By Arturo García de la Cruz, Spanish Immigration Lawyer at MoveWise · Last updated: 14 November 2026

💡 The short answer: Yes, you can get Spain's Digital Nomad Visa while owning a company outside Spain. In our practice, from 25% of the shares you are treated as a company owner: you must show a genuine remote professional role for the company and that the company is real, at least 1 year old and able to pay you about €2,849 a month gross in 2026. Owners usually file from Spain with the UGE-CE, which must decide within 20 working days.

Key facts for 2026

• Legal basis: residence authorisation for international teleworkers, Chapter V bis of Ley 14/2013 (arts. 74 bis to 74 quinquies).
• Owners have their own document list: the UGE-CE information sheet sets extra documents for autónomos societarios, meaning sole owners or owners with effective control of the company.
• Our working threshold: in the files we prepare, a shareholding of 25% or more means you file as a company owner, with the full corporate block.
• 100% owners: the length of the professional relationship is taken as proven once you show 100% ownership and more than 1 year of real, continuous company activity (UGE-CE information sheet).
• The company: at least 1 year of real, continuous activity, proven with an official registry certificate from its country.
• Income: 200% of the SMI. The 2026 SMI is €1,221 a month in 14 payments (Real Decreto 126/2026); for UGE-CE filings we prepare to €2,849 a month gross.
• Social Security: owners filed as self-employed commit to joining the Spanish self-employed scheme (RETA); the home certificate-of-coverage route is for employees only (UGE-CE FAQ).
• Decision from Spain: within 20 working days of electronic filing, with positive administrative silence if no decision is issued (art. 76 Ley 14/2013).
• Permit length: up to 3 years from Spain, or the length of your contract if shorter; renewals for 2 years (art. 74 quinquies Ley 14/2013).

This guide is for founders and shareholders of companies registered outside Spain (a UK limited company, a US LLC, a Canadian corporation) who want to live in Spain and keep working for their business. You will learn whether Spain treats you as a company owner, which role to present, which corporate documents to order and how to show the income.

It is written by MoveWise's Spain Legal Managers from the owner files we prepare for the Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos (UGE-CE). Where something is our practice rather than the law, we say so.

The main pitfall it helps you avoid: presenting yourself only as "the director". A director's job does not read as remote work to a Spanish officer.

In this guide:

• What changed recently
• Is this the right route for you?
• When does Spain treat you as a company owner?
• Why "director" on its own tends to fail
• The double profile: your role and your company
• Income: how owners show the threshold
• Qualification: proving experience when you are your own boss
• Social Security and health cover for owners
• Country notes: UK, US, Canada and others
• Why we file company-owner applications from Spain
• How to apply, step by step
• Timeline and costs
• Tax: the warning every founder needs
• Most common reasons for refusal (and how to avoid them)
• Frequently asked questions
• How MoveWise can help

What changed recently

Nothing in the law changed specifically for company owners in 2026. What changed are the numbers and some procedures around them.

• Higher income threshold. Real Decreto 126/2026 set the 2026 minimum wage (SMI) at €1,221 a month in 14 payments, so we prepare owner files to €2,849 a month gross.
• Your contract sets your permit length. A July 2025 criterion of the Dirección General de Gestión Migratoria confirmed that the permit lasts up to 3 years or the length of your contract, if shorter. As an owner you write that contract yourself.
• Only Modelo 036. Since 3 February 2025 Modelo 037 no longer exists (Orden HAC/1526/2024); you register with the tax office on Modelo 036 after approval.
• No entry stamp for visitors. Since 10 April 2026 the Entry/Exit System (EES) records short-stay travellers digitally, so keep your boarding passes as proof of legal entry.

Is this the right route for you?

The Digital Nomad Visa fits owners whose company exists and earns outside Spain and who personally do professional work for it that can be done 100% online. It does not fit owners who want to run a Spanish business or who will not work.

✅ It is for you if:

• you own shares in a company registered outside Spain that has at least 1 year of real, continuous activity;
• you do concrete professional work for it (consulting, development, design, analysis) that needs only a laptop and a connection;
• the company pays you regularly, at or above the threshold;
• you hold a degree or vocational qualification, or 3 years of experience in similar functions.

❌ It is not for you if:

• your company is registered in Spain or has a Spanish branch: the visa is for work for companies outside Spain;
• your company is less than 1 year old: wait for a full year of documented activity;
• the business needs you on site (a shop, a restaurant, staff you supervise in person);
• you will live on dividends, savings or a pension and not work: look at the Spain Non-Lucrative Visa requirements or our comparison of the non-lucrative visa vs the digital nomad visa;
• you are on your company's payroll but own less than 25%: you are usually filed like any other employee; our guide to the three ways employees qualify is the better starting point.

For the general rules that apply to everyone (criminal record, insurance, apostilles, family), see our Spain Digital Nomad Visa requirements checklist. This guide covers only what is different for owners.

👉 Check your eligibility as a company owner with a MoveWise Client Manager — tell us your shareholding, your company's age and your role, and we will tell you honestly whether this route fits. You can also read about our Spain Digital Nomad Visa service.

When does Spain treat you as a company owner?

In our practice, from 25% of the shares. Below that, you are usually treated as an ordinary employee or contractor of the company. At 25% or more, the UGE-CE expects to see both your professional role and the company behind it.

What the official document list says

The UGE-CE information sheet for international teleworkers has a specific paragraph for autónomos societarios: self-employed people who are the sole owners of their company or who have effective control of it. It does not print a percentage; 25% is the working threshold our Legal Managers apply.

The three situations we see

• You own 100%. The UGE-CE sheet takes the length of the professional relationship as proven once you show 100% ownership and more than 1 year of real, continuous company activity. You still need 3 months of payments, a role and the corporate documents.
• You own 25% to 99%. You file as an owner, with the full corporate block, and need a professional relationship of at least 3 months on the filing date (art. 74 ter Ley 14/2013).
• You own less than 25%. In our practice you are not treated as an owner: you present your contract like any other remote worker.

💡 Pro tip: Make sure your percentage is written somewhere official. Many US LLC formation filings, for example, do not state who owns what. Add the operating agreement, share register or a shareholder certificate, legalised like your other company documents. A missing percentage is a typical trigger for a request for more documents (requerimiento).

⚠️ Common mistake: Leaving the shareholding out to look like an ordinary contractor. Ownership shows up in registers and tax returns, and an officer who finds it later will ask for everything at once, with 10 working days to answer.

Why "director" on its own tends to fail

Because the UGE-CE does not see a director's job as remote work. Directing a company means deciding, supervising and representing it, and an officer will ask how that is done 100% online from Spain.

The approach that has worked in our files is to document the genuine professional work you actually do for your company, separately from your position as owner or director. You do not stop being the owner, and the file must not hide it. You show two things side by side: a real remote role and a real company.

What a credible remote role looks like:

• ✅ It is tied to your main expertise, the one your CV and experience prove.
• ✅ It describes concrete services you deliver, not general responsibility for the business.
• ✅ It is done entirely with IT and telecommunications tools, as art. 74 bis Ley 14/2013 requires.
• ✅ It is paid regularly, at a monthly amount that matches the threshold.

💡 Pro tip: Choose the job title carefully, because it will be translated into Spanish. "Director" or "Operations Manager" (director de operaciones) read as management roles. "Senior Software Consultant" or "Brand Strategy Specialist" read as remote professional work, provided they match what you really do.

⚠️ Common mistake: Writing that your role requires regular business travel. The UGE-CE has rejected files on that point. Your letters should describe remote work from Spain, not trips.

The double profile: your role and your company

An owner's file has two blocks: the documents that prove your remote professional role, and the documents that prove the company is real, active and able to pay you. We call it the double profile. Our requirements checklist summarises it; here is the full detail.

Profile 1: your remote professional role

• ✅ Service agreement between you and your company, with the company as your client: the services, the monthly fee, the start date and remote work from Spain. Sworn translation.
• ✅ Duration of at least 3 years or indefinite. Your permit cannot outlast your contract, and you are the one drafting it.
• ✅ Authorisation letter from the company on letterhead: role, functions, income in local currency and in euros, contract dates, and the company's intention that you work from Spain. Standard translation.
• ✅ Monthly invoices to the company, with the same amount and description each month.
• ✅ Personal bank statements, stamped or notarised, showing each payment from the company.
• ✅ CV in Spanish, consistent with the agreement and the letter.

Where a co-founder or another director can sign the letter for the company, use that signature. Where you are the only director, the letter carries your own signature, so the third-party corporate evidence below is what gives the file its weight.

💡 Pro tip: Start the service agreement on the first day of a month and invoice monthly from then on. Identical monthly invoices that match the bank statements are the easiest thing for an officer to verify.

Profile 2: your company

These are the extra documents the UGE-CE sheet lists for owners, plus the items our Legal Managers add:

• ✅ Proof of ownership or effective control (share register, shareholder certificate, operating agreement).
• ✅ Official registry certificate showing at least 1 year of real, continuous activity, apostilled and sworn-translated; in our practice, issued within the 6 months before filing.
• ✅ The company's latest corporate tax return. If it shows a loss, company bank statements must show it can afford to pay you.
• ✅ Proof of investment in productive assets: equipment, software, premises, development costs.
• ✅ A report from your country's Social Security body with the history of employees the company has registered, "or similar", as the sheet puts it.
• ✅ Company bank statements for the last 3 months, two or three recent invoices to the company's own clients and examples of client contracts.
• ✅ Evidence of company expenses and, if you have staff, payroll.
• ✅ A company presentation letter: sector, products and services, clients and markets, financials and shareholding.

If your company is small or has no staff

A one-person company can qualify. The sheet asks for the employee history "or similar" because not every company has employees. Say clearly in the presentation letter that you have no staff, and let client invoices, company bank statements and expenses prove that the business trades. Ask us which equivalent document your country issues before you order anything.

💡 Pro tip: Do not file invoices from Spanish clients or suppliers. Your file should show an activity clearly based outside Spain, and your work for companies in Spain is capped at 20% of your total activity.

👉 Want a MoveWise Client Manager to check your corporate documents? — the double profile is where owner files are won or lost. Book a free consultation and we will tell you what your company can already prove and what is missing.

Income: how owners show the threshold

You show the same threshold as everyone else, but it must come from your company to you, for your work. On the basis we use for UGE-CE filings in 2026:

• Main applicant: €2,849 a month gross (200% of the SMI).
• First family member: + €1,068.38 a month (75%).
• Each additional family member: + €356.13 a month (25%).
• Couple: €3,917.38 a month in total.

Only the main applicant's income counts.

How the money should look:

• ✅ A regular monthly payment from the company to your personal account, under the service agreement.
• ✅ The same figure in the agreement, letter, invoices, bank statements and CV.
• ✅ At least the last 3 months of payments before filing.
• ✅ Where payslips or bank documents are not enough, the UGE-CE sheet lets owners add their personal income tax return for the previous year.

If you fall a little short, savings can cover the gap for the whole permit period, as our requirements checklist explains.

⚠️ Common mistake: Presenting irregular withdrawals, transfers between your own accounts or one-off distributions as monthly income. An officer cannot read them as pay for a remote role. If most of what you take out is not a regular payment for your work, talk to us and to a tax adviser before you restructure anything.

Qualification: proving experience when you are your own boss

You need a university degree or a vocational or business-school qualification, or at least 3 years of experience in functions similar to your current role (art. 74 bis Ley 14/2013). With a relevant degree, apostilled and sworn-translated, this part is simple.

Without a degree, owners meet a specific trap: Spain does not accept self-signed documents as proof of experience, and a reference letter you sign as director of your own company is exactly that. Build the 3 years from third-party evidence instead:

• ✅ the company registry showing your appointment and shareholding since a given date;
• ✅ your personal and company tax returns for the years you worked in the business;
• ✅ client contracts and client letters that name you and describe the work you did;
• ✅ an official employment record from your country for any years you were on a payroll (in the UK, the HMRC PAYE employment history).

Social Security and health cover for owners

Owners filed as self-employed commit to joining the Spanish self-employed scheme (RETA) after approval. The certificate-of-coverage route that lets employees keep paying at home is, under the UGE-CE FAQ, for employees only.

• ✅ Signed declaration committing to register with RETA after approval. MoveWise provides the form.
• ✅ Register in the same month the approval arrives: Modelo 036 with the tax office and RETA through Import@ss. In our practice a representative with a digital certificate can do it, even before you are in Spain or hold your residence card.
• ✅ Health cover: filing from Spain, with Spanish Social Security to follow, private insurance is usually not needed, as the UGE-CE sheet allows. Consulates usually ask for a private policy anyway.

A useful consequence: because owners join RETA, the lack of a Social Security agreement between Spain and your company's country (Israel, Turkey or the UAE, for example) does not block an owner file the way it can block an employee's. See our guide to registering as autónomo in Spain.

⚠️ Common mistake: Registering late. The UGE-CE warns that if a later review finds you never registered, the authorisation can be extinguished, for you and for your family members.

Country notes: UK, US, Canada and others

The documents are the same everywhere, but each country issues them differently. These are the patterns we see in owner files.

• United Kingdom: company registry documents come from Companies House, apostilled. Years on your own company's payroll show in the HMRC PAYE employment history. Your Self Assessment showing your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) is valid proof of self-employed status.
• United States: state formation documents often omit ownership percentages, so add the operating agreement. If you switched to self-employed status, quarterly Form 1040-ES payments help prove it from the switch date.
• Canada: a provincial Certificate of Status (for example Ontario's, apostilled directly) or, for a federal corporation, the Corporations Canada Certificate of Compliance plus another federal document apostilled by Global Affairs Canada.
• Brazil: Spain accepts apostilles issued by the cartório directly on the electronic document (CNJ system); apostilles on notarial copies are often refused.
• Thailand: there is no self-employed registration certificate; the tax return (PND 90) is the proof.
• Outside the Hague Apostille Convention: documents need consular legalisation instead. See our guide to the apostille for Spain.

💡 Pro tip: Ask your sworn translator for one digitally signed PDF with the original, the apostille and the translation, and check the signature on the government's VALIDe service. Never compress that PDF: it can break the signature check.

Why we file company-owner applications from Spain

Because the UGE-CE is used to owner files and consulates see far fewer. In our experience consular staff ask for more on this profile, and the result is a 1-year visa that must then be converted in Spain. Filing from Spain gives you:

• ✅ a legal decision deadline of 20 working days, with positive administrative silence if no decision is issued (art. 76 Ley 14/2013);
• ✅ a first permit of up to 3 years, matched to your contract;
• ✅ no private health insurance in most self-employed files, because you will join RETA.

The conditions: you, and every family member applying with you, must be physically and legally in Spain on the filing day and able to prove how you entered. Count your Schengen days and leave a margin.

💡 Pro tip: If you need a Schengen visa to visit Spain, enter on one issued by Spain where possible. Colleagues have reported rare refusals arguing that a visa issued by another country was used for a different purpose. We have not seen it in our files, but caseworkers interpret rules differently.

How to apply, step by step

The sequence matters more for owners, because you create part of your own evidence.

1. Assess the file: shareholding, company age, role, income and qualification.
2. Take tax advice first, before you sign a service agreement with your own company (see the tax section).
3. Put the service agreement in place from the first day of a month and invoice monthly: you need at least 3 months of payments.
4. Order the corporate documents, apostille them, then have them sworn-translated.
5. Request your criminal record certificates early, from your country of nationality and every country where you lived in the last 2 years. They are often requested later, and 10 working days is shorter than many countries take to issue them.
6. Enter Spain legally and keep every travel record.
7. Pay Modelo 790, code 038, for each applicant, and sign the application form (MI-T) and the declarations, including the RETA commitment.
8. File online with the UGE-CE through a representative with a digital certificate; MoveWise files through its partner professionals.
9. Answer any requerimiento within 10 working days, as one PDF (cover letter plus annexes), each uploaded file under 10 MB.
10. After approval, register with the tax office and RETA in the same month, then book the fingerprint appointment for your residence card (TIE). See our checklist on how to keep your Digital Nomad Visa in Spain.

Timeline and costs

These are typical ranges from our files, not guarantees.

• Before filing: tax advice and the service agreement first, then at least 3 months of invoices and payments.
• Corporate documents, apostilles and translations: typically several weeks; foreign registry certificates and Social Security reports are usually the slowest.
• UGE-CE decision: legally within 20 working days; a requerimiento stops the clock while you answer.
• Positive silence: after 20 working days without a decision the application is approved by law, but the formal resolution can arrive much later. The UGE-CE has no public counter or phone line, so we file a written reminder (escrito de silencio) and follow up in writing.
• Residence card (TIE): typically several weeks, depending on the police station.

Official fees:

• Modelo 790, code 038: per applicant, including each family member. Pay the current amount shown on the official form.
• Modelo 790, code 012 (first TIE): €16.08 (Orden PJC/617/2025).

Other costs, which depend on your country and your company: apostilles, sworn translations, registry certificates, notarisation or bank stamps, the representative for the online filing, professional fees and, after approval, your RETA contributions.

Tax: the warning every founder needs

⚠️ Important: MoveWise is an immigration consultancy, not a tax adviser. Before you sign a service agreement with your own company or move to Spain, speak to a qualified tax adviser in Spain (an asesor fiscal) and in your company's country.

A Digital Nomad Visa approval does not answer the tax questions an owner faces:

• Your personal tax residence and how your pay from the company is taxed. See our guide to tax residency in Spain.
• The company's own position. Spanish law treats a company as resident in Spain if, among other criteria, its effective place of management is here, meaning the direction and control of all its activities (Agencia Tributaria). A permanent establishment is a related risk.
• The Beckham Law has its own rules for employees and company administrators; whether any fits you is for your adviser. Our Beckham Law guide explains the basics.

This depends entirely on your circumstances. Check it with a qualified tax adviser before you act.

Most common reasons for refusal (and how to avoid them)

Most problems in owner files come from a short list of avoidable mistakes. If you receive a refusal, read our guide to appealing a Spain visa refusal.

1. A director-only role. Fix: document the genuine remote professional work you do, tied to your main expertise.
2. No proof of the shareholding percentage. Fix: add the share register, shareholder certificate or operating agreement.
3. A company under 1 year old, or no registry certificate. Fix: wait for a full year and file an official certificate issued within the last 6 months.
4. Fewer than 3 months of payments. Fix: invoice monthly from the first day of a month and wait for three full payments in your bank statements.
5. Figures that do not match. Fix: the same amount in the agreement, letter, invoices, bank statements and CV.
6. A company that looks inactive or cannot visibly pay you. Fix: add client invoices, company bank statements, expenses and a clear presentation letter.
7. Self-signed proof of experience. Fix: build the 3 years from registry records, tax returns and client evidence.
8. Travel or Spanish clients in the file. Fix: describe remote work only and keep Spanish invoices out.
9. Key documents missing. The application can end in inadmission rather than refusal. Fix: file complete; if it happens, the remedy is an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) with the full documentation.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get the Spain Digital Nomad Visa if I own my own company?

Yes. Owners of a company registered outside Spain can qualify if the company has at least 1 year of real activity and pays them for genuine remote professional work. You file two blocks of evidence: your role (service agreement, letter, invoices and payments) and the company (ownership, registry certificate, tax return, activity). Income must reach about €2,849 a month gross in 2026.

What percentage of shares makes me a company owner for the Spain Digital Nomad Visa?

25% is the threshold we use in practice. From 25% of the shares we file you as a company owner, with the full corporate block. The official UGE-CE sheet does not print a percentage: it speaks of sole owners and owners with effective control. Below 25%, you are usually filed like any other employee or contractor of the company.

Can I apply as the director of my own company?

No, not as a director alone, in our experience. The UGE-CE does not see a director's job as remote work, and files built on that title tend to run into trouble. You remain the owner and director, but the file presents the genuine professional work you do for the company, tied to your main expertise and paid monthly.

Do I need 3 months of contract with my own company?

No, if you own 100%: the UGE-CE takes the relationship as proven once you show full ownership and more than 1 year of company activity. Owners with less than 100% need at least 3 months of relationship on the filing date. Either way, you need the last 3 months of payments in your bank statements.

How much income do I need as a company owner?

€2,849 a month gross is the figure we prepare to for UGE-CE filings in 2026, which is 200% of the minimum wage. Add €1,068.38 for the first family member and €356.13 for each additional one. The money should arrive as a regular monthly payment from your company for your work, matching your agreement and invoices.

Do company owners pay Social Security in Spain?

Yes. Owners filed as self-employed commit to joining RETA, the Spanish self-employed scheme, after approval, and should register in the same month the approval arrives. The home certificate-of-coverage route is only for employees. In our practice the registration can be done through a representative, even before you hold your residence card.

Is it better to apply from Spain as a company owner?

Yes, where you can. UGE-CE officers in Spain are used to owner files, the legal deadline is 20 working days with positive silence, and the first permit can last up to 3 years. Consular staff see fewer owner files and tend to ask for more. You must be in Spain legally on the filing day, with your family.

Can moving to Spain make my company taxable in Spain?

Yes, it can in some situations. Spanish law treats a company as resident if, among other criteria, its effective place of management is in Spain, and a permanent establishment is a related risk. Whether this applies depends on how and from where your company is run. Speak to a qualified tax adviser before you sign anything or move.

How MoveWise can help

MoveWise prepares Spain Digital Nomad Visa files for company owners, mostly from Spain with the UGE-CE. A Spain Legal Manager handles your file from the first check to the resolution.

• Module 1, eligibility assessment: your Legal Manager reviews your shareholding, company documents, role, income and qualification, and tells you what to fix before you spend money on apostilles and translations.
• Module 2, full preparation and submission: we build the double profile, review the service agreement and letter, draft the company presentation letter, CV, Payment Summary and explanatory notes, check every apostille and translation, file through our partner professionals and answer any requerimiento.
• Tax questions: we do not give tax advice, but we can put you in touch with independent qualified tax advisers we work with.
• After approval: our partners can handle your tax and RETA registration, and we guide you through the residence card and the renewal.

Our modular service comes with a full refund of our fee if your application is refused, under the conditions of our service agreement. Our clients have left more than 500 client reviews on Trustpilot, and our free webinars are a good place to ask questions live.

👉 Book a free consultation with a MoveWise Client Manager — tell us about your company and your role, and we will tell you honestly whether the Digital Nomad Visa fits and what your file needs. If your family is moving with you, see also our guide to bringing your family on the Spain Digital Nomad Visa.

Sources and legal references

• UGE-CE, information and documents for international teleworkers (including autónomos societarios) — Ministry of Inclusion
• UGE-CE, digital nomads FAQ — Ministry of Inclusion
• Ley 14/2013, Chapter V bis, international teleworkers (arts. 74 bis to 74 quinquies), consolidated text
• Defensor del Pueblo on art. 76 Ley 14/2013, 20-day deadline and positive silence
• Real Decreto 126/2026, minimum wage (SMI) for 2026 — BOE
• Orden PJC/617/2025, immigration fees including the TIE — BOE
• Orden HAC/1526/2024, abolition of Modelo 037 — BOE
• Agencia Tributaria, residence and tax domicile of companies (Corporate Income Tax manual)
• Agencia Tributaria, special regime for inbound workers (art. 93 LIRPF)
• European Commission, Entry/Exit System (EES)

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Immigration rules and consular practice change frequently; the information was verified on 14 November 2026. For advice on your situation, speak to a qualified professional.

Contact Us

While the requirements for obtaining a Digital Nomad Visa for Spain are straightforward, preparing the necessary documents and navigating the application process can be challenging. Mistakes or incomplete paperwork could put your application at risk. If you have any doubts or questions about the Digital Nomad Visa process, BOOK TODAY a 100% Free Consultation. We’re here to help you every step of the way.