Step-by-step guide for the American Expats living in Spain.

1. for Americans
STEP BY STEP GUIDE
TO OBTAIN THE SPANISH
ENTREPRENEUR VISA

2. The following slides with take you through each step and provide samples of completed documents.
STEP 1
Locate your local Spanish
Trade Office.
01
STEP 2
Submit your business plan to
your local Spanish Trade
Office and other required
documents.
02
STEP 3
Book your appointment with
the assigned Spanish
Consulate office for your
state.
03
STEP 4
Process the your apostille
background check.
04
8 EASY STEPS TO APPLY FOR
THE ENTREPRENEUR VISA
2

3. 8 STEPS TO OBTAIN THE
ENTREPRENEUR VISA
STEP 5
Enroll in health insurance
that meets at least the
minimum visa requirements.
05
STEP 6
Obtain proof of finances.
You will need to provide
bank statements and tax
returns.
06
STEP 7
Get exact money order for
the application.
07
STEP 8
Deliver your required
documents, passport, money
order and passport photo to
the Spanish Consulate
during your scheduled
appointment.
08
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4. BACKGROUND OF THE
ENTREPRENEUR VISA
The Spanish government has been working on improving the
unemployment situation in Spain and has made obtaining a
second residency in the country rather easy (if you can help
them create innovative jobs for their citizens). Spain is still
trying to recover from the economic downturn that started in
2008 and caused high unemployment for the country´s
younger generation. So if you can start a business that
creates innovative jobs for Spanish workers (or other EU
citizens in Spain), they will make it easy for you to obtain the
Entrepreneur´s Visa.
Keep in mind, it requires ten years of residence before
applying for Spanish citizenship. From there, the process
can easily take two to four years. There is no “fast track”
option for investors, either. It takes a business owner the
same ten years as it does his or her employees on a work
visa.
The second catch is that Spain requires that you spend a
minimum of six months a year in the country to maintain
your residency. If you fail to log at least six months in Spain,
your visa will be cancelled. I reasoning behind this is
because if you spend more than 6 months in Spain, you
need to pay taxes to Spain. Another thing to keep in mind, is
that you need to submit a business report on annual
activities to renew the Entrepreneur visa each year.
This visa will allow you to move around the Schengen
countries.
After you get approved, you will be expected to setup the
business entity within the first year. You will need be able to
review your 1 year visa is you do not do that.
IMPORTANT: Each Consulate may have a slightly different
list of requirements.
Editor´s note: This was written by an American Entrepreneur that successfully
obtained the Entrepreneur Visa from the New York City Consulate in 2017.
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5. FYI - The spouse or common-law partner and any children under 18 years of age
or those of legal age who cannot provide by themselves and have not constituted
their own family unit and parents who are dependent, who accompany or join the
foreigner, may apply jointly and simultaneously or successively for their
authorization and, where appropriate, their visa. In this case, evidence must be
provided of being in compliance with the requirements listed in the preceding
paragraph.
Not be in Spain in an irregular situation.
Be over 18 years of age.
Have no criminal record in Spain or in the countries where
they have resided for the past five years, for offenses defined
in the relevant Spanish legislation.
Not be subject to an alert issued for the purposes of refusing
entry in the territorial space of countries with which Spain has
signed an agreement in this regard.
Have a public or private health insurance policy with an
insurance company authorized to operate in Spain. If you do
not have one, we we help you select one.
Before investing the time with this process, make sure
you meet this minimum criteria.
5
BEFORE YOU START

6. Here was the time line for my successful visa process
June 14, 2017
Submitted my business plan
to the Spanish Trade
Commission Office in New
York City
July 21, 2017
Received Business Plan
approval letter from the
Spanish Trade Commission
August 2, 2017
Submitted Application and
Business Plan approval letter
to New York City Consulate
October 20, 2017
Received phone call from the
New York Consulate that my
visa was ready to be picked up.
STARTED THE
PROCESS
Business Plan Approval – Took 38 days
Application Approval – Took 80 days
6
APROVAL TIME LINE

7. STEP 1: Locate Your Local Spanish Trade Office
All Entrepreneur Visa´s require a business plan to be presented to the Spanish Trade Office in the US first before going to the Spanish Consulate and submitting your application along
with required documents. Your business plan needs to be submitted to the Spanish Commercial office. The Spanish Trade Office will submit the business plan to Madrid, Spain for
you.
When Spain reviews your business plan, they will be mostly be concerned about the amount of full time jobs your business could create for their citizen of Spain. Find out where the
closest Trade Commission of Spain office is to your current residence (locations listed below).
TRADE COMMISSION OF
SPAIN IN CHICAGO
500 N Michigan Ave suite 1500,
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: (312) 644-1154
chicago@comercio.mineco.es
NYILCA FL DC
TRADE COMMISSION OF
SPAIN IN LOS ANGELES
1900 Avenue of the Stars, Suite
2430, Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: 310-277-5125 x 110
losangeles@comericio.mineco.es
Joaquim Frigols
joaquim.frigols@comercio.mineco.es
TRADE COMMISSION OF
SPAIN IN NEW YORK
405 Lexington Ave, 44th Floor,
New York, NY 10174
(+1) 212-6614959, ext 312
nuevayork@comercio.mineco.es
Jose Rosello
jarosello@comercio.mineco.es
TRADE COMMISSION OF
SPAIN IN MIAMI
Cultural Industries and Services.
2655 Le Jeune Road,Suite 1114,
Coral Gables FL 33134
Phone: (305) 446-4387
info@spainedu.org
TRADE COMMISSION OF
SPAIN IN DC
Cultural Industries and Services.
Avenida Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW, 2375, Washington 20037-
1736
Phone: (202) 7282368
washington@comercio.mineco.es
Source: https://www.icex.es/icex/es/navegacion-principal/todos-nuestros-servicios/informacion-de-mercados/paises/navegacion-superior/nuestras-oficinas/ofecomeschicago.html?idPais=US
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8. ID or passport
Proof of sufficient funds to support the applicant and members of his/her family during
residence in Spain.
The business plan of the project, specifically: the professional profile of the applicants, the
type of business activity, the number of jobs that will be created, financial projections, the
features and qualifications required for each, where the project will be set up (geographical
area) and how much the investment will be. You can follow this appendix:
http://www.investinspain.org/invest/wcm/idc/groups/public/documents/documento_anexo/m
dez/mjuy/~edisp/dax2013252351.pdf. (preview of document on the next slide)
Last 3 years of your tax return.
Last 3 monthly statements of the bank account. (you can use the same docs than for the
proof of sufficient funds stated above).
Your professional resume
STEP 2: Submitting Business Plan &
Documents to the Trade Commission
of Spain
Your business or entrepreneurial activity must be deemed to be innovative with
special economic interest for Spain. What that means is your business will help
create jobs in Spain and have a positive impact on unemployment.
They will also evaluate your professional profile, the business plan and the value
you would add to the Spanish economy, innovation and potential investment
opportunity.
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The required documentation to submit along the business
plan are:

9. TRANSLATED INTO SPANISH
(RESIDENCE PERMIT AND A WORK PERMIT AS AN ENTREPRENEUR)
Business Plan Summary
1. THE PROJECT
Name and brief description of the business
Location an opportunity
Starting date
Registration details (type of corporate entity)
Number of employees
Quantification of estimated investment and financial resources
Permits and/or licences and status of the registration process if necessary
2. THE FOUNDERS
Entrepreneur’s details
Personal data and brief résumé
Professional qualifications and membership to professional associations, if any
Personal economic and financial situation (income, expenses, personal assets,
equity)
Future involvement in the project
3. PROJECT/SERVICE DESCRIPTION
Description of the product and/or service
Innovation elements and competitive value
4. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION
Business plan description(if any)
Major costs
Main suppliers and contracts
Description of facilities, necessary equipment and premises arrangements
(buy/lease)
Comparison with other companies of the sector
5. MARKET ANALYSIS
General overview, expected evolution
Current and potential customers
Competitors
Offer/demand analysis
DISCLAIMER
The above statements, with the exception of any involuntary error or omission, constitute INVEST IN SPAIN’s
opinion on the matter in question, to the best of our knowledge and belief. INVEST IN SPAIN does not accept
liability for any indirect or consequential loss or damage arising from or in relation to the use of this information.
6. COMMERCIAL PLAN
Sales strategy, pricing, distribution channels, etc.
Promotion, advertising, etc.
7. ORGANISATION AND PERSONNEL
Staff
Qualifications and experience
Training programs
Necessary external services
8. REQUIRED INVESTMENT
Required start-up investment: expenses details and amounts (land, property,
facilities, vehicles, tools, furniture, rental lease cost, patents, trade mark,
financial deposits, registration costs, funds provision, etc), suppliers and
operations planning
Current assets: inventory, accounts receivable, payment terms
9. FINANCIAL PLAN
Finance required
Planned financial tools: capital increase, subsidies, credits, suppliers deferred
payment, etc.
Cash flow forecast
10.PROFIT AND LOSS FORECAST
Expected sales (volume and prices) and expenses, three years forecast
Forecast explanation
11.APPENDIX
Supporting documentation such as press articles, acknowledgments, prizes,
etc.
This is the required outline for your business plan. I was not required to submit it in Spanish when I emailed it to the Trade of Spain in New York City. But this may very for each Trade Office located
in the United States.
STEP 2 (continued): Submitting Business Plan & Documents to the Trade Commission of Spain
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10. STEP 3: Book Consulate Appointment
Find your
local consulate
The Spanish government has 9 different Consulates in the
United States. They provide a number of legal and
administrative services with effect in Spain. These Spanish
Consulates are located in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco, Washington
D.C., and Puerto Rico. Each state is assigned to one of
these locations. You need to book your appointment 1
month in advance, since they are booked up to 4 weeks out.
Source:
http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/WASHINGTON/en/
consulates/Paginas/default.aspx
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11. STEP 4: Process Background Check
The process to get a FBI criminal background check will take about 1 week and
cost about $60. You can´t just use any backgound check service. It needs to be
an approved Apostile Background check.
I used Accurate Biometrics as our FBI channeler. You can select your channeler
here: http://www.apostillefbi.com/fbi-apostille-approved-channelers/. Use this link
if you want to use the same channeler I used:
https://accuratebiometrics.com/nationwide/services/by-mail
Steps to follow:
Get 2 sets of fingerprints on FBI standard fingerprint form. I recommend just
going to any police station and having them finger print you. You can also do the
fingerprint yourself with a black stamp pad - https://youtu.be/d7N-4UNAzsw. The
sections on the fingerprint form labeled "Signature of Official Taking Fingerprints"
and "Your No." boxes can be left blank.
Fill out order form with Biometrics. Select Option 1 as the preferred method of
sending your report.
Fill out the credit card authorization form. Enter $50 as total amount to be billed.
Send all 3 documents to your FBI channeler of choice.
If you used Accurate Biometrics, they will email you a link to download your
comleted background check.
Here is a sample of the final Apostille background check that needs to be submitted.
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12. STEP 5: Enroll in Health Insurance
As of January 2019, health insurance for extended stay visas must contain the
following minimum requirements:
1. Minimum medical coverage of 30,000 euros (or its equivalent in
USD)
2. Coverage must be valid in all Schengen States
3. Zero euro (or zero dollar) deductible
4. No co-payments
5. Repatriation benefits (to cover transport of your body back to the US
should you die while in Spain).
These requirements must be expressly stated in your declaration of coverage.
You’ll provide that declaration to the consulate as part of your application
documents during your appointment.
You’ll need one declaration of coverage letter for each applicant on your
application or one letter only that expressly states each applicant’s name.
Tip: Ask the provider to issue you a copy of your declaration of coverage letter in
Spanish and you’ll save yourself a page of translation fees.
I used Tokio for health insurance: https://www.hccmis.com. The registration was
really easy and you can cancel if you ended up deciding to go with a different
insurance later after you get approved.
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13. STEP 6: Proof
of Finances
The next step is to show proof you make over $25,000 a
year. You will prove this by showing tax returns and bank
statements. You need to provide your last 3 tax returns and
last 3 monthly bank statements.
Some consulates require
tax returns as well.
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14. STEP 7: Get a Money
Order for Application Fee
Make sure to go to the post office and get a
money order for $281 to include with the
paperwork you submit.
Every consulate seems to have different fee and
requirements. So you might show up with the
money order for $281 and they might tell you it´s a
different amount that is not listed on the fees. You
can´t pay it in cash.
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15. STEP 8: Complete Application
The main visa form is called the Application for a National Visa. This is a form you
need to attach your passport photo to.
For the “postal address in Spain” section, I know this is confusing that they expect
you to have signed a lease already for where you´ll be living. You can put down
your temporary AirBNB address.
On page 2, I only completed section 20, 21 and 23.
On page 5, for place and date, I just listed my current US address.
QUESTION YOU MAY HAVE:
What is the maximum number of people that can be listed on a business
plan for the business visa?
It depends on the specific project and on the profiles of each of the applicants. If it
makes sense that more people are in the project, then it is possible that more get
their visa. It is important that all of them are moreover shareholders of the future
Spanish company.
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16. QUESTION YOU MAY HAVE:
If the applicants on an Entrepreneurs Visa
application have children, what is the process
to provide visas for them?
They can apply for their visa at the same time of
the main applicant. They will need to provide the
following documents:
http://extranjeros.empleo.gob.es/es/UnidadGrande
sEmpresas/ley14_2013/documentacion/document
os_ingles/familiares_ingles.pdf
Do the children need to be present during any
part of the process when obtaining their
visas?
If the children are abroad, the first thing is applying
for the visa. If they are already in Spain, they
should apply for the residence authorization. I do
not know if this answers this question.
3
26. Data of the educational establishment or research centre in case of applying for a student or research visa
Name of the educational establishment or research centre
Telephone of the educational establishment or research centreAddress of the educational establishment or research centre
E-mail address of the educational establishment or research centre
Intended date of start of studies or research Intended date of end of studies or research
In case of temporary stay of children with the purpose of studying in Spain within the framework of a program of a Public Administration, a non-profit
organisation or a charity or other establishment or persons who do not hold their parental authorities/are not their legal guardians:
Surname (Family name) and first name(s) (Given name(s)) of the person responsible or name of the organisation and surname (Family name) and first
name(s) (Given name(s)) of the contact person in the organisation
Telephone of the person responsible or organisationAddress of the person responsible or organisation
E-mail address of the person responsible or organisation
Spanish Alien’s Identity Number (NIE) or number of the Spanish National Identity Card (DNI) of the person responsible or of the contact person in the
organisation
I am aware of and consent to the following: the collection of the data required by this application
form and the taking of my photograph are mandatory for the examination of the visa application.
Any personal data concerning me which appear on the visa application form, as well as my
photograph, will be supplied to the relevant authorities and processed by those authorities, for the
purposes of a decision on my visa application. Such data as well as data concerning the decision
taken on my application will be entered into, and stored in a database. The controller is the Consular
Post at which the visa was applied for. Data shall be accessible to the visa authorities and the
authorities competent for carrying out checks on visas at external borders and in Spain, immigration
and asylum authorities for the purposes of verifying whether the conditions for the legal entry into,
stay and residence on the territory of Spain are fulfilled, of identifying persons who do not or who no
longer fulfil these conditions, of examining an asylum application and of determining responsibility
for such examination.
I am aware that I have the rights of access, correction and deletion of personal data relating to me
and the right to object to the processing thereof, pursuant to the provisions contained in the Ley
Orgánica 15/1999, de 13 de diciembre, de Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, by addressing
a request to the Dirección General de Asuntos y Asistencia Consulares of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Coopeartion; calle Ruiz de Alarcón 5, 20871 – Madrid (Spain).
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I declare that to the best of my knowledge all particulars supplied by me are correct and complete. I
am aware that any false statements shall lead to my application being rejected or to the annulment of
a visa already granted.
I am aware that once the visa request has been submitted, a copy of the form, sealed with the
indication of the date and place of reception, shall be returned to the applicant and that arrangements
can be made with the applicant as to the channel to request corrections or the supply of documents or
certificates, as well as to serve notice of summons and to notify the decision adopted in due course.
Notices and requests shall be served by telephone or fax to the contact number provided by the
interested party or his/her legal representative. If they were to prove ineffective, they shall be served
in writing to the domicile set out in the application, which must be located within the consular
district.
Summons and requests served must be complied with within a period not exceeding ten days, unless
personal attendance is required in which case the deadline is fifteen days.
Once all the possibilities of serving a notice have been exhausted, the notice shall be served by
means of an announcement posted at the relevant notice board of the Embassy or Consulate during
ten days.
If no reply is received to a request or summons, the applicant shall be deemed to have withdrawn his
request and the resolution establishing this to be the case shall be notified to him.
Decisions on a visa application shall be notified within one month of the date of the lodging of an
application, except for residence visas without work permit. In this case, decisions shall be notified
within three months, but the request for the residence authorisation that has to be issued by the
competent Delegación or Subdelegación del Gobierno shall interrupt the computation of this period
of time until this authorisation is notified to the Embassy or Consulate.
The visa once granted must be collected within a month, unless it is a visa for family reunion or a
visa for study purposes; in these cases, it must be collected before two months elapse. If a visa is not
collected within the aforesaid period, the applicant shall be deemed to have renounced to the visa
granted and the proceedings shall be filed.
I am aware that the visa fee is not refunded if the visa is refused.
27. Place and date 28. Signature (for minors, signature of parental authority/legal guardian)
STEP 8 (continued): Complete Application
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17. Step 8 (continued):
Complete & Deliver Application
Consulate of Spain in Los Angeles
5055 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 860
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Consulate of Spain in Boston
31 St James Ave #905,
Boston, MA 02116
Consulate of Spain in Houston
1800 Bering Dr #660,
Houston, TX 77057
Consulate of Spain in Chicago
180 Michigan Ave, #1500
Chicago, IL 60601
Consulate of Spain in Miami
2655 S Le Jeune Rd #203,
Coral Gables, FL 33134
The Spanish government has Consulates
across the United States. They provide a
number of legal and administrative services
with effect in Spain. Our Consulates
General are located in Boston, Chicago,
Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York,
and San Francisco, Washington D.C., and
Puerto Rico. Bring the following original
documents (plus 1 copy), which won´t be
returned:
1. Your approved business plan letter from
the Spanish commercial office
2. 2 copies of the National Visa Application
forms
3. 2 passport photos (2x2 inches) taken
within the last 6 months
4. Passport valid for a minimum of one
year and with at least two blank pages to
affix the visa.
5. Apostille background check certificate
6. Proof of financial means
7. Money order
8. Health Insurance coverage
9. Last 3 bank statements & tax returns.
Consulate of Spain in Puerto Rico
2 Juan Ponce de León Ave, San Juan,
00917, Puerto Rico
Consulate of Spain in San Fran.
1405 Sutter St,
San Francisco, CA 94109
Consulate of Spain in DC
2375 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20037
Consulate of Spain in New York
150 E 58th Street, Floor 30
New York, NY 10155
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18. IMPORTANT: Please consult a lawyer and accountant to help
guide you though this process.
Please submit your feedback by going to
https://www.americanexpatsinspain.com/contact-us
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