under this Regulation, the worker requesting it cannot obtain it until at least five months have elapsed from the expiration date of the previous temporary authorization.”

The decrees, signed in Andorra la Vella on October 28, 2026, by the Head of Government, Xavier Espot Zamora, at the proposal of the Minister of Justice and Interior, enter into force on the day of publication in the BOPA. The original regulations had previously been submitted for consideration by the Economic and Social Council.

Five affected sectors and 5,100 positions at stake

• Slope hospitality and catering: 3,363 authorizations (2,624 for temporary immigration and 739 for cross-border workers), governed by Decree 413/2026 and amended by Decree 427/2026.
• Ski resorts: 1,064 authorizations (830 and 234), Decree 409/2026, amended by Decree 426/2026.
• General trade, sports equipment rental and real estate activities: 480 authorizations (375 and 105), Decree 410/2026, amended by Decree 424/2026.
• Travel agencies: 82 authorizations (64 and 18), Decree 411/2026, amended by Decree 423/2026.
• Cleaning companies and laundry and clothing cleaning: 111 authorizations (87 and 24), Decree 412/2026, amended by Decree 425/2026.

Application deadlines, validity and requirements that remain unchanged

• The deadline to submit applications to the Immigration Service ends on March 31, 2027, in all sectors.
• Authorizations are valid until May 2, 2027, for skiing, trade, real estate and travel agencies, and until June 15, 2027, for hospitality and cleaning.
• The salary requirement of the Immigration Salary Classification (CSI) is maintained, ranging from 1,609 euros per month for waiters and cleaning staff to 2,708 euros for directors and managers.
• The requirement for adequate training or two years of experience for new holders and the employer’s obligation to guarantee repatriation expenses are maintained.
• The quota per company continues to be calculated based on the difference between the maximum winter workforce and the minimum summer workforce, verified with data from the Andorran Social Security Fund.
• In hospitality, the occupations of manager, director, organizational professional, hotel facilities maintenance technician, head chef, dining room manager and middle-level accounting technician are excluded from the quota.

A brake on rotation between seasons

This condition directly affects workers who chained seasons together and the companies that hire them, because the new permit can no longer be requested immediately after the expiration of the previous one. With the application period open until March 31, 2027, holders who have exhausted their authorization must wait five months from the expiration date before submitting the request again, a schedule that conditions workforce planning in sectors where work is concentrated between December and March.

Source: Official Bulletin of the Principality of Andorra, no. 124, October 29, 2026, Regulations section (official reference: Decree 427/2026, of 10-28-2026).