One in three taxi licences in Salamanca is now held by a foreign professional

In short: around 30% of Salamanca's taxi licences are now held by foreign professionals, according to Marcelino Pérez Bernal, president of the province's taxi association. The figure was published by La Gaceta de Salamanca and picked up afterwards by La Gaceta del Taxi. It's the association's own estimate for the city, not a national statistic.

A third of Salamanca's taxi trade

The number stands out for how round it is: one in three licence holders in Salamanca is a professional of another nationality. This isn't something that happened overnight, but the result of years of generational handover in a trade where the licence is bought and sold, and where whoever retires needs someone on the other side of the deal.

It's worth being precise about the scope: the figure refers to Salamanca and comes from the provincial association's estimate, not from an official register or a Spanish average. Read it as a snapshot of one city, not as a national headline.

What the 2023 ordinance asks for

Access isn't automatic. Salamanca's taxi ordinance, which in 2023 replaced rules dating back to 1986, requires anyone applying for the municipal driver permit to have:

• An ESO (secondary school) diploma or equivalent.
• A pass in the knowledge test called by the city council.
• Proof of sufficient command of Spanish.
• Registration as a resident in the city.
• Compliance with the dress code set out in the rules.

On the ESO requirement, the association's president played it down: most people already hold that qualification. In practice, the real filter tends to be the exam and the language.

What other cities require

There is no single nationwide requirement: the taxi driver permit is municipal, and each council or metropolitan area runs its own process. In Madrid access is through a municipal exam, and in the Barcelona metropolitan area the credential is also earned through a test, with language certification for foreign applicants who can't prove the level with an official qualification.

What almost all of them share: a valid category B driving licence held for a minimum period, no criminal record, and an exam on regulations, traffic and the city's geography. And for anyone without EU citizenship, a valid work permit or authorisation.

How Taxio handles it

The day you get the licence you become self-employed, and that's where the part nobody examines you on begins: making what comes in match what goes out. It's the same job whether you've been driving for thirty years or you just passed the test. In Taxio you log every ride with its platform's commission and every expense by category, and when the month closes you have your real net, not the gross, with the report ready for your accountant.

And in case it helps: this article, like the rest of the blog, is also available in Spanish, French, Italian and German.

Frequently asked questions about the taxi licence