What do non-EU citizens need for Spain's self-employment residence and work permit?

Checked on 2026-10-25

You apply for a visa at a Spanish consulate and must show you meet the legal requirements for the business, have any required qualification, and that the planned investment is sufficient. The authority has three months to decide; silence means refusal. The first permit lasts one year, for one region and one sector.

Key facts

What	The law says	Source
Who applies how	A non-resident applies for a residence visa at the Spanish consulate; the visa application includes the permit application	RD 1155/2024, arts. 39.1 and 85.1
The business	You meet the requirements Spanish nationals must meet to open and run the planned activity	RD 1155/2024, art. 84.a; LO 4/2000, art. 37.1
Qualification	The professional qualification required by law, or enough proven experience, and professional-body membership when required	RD 1155/2024, art. 84.b
Investment	Proof the planned investment is sufficient, and its effect on job creation, including your own job	RD 1155/2024, art. 84.c
Record	No threat to public order, security or health (checked through Spanish criminal records and a police report)	RD 1155/2024, art. 84.e
Decision deadline	Three months from receiving the consulate’s file; no answer means refusal	RD 1155/2024, art. 85.4
Visa	Issued by the consulate within one month of the favourable decision	RD 1155/2024, art. 39.5
First permit	One year, one region (Comunidad Autónoma), one sector	RD 1155/2024, art. 83; LO 4/2000, art. 37.2
After you arrive	Register with Social Security within three months of entry; apply in person for the foreigner’s card (TIE) within one month of that	RD 1155/2024, art. 85.7–8
Renewal	Apply in the two months before expiry; renewed permit lasts four years	RD 1155/2024, arts. 86.1 and 87.1

What you must show

The Immigration Act (LO 4/2000, art. 37) and its regulation (RD 1155/2024, art. 84) require you to meet everything the law requires of Spanish nationals to open and run the activity you plan, such as licences or permits. If the activity requires a professional qualification or membership of a professional body, you need it, or enough proven experience. You must also show that the planned investment is sufficient and, where relevant, its effect on job creation, which includes creating your own job.

The general visa requirements also apply (RD 1155/2024, art. 38): a passport valid for at least one year, no criminal record for offences under Spanish law in the countries you lived in over the last five years, a medical certificate, not being in Spain irregularly, and the visa fee paid. The regulation says the permit fee must also be paid (art. 84.f).

How long it takes and what happens next

The consulate sends your file to the competent authority, which the regulation says must decide within three months; if it doesn’t, the application counts as refused. After a favourable decision, the consulate issues the visa within one month.

The permit only takes effect when you register with Social Security. That must happen within three months of entering Spain legally. Then you have one month from that registration to apply in person for your foreigner’s identity card (TIE). If there’s no Social Security registration after three months, the regulation says you must leave Spain.

Validity and renewal

The first permit lasts one year and is limited to one region and one sector. You renew it in the two months before it expires; applying on time extends the old permit until the decision. The main ground for renewal is proof that you continue the activity, after the office checks your tax and Social Security obligations; the regulation lists other grounds too (art. 86.2). The renewed permit lasts four years and lets you work as an employee or self-employed anywhere in Spain, in any sector. If the authority doesn’t answer a renewal within three months, it counts as granted.

Remote work for clients outside Spain has a separate route, the international telework (digital nomad) permit under Ley 14/2013.

Sources

Change history

2026-10-25: Page created

This is general information, not legal advice, and Lumen is not a law firm. Rules change and offices differ: check the official sources above before you act. Found something wrong or out of date? Write to support@lumen.observer.