How to get a residence permit in Spain through a start-up visa

Moving to Europe is a great opportunity to start life from a new leaf in an actively growing economy. Spain has become one of the countries where immigrants from other countries, including Russia, are gladly accepted. There are several ways to obtain official resident status and subsequently become a citizen of the country. In the past few years, the most popular method of obtaining a visa and resident status has been the registration of documents for entry through an offer to launch a startup. This program was developed by the government of the country to attract investment in the economy, so it is necessary to meet several important requirements to participate in it. We will tell you how to apply for a residence permit in Spain through a startup, and reveal all the nuances of obtaining documents for this program.

Ways to obtain a residence permit in Spain

If you decide to change your place of residence, a European country offers the following options:

• Investment. The easiest and fastest way to draw up documents is to invest in the local economy. You need to purchase real estate in the amount of half a million euros, open a local bank account or buy back shares of Spanish companies for a certain amount. 
• Work. If you are offered a job by a company, you can apply for a residence permit in Spain for this reason. The program is available for specialists with different qualifications, you can work under a contract or open your own business.
• Education. Some residents go to Spain under an education program, which is quite easy to obtain. You get the right to stay in the country for the entire period while you are studying.

In addition to the standard reasons to get official status, there are several exceptional programs. For example, you can exercise the right to become an official citizen to reunite with your family. There is also a special program for issuing a residence permit in exceptional circumstances. There are such projects in almost every country, but it is quite difficult to get among the lucky ones, since each case is considered individually.

What is a start-up visa?

The project of attracting investment in the Spanish economy by issuing documents to foreigners is one of the government's decisions, which is designed to spur the development of the local market. The program was launched in 2013, but in recent years it has been significantly improved and simplified in design. Anyone who wants to open a business and start their own business in Spain can get a visa for such an offer.

A residence permit in Spain for a startup has a lot of advantages compared to other similar projects:

• To obtain a visa, you do not need to provide evidence that your idea will be profitable and will work. Documents are drawn up on the basis of a business plan, so preparation will not take much time.
• You do not need to have half a million euros on hand and invest this amount. The only confirmation that your contribution to the economy will be weighty will be a carefully worked out plan.
• The term for consideration of the application is about a month. Under this program, appeals are processed first and all bureaucracy is minimized.
• Together with the entry permit, you get the right to stay in the country legally and work. Also, together with you, your family members and next of kin acquire this right.
• If your startup fails, you can get a job at another company. At the same time, you will be able to get a job legally, as you will have the right to work legally.
• The visa is issued to persons over 18 years of age, there are no other age restrictions.
• In the future, you can apply for permanent residence and Spanish citizenship.

Most applicants not only want to work in Spain, but also to obtain citizenship in the future. Applying for this program looks most attractive for those who are not ready to spend a lot of money on investments.

Stages of obtaining a residence permit in Spain and obtaining citizenship

If you decide to apply for a visa to open a startup, you will be able to obtain citizenship of the country. The legalization procedure in this way is as follows:

• Issuance of a visa. First, you need a visa under this program, so prepare documents and submit them in Spain. The duration of the document is 2 years, after which you will be issued a document from the ministry of the country, as confirmation of successful business development. This little help is essential for the next steps.
• Obtaining a residence permit. As soon as the two-year period of your stay in Spain has come to an end, you can collect a package of documents for obtaining a residence permit according to a simplified scheme. Your project must remain relevant to the economy and this fact must be confirmed.
• Registration of permanent residence. The next stage is to obtain permanent residence, which is a step on the way to citizenship. This status is issued for 5 years after you have lived the entire period with a residence permit. By the way, your family members can also apply for this status.
• Citizenship. If you complied with all the requirements, provided documents on time and had no problems with the legal authorities, at the end of the permanent residence permit, you can apply for citizenship.

This method of legalization takes quite a lot of time, but upon completion of all stages, you will become a full member of the civil community.

Requirements for the applicant

On the one hand, it seems that the design of such a program does not require special resources or investments. In fact, the requirements for startups are quite strict and the provided plan must meet several important criteria:

• Long-term impact on the region's economy. You can't offer a short-term project for one year or several years.
• Contribution to the development of the country. A business is often evaluated not only by the criteria of profitability, but also by how much its development will contribute to the development of the scientific potential of the whole country.
• Creation of new jobs. Only those projects that will create new jobs are accepted for consideration.
• Availability of qualifications and experience in the chosen field of activity. Your future job should be inextricably linked to what you are doing at the moment.

Not only the business plan itself, but also the applicant is subject to detailed consideration. Only those residents who meet a number of requirements are allowed to participate:

• age over 18 years;
• a valid passport and NIE number;
• absence of violations of the visa regime;
• no criminal record;
• full medical insurance, which will be relevant for all regions of Spain;
• funds based on accommodation for the entire period of residence in the country.

Compliance with all points is checked, so most applicants prefer to work with specialists from agencies. In this case, the submission of a package of documents takes much less time and effort, since part of the work is done by the company's employees.  

Documents for registration

First of all, you need to prepare a detailed description of the future business. The business plan signs on all points and it is important to prove the relevance and usefulness of your idea. In addition, the list of documents consists of the following certificates:

• application for a visa, filled out in the prescribed form;
• a document confirming your identity;
• medical insurance;
• certificate of no criminal record;
• confirmation of the availability of financial means for living for the entire period of validity of the visa for all family members;
• receipt of payment of fees;
• Fees.

Do not forget that you will need a translation of all documents issued by the Russian authorities. Confirmation of the availability of funds usually takes the form of a certificate from the bank, which spells out the amount lying in your account. At the moment, confirmation will be the presence of an amount on the account at the rate of 8 thousand euros for the applicant and 4 thousand euros for each family member.

Terms of consideration

The Government of Spain appreciated the innovativeness of this approach, so that the consideration does not take much time. The application is evaluated within a month, in extreme cases this period can be increased to 60 calendar days.

You can take advantage of this program to settle in Spain and start your own business. This option is suitable not only for single entrepreneurs, but also for the whole family. In addition, you do not need to invest part of your funds in stocks or keep a deposit with a large amount in your account. You can invest money in your own business and use not only your own funds, but also find investors.  

The most important task of the applicant is to prepare a detailed business plan and convince the authorities of its usefulness. At the moment, computer development has become one of the most developing areas, so projects with this component are considered in the first place. If you are not ready to collect documents and write a plan yourself, you can become a client of a company with similar services. In this case, you will only need to briefly talk about your idea, experts will collect the necessary information and will in every possible way contribute to the formation of a good opinion about your idea when considering the application. When applying for a residence permit, clients participate in the process only nominally, all problems are solved by experienced specialists who are well versed in the issue.