Entrepreneurial Residence · Starting a Business in Spain
Some businesses are bornin one country.Their future is builtacross many.
Spain can be much more than the place where a company is incorporated. It can be the market from which it grows, the point of entry to Europe, the place where it finds talent, investment and new opportunities. But moving a business project to Spain takes more than obtaining a residence permit.
There is an idea. A strategy. A business model. A structure. An investment. And a person capable of turning all of it into reality. We do not confine ourselves to examining a residence permit. We work alongside the entrepreneur in building their project in Spain.
Analyse my project
The idea
It all begins with an idea.
But to become a business project, it must be able to answer specific questions:
- What will it create?
- What problem does it solve?
- Who needs it?
- What market exists?
- Why Spain?
- Who is behind it?
- How will it be financed?
- What value can it generate?
Our first task is to turn those answers into a coherent and legally defensible business structure.
The entrepreneur
The project is also your story.
The authorities do not assess an idea in isolation. The UGE-CE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos, the unit that processes Ley 14/2013 applications) states that, in assessing the project, account is taken of the applicant’s professional profile and their involvement in the project. Where there are several partners, the participation of each one is also assessed.
That is why we examine:
- professional track record
- education
- business experience
- knowledge of the sector
- international experience
- participation in the project
- capacity to deliver it
A good idea needs the right person to turn it into reality.
The business plan
It is not a document.It is the architecture of the project.
The business plan must explain, among other things:
The business
What activity will be carried on. What product or service will be offered. What need it seeks to meet.
The market
Which market it is aimed at. Who its customers are. What opportunity exists.
The model
How the business will operate. How it will generate revenue. What structure it will need.
The financing
What investment it requires. How it will be financed. What the possible sources of funding will be.
The UGE-CE itself expressly states that the business plan must include a description of the project, product or service and its financing, including the investment required and the possible sources of funding.
The value
What it brings to Spain. What innovative elements it incorporates. What investment opportunities it generates. What economic impact it may have.
The official assessment looks at precisely these elements together with the applicant’s profile and the business plan.
Our role
We do not simply tell you what you need.We help you build it.
Where the project requires it, our work can begin long before an application is filed.
- 01We defineWe analyse the idea and determine what it needs to demonstrate.
- 02We structureWe help to organise the business project and its business model.
- 03We developWe support the preparation of the business plan and the documentation needed to explain the project.
- 04We substantiateWe identify how to prove each relevant element to the authorities.
- 05We incorporateWhere necessary, we advise on incorporating the company and on the corporate structure from which the activity will be carried on.
- 06We connectWhere appropriate, we coordinate the project’s different needs: corporate · commercial · tax · employment · immigration · financial.
- 07We fileWe prepare and file the relevant application with the UGE-CE. International mobility applications under Ley 14/2013 are processed online.
- 08We supportWe stay with the client throughout the implementation and development of the project.
Requirements
What must the project satisfy?
The permit is intended for foreign nationals aged 18 or over who intend to start, develop or run in Spain an entrepreneurial and business activity that is innovative in nature and/or of particular economic interest to Spain.
An innovative project
The project must be innovative in nature and/or meet the conditions to be regarded as being of particular economic interest to Spain.
Economic interest
It must be possible to explain what value the project brings to the Spanish economy. The legislation and the assessment criteria pay particular attention to elements such as: job creation · investment · innovation · added value · investment opportunities · socio-economic impact.
A credible business plan
There must be a sufficiently developed business plan to explain: activity · product or service · market · financing · investment · sources of funding · projections, and the other relevant elements of the project.
The founder
The entrepreneur’s track record, qualifications, experience and involvement form part of the assessment.
Financial capacity
The applicant must demonstrate the financial capacity to develop the project and to cover the personal means required by law.
General requirements
In addition, the general requirements of the international mobility regime must be met.
We analyse, among other things:
- passport and documentation
- criminal record
- immigration status
- health insurance
- financial resources
- and the other requirements laid down by law
No minimum investment
There is no magic number.
One point worth clarifying from the outset: Ley 14/2013 sets no minimum investment and no minimum job creation for this permit. That does not mean that investment or employment are irrelevant. Quite the opposite. They are among the elements that can help to demonstrate the economic value and viability of the project. It is not about investing a particular sum. It is about building a project that makes sense.
What will the authoritieswant to see?
Our job is to anticipate that question. We help to identify and substantiate:
who the entrepreneur is
what they want to do
how they will do it
with what resources
what structure they will use
what market exists
what value it brings
what innovation it incorporates
what opportunities it generates
and why the project makes sense in Spain
The best answer to the authorities is the one prepared before the question was ever asked.
The company
From the idea to the company.
Where the project requires a Spanish company, we can guide the entrepreneur through the structuring process. From the choice of company form to:
- incorporation
- articles of association
- directors
- participaciones (shareholdings)
- relations between shareholders
- corporate purpose
- corporate structure
And the commercial matters needed to begin trading. Residence should not be designed separately from the business. See Business & Investment →
The tax layer
Before you move, you need to knowwhat moving means.
An international entrepreneur may arrive in Spain while retaining:
- foreign companies
- participaciones (shareholdings)
- investments
- international income
- intellectual property
- assets
- family wealth
That is why, where appropriate, we analyse the tax and wealth implications of the move from the outset. See Family & Dependants →
One strategy.
The question about Spain
Not only: why do you wantto live in Spain?
The business question is a different one: why does it make sense to build this project in Spain?
The answer may be based on:
- market
- talent
- infrastructure
- location
- business ecosystem
- innovation
- investment
- international reach
And that answer must be built into the architecture of the project.
From the idea to Spain
Our support.
- 01ProfileWe analyse the entrepreneur.
- 02IdeaWe understand the project.
- 03Business planWe develop its business structure.
- 04ViabilityWe analyse how it fits the assessment criteria.
- 05CorporateWe design and, where appropriate, incorporate the company.
- 06TaxWe examine the tax dimension.
- 07DocumentationWe build the file.
- 08ENISA / AuthoritiesWe prepare the project for assessment and coordinate the necessary documentation and reports.
- 09UGE-CEWe file and manage the permit application.
- 10SpainWe support the implementation.
- 11ContinuityWe stay on as the project grows, changes or needs a new structure.
The next chapter
The first project may be only the beginning.
A company can become:
- group
- holding company
- investment
- international expansion
- acquisition
- joint venture
- sale
That is why we want the entrepreneur to find in Garzalex something more than an immigration solution. A legal team for the next stage.
The Garzalex view
Residence is a status. A business is a path.
It is not only about obtaining residence in order to start a business. It is about arriving in Spain with a project that can be sustained legally, commercially and in tax terms. Not just coming to Spain. Coming to build in Spain.
There is more beneath the surface.
There is more beneath the surface. Our job is to see it first.
Speak to our teamGeneral information based on the legislation and official sources available as at August 2026. The residence permit for entrepreneurs is governed by Articles 68 to 70 of Ley 14/2013. The assessment of the project and the documentation required depend on the specific circumstances of the entrepreneur and of the proposed activity. The information on this page does not constitute individual legal advice.