Starting a company · Guía Emprendedor editorial team

Starting a business in Spain as a foreigner

Yes, a foreigner can start a business in Spain. The right route depends on three separate questions: what you will own, where you will live and whether you will personally work in Spain. Treating those questions as if they were the same is the source of many avoidable delays.

You can be a shareholder of a Spanish limited company without becoming resident in Spain. That ownership does not, by itself, give you permission to live or work here. If you will actually carry out the activity in Spain, your nationality and immigration status determine what residence or work formalities apply.

This guide is general information, not immigration, tax or legal advice. Cross-border tax residence, regulated activities and foreign-investment controls require an individual review.

The three decisions to make first

Question	Why it matters
Will you operate personally or through a company?	This points you towards registering as self-employed (autónomo) or forming an SL.
Will you live and work in Spain?	Owning shares and having permission to work are separate matters.
Will any founder remain non-resident?	Identification, powers of attorney, foreign documents and investment declarations may need planning.

If the business will have several owners, retain profit, hire people, sign substantial contracts or ring-fence business risk, an SL (Sociedad Limitada) may fit better. A solo professional testing a lower-risk activity may prefer the simpler self-employed route. Compare the practical differences with the self-employed vs SL vs SA tool.

EU, EEA and Swiss founders

EU nationals have the right to work as self-employed people in another EU country without a work permit. Residence registration rules still apply when moving to Spain, and tax and social-security registrations are separate from that residence formality.

Before beginning the activity, plan for:

a personal identification number in Spain;
registration with the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT);
registration with Social Security when the work falls within the self-employed regime;
any licence, professional recognition or municipal authorisation required by the activity.

The European Commission's Your Europe portal explains the EU right to work abroad, while the Spanish procedures determine how the business is registered locally.

Non-EU founders who will work in Spain

If you are not covered by the EU free-movement regime, forming or owning an SL does not replace the immigration process. A person who intends to move to Spain and carry out a lucrative activity on their own account generally needs a status that permits that work.

The Ministry of Inclusion's current guidance for the initial self-employment authorisation requires, among other matters, compliance with the rules for opening the activity, relevant qualifications or experience, sufficient planned investment and the applicable procedure. Other immigration routes may apply to a particular founder, so verify the correct route before committing to premises or a start date.

NIE and NIF: the identification layer

The NIE is the personal and unique foreigner's identity number assigned to a foreign individual who has economic, professional or social links with Spain. It identifies the person; it is not a company number and it does not prove a right of residence.

For a foreign individual, that NIE generally also serves as the person's NIF for Spanish tax purposes. If an individual has no NIE but needs to complete a transaction with tax relevance, the AEAT may assign an NIF beginning with M in the cases its rules allow. This is not a second company number and is not a substitute for immigration permission.

An SL receives its own NIF, separate from every shareholder and director. Founding shareholders must also be identified with their own NIF. Obtain the right identifiers early: the notary, Tax Agency, bank or registry process may need them before the company can move forward.

Autónomo or SL?

Registering as self-employed

An autónomo carries on the activity as an individual. There is no separate company to incorporate, but the individual generally assumes the business obligations personally. The activity must be registered with the AEAT before it starts and, when applicable, with the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA).

Use the self-employed contribution calculator to model the Social Security contribution separately from tax. Your right to use this route still depends on your immigration position if you are a non-EU national working in Spain.

Forming an SL

An SL is a separate legal person. Shareholders do not generally answer personally for company debts merely because they hold shares, although guarantees, directors' duties and specific statutory liabilities can change the risk in practice.

Spanish law allows an SL to be formed with capital from €1, but special reserve and shareholder-liability rules apply while capital plus legal reserve remains below €3,000. Choose capital for the real cash needs of the business rather than treating €1 as a recommended amount.

Read the complete guide to starting an SL company in Spain, then separate capital from fees with the SL company cost guide and cost calculator.

The usual SL formation sequence

Define the company. Decide the shareholders, percentages, registered office, corporate purpose, capital and management structure.
Obtain the company-name certificate. Request a negative name certificate from the Central Mercantile Registry.
Prepare the founders' identification and documents. Foreign documents may need a sworn translation, legalisation or Hague apostille. A representative may require a properly documented power of attorney.
Document the capital contribution. The evidence used must satisfy the company-law and notarial route chosen.
Sign the public deed before a notary. The deed contains the founders' declarations, articles and appointments.
Obtain the company's provisional NIF and complete census data. Form 036 or the CIRCE/DUE route coordinates the relevant tax information.
Register at the Provincial Mercantile Registry. Registration gives the company its legal personality.
Complete the definitive NIF and launch registrations. Confirm tax obligations, Social Security, licences, invoicing and any sector-specific registrations before trading.

The CIRCE system uses the Single Electronic Document (DUE) to coordinate many formation and start-up formalities. It can reduce repeated data entry, but it does not remove the need to make the ownership, management and activity decisions correctly. Use the SL formation timeline to see which steps depend on others.

Extra checks for non-resident shareholders

A non-resident can own all or part of an SL, including as sole shareholder. Plan for four additional questions:

Does each founder have the Spanish personal or entity NIF required for the deed and census declaration?
Will anyone sign through a representative, and are the foreign power and identity documents valid for use in Spain?
Does the investment reach a declaration threshold or come from a non-cooperative jurisdiction?
Is the company active in a strategic or otherwise restricted sector that may require prior foreign-investment authorisation?

Under the current general declaration regime, a non-resident investment that reaches at least 10% of the capital or voting rights of a Spanish company is among the transactions reported to the Foreign Investment Register. Different or prior requirements can apply in special cases. The detailed answer belongs in the transaction checklist, not after the deed has already been signed.

For the complete ownership-specific explanation, read Can a non-resident form an SL in Spain?.

A practical pre-start checklist

Confirm the immigration basis for every founder who will live or work in Spain.
Choose autónomo or SL based on risk, ownership, administration and cash flow—not a headline tax rate.
Map the personal NIE/NIF of each founder and the separate NIF of the future company.
Decide who can attend or sign and prepare powers of attorney early if needed.
Check whether foreign documents need translation, legalisation or apostille.
Identify national, regional, municipal and professional requirements for the activity.
Budget formation costs, working capital and recurring compliance separately.
Review foreign-investment reporting or screening before completion.

Continue the foreign-founder series

Official sources

Get a route for your situation

Use the free business diagnosis to organise your legal-form, activity and launch decisions. It is a planning starting point; confirm immigration, cross-border tax and regulated-activity questions with the relevant authority or adviser before acting.

Editorial review: Guía Emprendedor editorial team, on 2026-08-14. Sources checked on 2026-08-14.