The Spanish self-employed permit — build the business here, not just the tan.

It is the residence and work authorisation for people who will carry on an economic activity on their own account in Spain — an autónomo, a freelancer, a business owner. The Digital Nomad Visa is for remote work tied to companies or clients abroad, and caps Spanish-source income at roughly 20%. This permit has no such cap: Spanish clients are the point of it. The rule of thumb is simple — if your market is in Spain, this is your route.

Often, yes. A refusal grounded in requirements specific to that regime — too much Spanish income, no qualifying foreign employer, the social-security gap — says nothing about your eligibility here. Universal grounds (criminal record, irregular status, false documentation) do travel with you into any procedure. We read the refusal letter before recommending either an appeal or a change of route.

Two separate figures: the investment your business plan actually requires, and sufficient means to support yourself and your family. Both are set by current legislation and both must be evidenced, not asserted — traceable funds, in your name, with a documented origin. We confirm the exact thresholds applying when you file.

It is the case. The plan is normally assessed for viability by a professional or business organisation, and a thin, generic or copy-pasted plan produces exactly the outcome you would expect. It has to be specific, costed and credible for the market you are entering — which is a different document from the one you would show a bank.

Yes. You are an ordinary business owner with ordinary employer rights, and a plan that credibly creates jobs in Spain reads well. The Digital Nomad Visa contemplates you as an international teleworker, not a local employer — so if hiring here is part of the plan, that fact alone tells you which permit you need.

Generally no. Self-employment carried on from Spain usually amounts to a permanent establishment, which the special regime excludes. There are narrow exceptions — a business activity certified as innovative, or a highly qualified professional serving certified startups. Outside those, you plan as an ordinary Spanish tax resident, with progressive rates but also full allowances, deductions and treaty access.

Yes, with an uplift to the means you must show. We prepare the family applications alongside the main one so nobody is left in limbo while a business is trying to open.

The initial authorisation is granted for one year and is renewable. Renewal asks whether the activity was genuinely carried on — contributions paid, tax filed, the business alive. It builds towards long-term residency: five years of legal residence opens the door to permanent residence, and later to nationality.