Becoming self-employed in Spain as a foreign national takes more than registering for tax purposes — the document that surprises people the most when they start this process is the business plan or feasibility report, and knowing who can certify it saves you weeks.
What the business plan/feasibility report is
It’s the document that explains your activity, the planned investment, and its job-creation impact if any. It’s not a purely administrative formality: the administration uses it to assess whether your project is real and sustainable.
Who can assess it
You don’t need a report from just any consultancy — an assessment from specific organizations is accepted: ATA, UPTA, CIAE, OPA, or UATAE. These are the entities the regulation itself recognizes for this purpose.
The rest of the paperwork
- Professional qualification or accredited experience: a recognized/homologated qualification or proof of sufficient experience in the activity.
- Proof of means for your personal maintenance: enough resources to live on once you’ve set aside what’s needed to start your activity.
- Self-employment registration: the corresponding tax registration or registry filing.
If your activity is “regulated”
If your activity requires professional licensing or a specific sectoral authorization — healthcare, law, and construction are the examples the regulation itself gives — one more document is added: the professional registration or specific permit your activity requires before you can practice.
If you already live in Spain under another permit
If you’re coming from studies, from a temporary residence that doesn’t allow work, or from an employed-work authorization, the underlying legal procedure changes (a modification of your current authorization, instead of an initial one) — but the result we prepare for you is the same: a complete self-employment file, with the document checklist that matches your specific situation.
The fees
For an initial self-employment authorization: €10.94 for processing, €16.08 for the card, and €203.84 for the work authorization — this last one you pay yourself, with none of the wage-based tiers that apply to employed work, since there’s no salary to tier by.
Verified directly against Hoja 14 from the Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones (inclusion.gob.es) and against Art. 191/192 of Real Decreto 1155/2024.