Profile

Residence authorisation for entrepreneurs

Route status

Active as of 2026-08-06[4][8]

Open to new applications under the rules recorded below.

Residency route facts

Identity

Identity
Official name (local)Autorización de residencia para emprendedores (actividad emprendedora y empresarial) as of 2026-08-06[2][8]
Official name (English)Residence authorisation for entrepreneurs as of 2026-08-06[4][8]
English rendering used by the administering unit and by consular pages.
Legal basisLey 14/2013, de 27 de septiembre, arts. 68-70 y 76 (Título V, Sección 2.ª, Capítulo III), modificada por la Ley 28/2022, de 21 de diciembre as of 2022-12-22[2][3][8]
Instrument typeresidence permit as of 2026-08-06[8]
A separate one-year national visa under art. 68 precedes or accompanies it for applicants coming from abroad; that visa stage is recorded under process.stages rather than as a separate route.

Who can apply

Who can apply
Nationals not served by this routeEU, EEA as of 2026-08-06[8]
The international mobility section addresses third-country nationals; EU/EEA nationals and Swiss nationals are covered by free-movement rules instead. Switzerland is not a value in the bloc vocabulary and is recorded here in the note.
Minimum age18 as of 2018-08-31[7][8]
Ley 14/2013 art. 62.3 general requirement. The consolidated text used for the article wording is consolidated only to Real Decreto-ley 11/2018, so as_of reflects that consolidation date rather than the access date; the UGE page corroborates that applicants must be over 18.
Criminal-record conditionYes as of 2018-08-31[7][8]
Ley 14/2013 art. 62.3: no criminal record in Spain or in the countries of residence during the previous five years.

Permit terms

Permit terms
Initial duration3 years as of 2022-12-22[3]
How the initial term is setfixed
RenewableYes as of 2022-12-22[1][3][7]
Renewal duration2 years as of 2023-05-10[1][3]
Work rightsNot established from a qualifying source

Permanent residence and citizenship

Permanent residence and citizenship
Counts toward permanent residenceYes as of 2025-05-01[5][6]
Time on a lawful residence authorisation counts toward the five-year qualifying period for long-term residence. No route-specific acceleration or exclusion was found, so no pr_years_override is set.

Requirements

Requirements
Minimum capitalNot applicable
The UGE page states that no minimum investment level and no minimum job-creation level are specified for this route: the test is qualitative (innovative character and special economic interest for Spain), not a capital threshold.
Business plan requiredYes as of 2026-08-06[7][8]
A business plan covering the project description, the product or service, financing and investment requirements is one of the three assessment criteria.
Endorsement requiredYes as of 2026-08-06[3][8]
A favourable report is required; the UGE page names ENISA as the issuing body, and Ley 28/2022 assigned that assessment role. The 2018 consolidation of Ley 14/2013 still names the Economic and Commercial Office and the Directorate-General for International Trade and Investment, which is the pre-2022 position and is superseded – recorded here so the discrepancy is visible rather than silently resolved.
Innovation criterionYes as of 2026-08-06[7][8]
Ley 14/2013 art. 70: the activity must be of an innovative character with special economic interest for Spain, evidenced by a favourable report. The stated assessment criteria are the applicant's professional profile and involvement, the business plan, and the added value for the Spanish economy, innovation or investment opportunities.
Jobs to be createdNot applicable
No minimum number of jobs is required. Job creation is weighted in the assessment of the project but is not a threshold condition.
Own means requirementNot established from a qualifying source

Process

Process
Where to apply fromeither as of 2026-08-06[4][8]
Applicants may apply from abroad through the consular visa route (art. 68) or in Spain where they already hold a residence title (art. 69).
Statutory processing time20 days as of 2023-05-10[1]
Fees
    • Kind: application
    • Amount: Not established from a qualifying source
      A processing fee is a stated requirement (Ley 14/2013 art. 62.3) but no amount or modelo 790 code was published on the pages retrieved for this route.
    • Charged per: applicant
    • Paid by: applicant
Stages
    • Label: Consular visa for entrepreneurial activity (Ley 14/2013 art. 68)
    • Statutory clock: 10 days as of 2026-08-06[4]
      Ten days from the day after submission, extendable where an interview or additional documents are requested. The visa is valid for one year and evidences residence in Spain while valid.
    • Label: Residence authorisation resolved by the Large Companies and Strategic Collectives Unit (UGE-CE)
    • Statutory clock: 20 days as of 2023-05-10[1]
      Twenty days with positive administrative silence, under the current text of Ley 14/2013 art. 76.1. Same re-sourcing as processing_time_statutory.

Physical presence

Physical presence
none statedto keep the permit as of 2026-08-06[4][8]

Family inclusion

Family inclusion
Family members may be includedYes as of 2026-08-06[4][7]
Eligible relationsspouse, unmarried partner, minor child, adult dependent child, parent as of 2026-08-06[4][7]
Ley 14/2013 art. 62.4: spouse or person in an analogous relationship of affection; minor children, and adult children who are economically dependent on the holder and have not formed their own family unit; dependent ascendants. 'Ascendants' is recorded as parent because the vocabulary has no general ascendant value; grandparents are not separately evidenced.
Family may apply at the same timeYes as of 2018-08-31[7]
Family members' work rightsNot established from a qualifying source

Your next step

Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.

The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.

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Verification

Verification
Sources cited8
of which official (tier 1)8
Oldest as-of date2018-08-31
Newest as-of date2026-08-06
Reviewed on2026-08-11
Schema version1.1

Sources

  1. [1] Ley 14/2013, art. 76 (texto vigente) — API de legislación consolidada del BOE, bloque a76
    Boletín Oficial del Estado — Datos Abiertos · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2023-05-10 · Accessed 2026-08-06
  2. [2] Ley 14/2013, de 27 de septiembre, de apoyo a los emprendedores y su internacionalización (texto consolidado)
    Boletín Oficial del Estado · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2013-09-28 · Accessed 2026-08-06 · Amended by es-boe-ley-28-2022, es-boe-lo-1-2025
  3. [3] Ley 28/2022, de 21 de diciembre, de fomento del ecosistema de las empresas emergentes
    Boletín Oficial del Estado · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2022-12-22 · Accessed 2026-08-06
  4. [4] Visa for entrepreneurs – Consulate General of Spain in London
    Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-06
  5. [5] Hoja 49 – Autorización de residencia de larga duración nacional
    Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2025-05-01 · Accessed 2026-08-06
  6. [6] Hoja 50 – Autorización de residencia de larga duración UE
    Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones · official guidance · Tier 1 · Published 2025-05-01 · Accessed 2026-08-06
  7. [7] Ley 14/2013 – Sección de Movilidad Internacional, texto consolidado (PDF)
    Programa de Residencia para Inversores y Emprendedores (PRIE), Ministerio de Economía, Comercio y Empresa · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-06 · Superseded by es-boe-ley-14-2013
  8. [8] Entrepreneurs – Large Companies and Strategic Collectives Unit
    Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones (UGE-CE) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-06

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