In short
- Spain's model market has two centres: Barcelona is home to 43 and Madrid to 19 of the 77 agencies in our catalogue. 37 of them are members of the trade association AMAE.
- Agencies need no licence. The agency represents you under a commercial contract and takes a commission, usually 20%, while the client signs a labour contract with you for each job.
- As an EU citizen you need no work permit, but you need a Social Security number before your first job, and registration with an NIE number if you stay longer than 3 months.
- A model under 16 needs permission from the regional labour authority for each job, and 19% tax is withheld from a non-resident's fee.
The model market in Spain
Spain's model agencies are concentrated in two cities. Barcelona has 43 agencies in our catalogue and is home to the trade association AMAE; just outside the city, in Palau-solità i Plegamans, are Mango's headquarters and design centre. Madrid has 19 agencies in the catalogue. The smaller markets are Las Palmas on Gran Canaria (three agencies) and Valencia, Murcia and Ibiza (two each); Seville, Bilbao, Marbella, Palma, Granada and Oviedo have one agency each. Agency neighbourhoods, transport and local details are on the pages Modeling agencies in Barcelona and Modeling agencies in Madrid.
The country has two fashion weeks, each held twice a year. Madrid's MBFWMadrid is organised by the IFEMA exhibition centre with Madrid city council: in 2026 it ran on 18–22 March and 14–19 September. In Barcelona the Catalan government runs 080 Barcelona Fashion: the 37th edition took place on 14–17 April 2026 and the 38th runs on 20–23 October 2026. Gran Canaria hosts an annual swimwear catwalk, Gran Canaria Swim Week by Moda Cálida, which marked its 30th anniversary in June 2026.
Even so, most model work in Spain comes not from catwalks but from advertising, catalogues and e-commerce. Some of the largest fashion groups are based here: Inditex has its headquarters in Arteixo near A Coruña, Mango near Barcelona and Desigual in Barcelona. For Lithuanian models Spain is usually a seasonal market: they come through a mother agency for a few weeks or months of shoots and filming.
How agencies work and what contract you sign
Spanish model agencies need no licence. The only state scheme for job intermediaries is the placement agency (agencia de colocación) under the 2023 Employment Act: such agencies file a declaration with the regional employment service and must serve workers free of charge. Model agencies do not use this scheme: the official list of 1,845 placement agencies contains no model agency.
Spain uses a different set-up from many countries. The agency signs a commercial representation contract with you: it finds work, negotiates and invoices. Your employer is the client: for every job it signs a written labour contract with you and registers you with Social Security in the general scheme as an artist, whatever your nationality. The Social Security Treasury (TGSS) confirmed this in a 2011 letter. When an agency signs the labour contract and registers the worker itself, the Madrid Labour Inspectorate treats it as an unlawful transfer of workers.
AMAE's compendium of sector customs says the labour contract with the client must separate pay for the work from the fee for image rights and state the media, territory and period of use. The same compendium lists the customs of the trade:
- a working day is 8 hours and is paid in full even if the job is shorter;
- night, weekend and public-holiday work is paid 25% more;
- an option held for more than 3 days must be paid;
- a confirmed job cancelled by the client is paid at 100% (cancellation fee);
- travel of more than 4 hours is paid at 50% of the day rate;
- unless agreed otherwise, the fee is paid by the 10th of the following month.
Commission
Article 13 of the AMAE code of ethics says that agencies traditionally take 20% of the model's gross fee (work days plus image rights) on advertising contracts, 15% on film and TV and 8% on theatre. The agency also bills the client its own separate fee, but there is no public standard for its size. Agency commission and exclusivity are explained in the glossary.
Artists' employment has been governed by Royal Decree 1435 of 1985. A new Royal Decree 607/2026, published in July 2026, replaces it from 25 May 2027. Fashion models are not named in it, so how it applies to them will become clear in practice.
Boards and requirements
Spanish agencies divide their models into boards. In our catalogue, 64 agencies have a women's board, 62 a men's board, 38 a new faces board, 33 a talent board, 30 a kids' board and 18 a commercial board. Eleven agencies have a senior board, ten a curve board and six a sports board. This reflects the market: much of the work is in advertising and catalogues, which need people of every age and look, so older and commercial models have more opportunities in Spain.
Runway requirements are covered in the guide runway model, and the types of modelling work are compared in types of modeling. You can filter the catalogue by board: women, men, new faces, talent, kids, commercial, curve, senior, sport.
Runway health rules
Madrid was the first city in the world to set a health limit for runway models. In September 2006 Pasarela Cibeles (now MBFWMadrid) set a body mass index (BMI) floor of about 18, roughly 56 kg at a height of 1.75 m. About 30% of the previous season's models were turned away, and under-18s were barred.
IFEMA's current rules for the MBFWMadrid runway:
- models must be over 16; if a designer wants to show a younger model, the designer must obtain the permits and insurance;
- every model provides a medical certificate stating they have no eating disorder;
- if there is doubt, an IFEMA doctor checks that the model's BMI is within the World Health Organization's healthy range.
How to choose an agency
We do not rank agencies. The catalogue lists every professional Spanish agency that has a live website and model board and whose core business is representing models, as well as the Madrid and Barcelona offices of foreign agencies. We left out model schools, sellers of paid photo shoots, books or courses, event and promotional staffing firms, casting databases and actor-only agencies.
Each agency profile shows what we were able to check: whether it is an AMAE member, its company name and tax number (NIF), its address and its boards. AMAE membership means the agency has signed the association's code of ethics, but the association sets no entry thresholds and also admits actor and kids agencies, so the decision is still yours to make.
Spanish law (LSSI-CE art. 10) requires companies to show their NIF and company-register details on their website. You will usually find them under "Aviso legal" (legal notice). Before you sign, check:
- that the website shows a company name and NIF (a letter and 8 characters, e.g. B12345678);
- that the agency has a board that suits you and a live model board;
- that the contract states in figures the commission, duration, scope of exclusivity and how to end it;
- who your employer will be on a given job and whether you will be registered with Social Security;
- which costs (apartment, travel, tests) the agency may advance and how you will see them on your statement;
- that you can take the contract home and show it to a lawyer.
A longer checklist is in the guide how to choose a modeling agency, and risky contract clauses are covered in modeling contract.
Under-age models
The working age in Spain starts at 16 (Workers' Statute art. 6). Workers aged 16–18 may not work nights or overtime. Children under 16 may take part in public shows and advertising only with written permission from the regional labour authority for the specific job.
- The Madrid region expressly lists models among those who need this permit. The application must be filed at least 5 working days before the job, and work between 22:00 and 6:00 is not allowed.
- From 25 May 2027, under the new Royal Decree 607/2026, under-16s may work only under a labour contract, a close relative (up to the second degree) must be present, and working time will be capped by age: for example, children aged 6–12 up to 5 hours a day and 15 hours a week (25 in school holidays), and those aged 12–16 up to 6 hours a day and 24 hours a week (30 in holidays). From age 12 the child's own consent will also be required.
- Staff who are in regular contact with minors in Spain must hold a certificate from the sex-offender register showing they have no convictions.
For parents before a trip to Spain
- Ask the agency to show you the permit for the specific job, or the application for it.
- Agree in advance who will be the chaperone and where the minor will live.
- Do not let a child go alone to "castings" in hotel rooms or private apartments.
- Do not agree to unlimited usage rights for the child's images.
Taxes and social security
You become tax-resident in Spain if you spend more than 183 days in the country in a calendar year (personal income tax act, art. 9). Most Lithuanian models who come for a season remain non-residents. They pay non-resident income tax (IRNR): the rate is 19% for residents of other EU and EEA countries and 24% for others.
Spain and Lithuania have a double tax treaty, signed on 22 July 2003 and in force since 26 December of the same year. Under it, pay for work done in Spain may be taxed in Spain, and a separate article covers entertainers. The treaty does not say whether a model counts as an entertainer in a given case, so before your first job ask the agency how tax will be withheld and which documents you will receive for declaring the income in Lithuania. Model taxes in general are covered in the guide model taxes.
Social Security contributions are paid by the client, who is your employer and registers you as an artist. For that you need a Spanish Social Security number (NUSS): the Social Security Treasury issues it at an office or online, and an employer can also request it for a new worker.
Papers and registration
Lithuanian citizens, like other EU citizens, need no work permit or visa in Spain. For a short job a valid passport or ID card and a Social Security number are enough.
If you stay longer than 3 months, you must register in person in the Central Register of Foreigners (at a foreigners' office or police station) within 3 months of arrival. A longer stay needs a basis: you work as an employee or self-employed, you have sufficient means and health insurance, or you study. You receive an EU citizen registration certificate with a foreigner number (NIE), which you will need for a bank account, a rental contract and taxes.
Scams and warning signs
Unlike the UK, Spanish law does not expressly ban model agencies from charging upfront fees, so the market also has model schools and sellers of paid "books" that present themselves as agencies. A professional agency earns its money from commission. Warning signs:
- you are asked to pay for registration, a place on a website, a compulsory photo shoot or a course;
- the website shows no company name or NIF;
- you are invited to a "casting" in a hotel room or private apartment, or asked to come without your parents;
- you are asked for nude or underwear photos, especially of minors;
- work is promised only through Instagram or WhatsApp, with no official agency email;
- you are pressed to sign on the spot and not allowed to take the contract home.
Several Madrid and Barcelona agencies, among them MAD Models and UNO, warn on their websites that people on social media pose as their scouts or agents. Always check a contact on the agency's official website or ask your mother agency. If you have already bought a course, photo shoot or book package online or off-premises, Spanish consumer law lets you withdraw from the contract within 14 calendar days. More signs are listed in the glossary entry modeling scams.
How to apply
Most Lithuanian models reach Spain through a mother agency: it sends Spanish agencies polaroids, measurements and a video, and once there is an offer it negotiates the terms of the trip. If you apply directly:
- Choose agencies by board: the catalogue above can be filtered.
- Check the agency's NIF under "Aviso legal".
- Take photos in daylight without make-up: face from the front and in profile, and full length. Measure your height, bust, waist and hips accurately.
- If you are under 18, include your parents' contact details.
- When invited to come, ask in writing for the contract, the commission, the apartment cost, any advances and who will pay for the trip home.
- Prepare for castings with the guide model castings: how to prepare.
Jurgita.com is owned by the model agency Supermodels, which works as a mother agency and places models with agencies abroad. Applying and the open call are free; how they work is described in Supermodels open call.