Spain Startup Entrepreneur Visa (2023 Act)

The Spain Startup Entrepreneur Visa is formally the entrepreneur route under Law 14/2013 of 27 September on support for entrepreneurs and their internationalization. It serves founders whose projects pass an official review and receive a favourable report on the project.

As of 2026-08-13 the law publishes no fixed statutory lump-sum investment threshold for the entrepreneur route. This separates the route from capital-based investor schemes.

A tourist stay in Spain allows no work, no business operation and no residence registration. This route lets the holder live and run the approved project in Spain from day one of the authorization.

The route leads to a 1-year consular visa or a 3-year initial residence authorization filed from inside Spain. It continues through 2-year renewals toward a 5-year track to permanent residence.

Two filing doors exist as of 2026-08-13. Both rest on the same favourable project report and the same financial means benchmark of 100% of IPREM for the main applicant.

The first door is a visa filed outside Spain at the Spanish consulate in the country of origin or residence, decided in 10 days. The second is a residence authorization filed with UGE-CE through the Ministry's electronic procedure by an applicant already lawfully in Spain.

No material change to the route is confirmed in the ledger as of 2026-08-13. Law 14/2013 of 27 September remains the governing framework for both filing doors.

100% of IPREM is the financial means benchmark for the main applicant as of 2026-08-13, and each accompanying family member adds 50% of IPREM to that figure. The 2026 euro value of IPREM is not published in the source material for this page.

The family math scales linearly with household size:

• Main applicant: 100% of IPREM in proven financial means.
• First family member: an additional 50% of IPREM.
• Each further family member: another 50% of IPREM per person.

Eligible accompanying family members cover three categories as of 2026-08-13:

• Spouse or unmarried partner: eligible on proof of the relationship.
• Children: eligible at any age if financially dependent and not having formed their own family unit.
• Ascending relatives: dependent relatives in the ascending line qualify.

The project itself is the core eligibility gate: a favourable report on the project is required evidence, and no fixed statutory lump-sum investment threshold is published for the route as of 2026-08-13. An applicant without the favourable report is excluded regardless of funds.

Criminal history operates as a disqualifier across a 5-year lookback covering the applicant's countries of residence. A passport issued more than 10 years ago, or one with under 1 year of validity or fewer than 2 blank pages, also blocks filing as of 2026-08-13.

For the in-country route, lawful presence in Spain at the moment of filing is a hard condition, so an applicant who enters irregularly cannot use the UGE-CE electronic procedure.

The document checklist centres on identity, the project, money, health cover and a clean record, with the consular post verifying each item at submission.

• Passport: minimum 1 year of remaining validity, at least 2 blank pages, and issued no more than 10 years ago as of 2026-08-13.
• Favourable report on the project: the required project evidence for the entrepreneur route, obtained before the visa or residence filing.
• Proof of financial means: documentation showing funds meeting the income threshold, with the 50% uplift applied per accompanying family member.
• Criminal-record certificate: covering every country of residence during the 5-year lookback period.
• Health insurance: a policy issued by an insurer authorized to operate in Spain as of 2026-08-13.
• Family relationship documents: proof of the marriage or unmarried partnership, of dependency for adult children without their own family unit, and of dependency for ascending relatives.

Apostille and sworn translation conditions for these documents are not published in the source material for this page, so the applicant confirms formalization requirements with the specific consulate before submission.

Only the consular visa fee carries a published figure as of 2026-08-13. The published amounts for a single applicant filing the consular route are:

• Most nationalities: USD 94 as of 2026-08-13.
• U.S. citizens: USD 270 as of 2026-08-13.

No official conversion rate is published for this page as of 2026-08-13. Refundability of the visa fee, the residence authorization fee and the TIE fee is not published in the source material.

The published decision period for the consular route is 10 days from the day after submission as of 2026-08-13. The in-country residence authorization processing time is not published.

1. Develop the project and obtain the favourable report on the project, the required evidence for both filing doors.
2. Assemble the passport with 1 year of validity and 2 blank pages, the 5-year criminal-record certificates, the Spain-authorized health insurance and proof of financial means at 100% of IPREM plus 50% per family member.
3. Choose the filing door: the Spanish consulate or consular section, including a designated outsourced visa center where applicable, outside Spain in the country of origin or residence, or the UGE-CE electronic procedure from inside Spain while lawfully present.
4. Pay the consular visa fee at the same time as submission of the visa application.
5. Wait for the consular decision, published at 10 days from the day after submission.
6. Collect the visa within 1 month from the day after notification of a favorable decision.
7. On the in-country route, file the residence authorization with UGE-CE through the Ministry's electronic procedure while lawfully in Spain and complete TIE issuance after the grant.

Why applications get rejected

• Missing or unfavourable project report, since the favourable report on the project is required evidence.
• Financial means below 100% of IPREM for the main applicant or missing the 50% of IPREM uplift per family member.
• Passport issued more than 10 years ago, under 1 year of validity, or with fewer than 2 blank pages.
• Criminal-record certificates not covering the full 5 years of residence.
• Health insurance from an insurer not authorized to operate in Spain.
• Filing the in-country residence authorization while not lawfully present in Spain.

The consular visa carries 1 year of validity, while the initial residence authorization filed from inside Spain runs 3 years as of 2026-08-13. The two doors therefore produce very different first-period horizons.

The timeline across the route breaks down as follows:

• Consular visa: 1 year of validity from issuance.
• Initial residence authorization: 3 years when filed from inside Spain through UGE-CE.
• Renewal or extension: 2 years per renewal period.
• Permanent residence: available after 5 years of legal residence.

The exact renewal filing deadline and any minimum physical-presence requirement for renewal are not published in the source material for this page. The maximum cumulative stay under the route is likewise not published.

After 5 years of legal residence the holder qualifies to seek permanent residence as of 2026-08-13. Citizenship eligibility and its qualifying residence period are not published in the source material, so no citizenship timeline appears here.

Law 14/2013 of 27 September governs the move, but Spain tax-residency rules as a visa-specific fact are not published in the source material. No residency trigger, regime, rate or treaty treatment can be stated here.

The 2026 IRPF rates and bands, the 2026 non-resident tax rates and the 2026 inbound-worker regime conditions and rates sit outside the verified ledger. Spain Social Security contribution obligations for visa holders are also outside the verified ledger.

The only tax-adjacent fact the ledger supports is the financial means benchmark, which is detailed in the eligibility section. That benchmark is a solvency test rather than a tax rule.

Any tax planning for a move under Law 14/2013 of 27 September requires separate confirmation against current Spanish tax law.