Two years after its launch, the welcome office for international talent has provided support for some 2,000 people from 111 different countries. The teams taking part in the upcoming America’s Cup are just some of the users of this service.

The target users of the Barcelona Welcome Desk are investors, entrepreneurs, researchers, highly qualified professionals, international teleworkers and university students.

The office has provided over 6,700 support actions in its first two years, mainly in three areas: offering information on practical aspects of living in the city; advising on areas linked to international mobility, such as foreigner status, tax matters and social security, and managing a selection of important procedures relating to arrival, such as getting on the municipal register or obtaining residency and coexistence certificates, as well as the streamlining of identification procedures and more.

The service also connects users with other municipal resources for professional purposes, such as the Glòries Entrepreneurship Centre and the Business Support Office operated by Barcelona Activa.

The most common profile for Welcome Desk users is a person below the age of 40, with university studies and having spent less than six months living in Barcelona when they first contact the service, and having come to the city to work as a highly qualified professional or to pursue university studies.

Some 60% of requests are from people who come from outside the European Union, compared to 40% from people from European countries. In all, the service has handled requests from people from 111 countries, the main ones being Italy, UK, USA, India, France, Germany, Colombia, Russia, Turkey and Argentina.

Teams in the America’s Cup

In collaboration with the Spanish Government Delegation in Catalonia, the City Council has launched a quick-response channel for teams in the America’s Cup and their families. In all, the Welcome Desk has helped with 650 procedures linked to this event and has also published a welcome guide with information and resources for living in the city.

The Barcelona International Welcome Desk is promoted by the City Council in collaboration with the Spanish Government Delegation in Catalonia, the private non-profit organisation Barcelona Global, the business association 22@NetwrkBCN, Catalonia Trade&Investment – ACCIO and the Fundació Mobile World Capital Barcelona. Business associations and other organisations from the local research ecosystem, bringing together companies and entities that recruit international talent, will also soon be joining in.