Run your business. Live in Spain.

Freelancer eligibility

If you work for yourself — consulting, agency work, contract-based services — you can qualify for Spanish residency as a self-employed remote worker, provided the majority of your client base and income is based outside Spain.

The exact income thresholds and required documentation differ slightly from the employed pathway, primarily because you'll need to demonstrate income stability through invoices, contracts, and financial statements rather than a single employment letter.

The company age requirement — and the workaround

If you work through your own company rather than as a pure freelancer, Spanish requirements typically expect that company to have been operating for at least one year before you apply. This catches out a lot of people who incorporated recently and assume they're disqualified.

In practice, there are accepted ways to structure your situation if your company is newer — including applying under the freelancer/self-employed category directly with your existing client contracts, rather than through the company itself. We assess which structure fits your actual setup on your eligibility call.

The 20% Spanish client rule

Spain's framework generally requires that no more than 20% of your professional income come from Spanish clients or companies — the visa is designed for people bringing foreign income into Spain, not competing directly in the local labor market.

If most of your income is already non-Spanish, this is usually a non-issue. If you're planning to take on Spanish clients after moving, it's worth structuring that gradually and discussing the threshold with us in advance.

How to structure your contracts

Spanish authorities want to see clear, dated service contracts or letters from your clients confirming an ongoing working relationship — not just invoices. If your current contracts are informal or verbal, this is usually one of the first things we help you fix before filing, since incomplete contract documentation is one of the most common reasons freelancer applications get delayed.

Beckham Law for the self-employed

The Beckham Law's flat 24% rate isn't reserved for traditional employees — self-employed professionals operating under Spain's digital nomad visa framework can also register for it, provided the activity and documentation meet Hacienda's requirements. This is one of the most underused advantages among new freelance residents, simply because most people don't know to ask about it. We build the Beckham Law registration into your filing from day one rather than as an afterthought.