Spain does not have a visa called “freelance visa”. People who search for one usually need one of three routes: the self-employed visa (cuenta propia), the digital nomad visa or the entrepreneur visa. They are judged on different things, filed in different places and lead to different obligations once you arrive. The quickest way to tell them apart is to ask where your clients are, then whether your project is innovative. This guide walks through that decision with examples, so you can see which route your work actually fits before you gather a single document.
Your digital nomad visa, from the consulate or from Spain
We check your remote work and income, prepare the application and plan your arrival.
450 € + VAT, each additional family member 100 € + VAT.
Prices exclude VAT. Spanish VAT (21 %) applies to clients resident in the EU. If you live outside the EU, our advisory services are not subject to Spanish VAT; we confirm it in your quote.
Question one: where are your clients?
This is the question that separates the digital nomad route from the other two.
- Mostly outside Spain. If you work remotely for companies or clients abroad, the route designed for you is the international telework visa, better known as the digital nomad visa. As a self-employed nomad you may take on Spanish clients, but only up to 20% of your total activity.
- Mostly in Spain. If you want to open a practice, a shop, a studio or a trade serving people here, the digital nomad route is closed to you. You are looking at the self-employed visa, or the entrepreneur visa if the project is innovative.
- A mix that is changing. Plan for where the income will be in your first year, not where it was last year. A nomad who ends up invoicing mostly Spanish clients has a problem at renewal.
Question two: is the project innovative?
For work based in Spain, the second question separates the self-employed visa from the entrepreneur visa.
- A conventional business — a consultancy, a design studio, a restaurant, a physiotherapy practice — goes through the self-employed route. What counts is viability: a business plan, the investment, the licences the activity requires and a favourable report from a recognised body.
- An innovative project of special economic interest for Spain goes through the entrepreneur route under Law 14/2013. What counts is the favourable report from ENISA on the business plan: the team, what is new about it, the market and how it will be funded.
Calling a conventional business “innovative” to reach the entrepreneur route does not work: the ENISA assessment is precisely about that point.
The three routes at a glance
| Self-employed visa | Digital nomad visa | Entrepreneur visa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your clients | Mainly in Spain | Mainly abroad; Spanish clients up to 20% | The market of an innovative project |
| What is assessed | Viability, investment, licences, a report from a recognised body | Your existing work relationship, qualification or experience, and income | The business plan, through an ENISA report |
| Legal basis | Immigration Regulation (Royal Decree 1155/2024) | Law 14/2013, as amended by Law 28/2022 | Law 14/2013 |
| Where it is requested | Through the consulate | Consulate, or from Spain during a legal stay | Consulate, or from Spain during a legal stay |
| Our fee | 790 € + VAT | 450 € + VAT | 790 € + VAT |
Three examples
A translator with clients in Germany and the UK. The income comes from abroad and the clients stay there. Digital nomad route, provided the work relationship has existed long enough and the income meets the requirement. See our digital nomad visa service.
An architect who wants a practice in Gràcia. The clients will be local, and the profession is regulated, so membership of the professional body and recognition of the qualification come first. Self-employed route. See our self-employed visa service.
A founder building a new software product with investors lined up. The case rests on innovation and growth potential. Entrepreneur route, with the business plan prepared for ENISA. See our entrepreneur visa service.
What happens once you arrive
Whatever the visa, working for yourself in Spain means registering as self-employed: the census registration with the Tax Agency on modelo 036 or 037, with the activity code that matches what you do, and registration in RETA, the Social Security scheme for the self-employed. Remote workers who stay insured in their home country under an agreement are the main exception on the Social Security side. Our autónomo registration handles both registrations for 90 € + VAT, and the TIE card follows within one month of entry.
Renewal is where the choice is tested
The first authorisation is granted on a plan; the renewal is granted on what actually happened. For a self-employed holder that means a business still running, returns filed every quarter and contributions paid. For a nomad it means income still coming mainly from abroad and the work relationship still in place. For an entrepreneur it means the project developing along the lines ENISA assessed. Picking the route that matches your real work, not the one with the easiest-looking checklist, is what makes that second decision straightforward.
Mistakes that cost a refusal
- Filing a digital nomad application with a client list that is mostly Spanish.
- Presenting a self-employed business plan without checking whether the premises can be licensed for the activity.
- Choosing the entrepreneur route for a project with nothing new in it.
- Assuming that a visa for one kind of work lets you switch to another without a modification.
If you end up registered as autónomo, our accounting service for self-employed foreigners keeps your tax returns up to date, from 50 € + VAT a month.
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply as a freelancer from inside Spain? The digital nomad and entrepreneur routes can be requested from Spain during a legal stay. The self-employed route is requested through the consulate as a rule.
Can I later set up a company instead? Yes. Many freelancers incorporate a limited company once turnover justifies it; the question is how that fits the authorisation you hold.
Which route has the most paperwork? The self-employed and entrepreneur routes, because both are judged on a business plan. The digital nomad route is judged mainly on evidence of existing work.
Conditions, reports, percentages and procedures change and depend on your activity and your consulate, so we confirm the ones in force for your case before you file.
