The digital nomad permit was due to expire on 1 September. Instead of renewing it, we took another route — modification to cuenta propia: a self-employment permit that is not tied to working for a client abroad. Filed on 5 August, approved on 25 September — 51 days later.
- 51 days
- from filing to approval
- filed 5 August, approved 25 September 2026
- 27 days
- of margin before the old permit expired
- filed 5 August; the nomad card ran until 1 September
- 2 days
- until the housing inspector called round
- application to Oviedo city hall on 7 July, inspector on the 9th; forums talk about three weeks
- 5 days
- between the applicant's filing and his wife's
- the spouse is filed once the main applicant shows the en trámite status
- 3 options
- of status for the spouse
- colaboradora, a separate autónomo or family member — the third was chosen
What they came with
The client lived in Oviedo on a digital nomad permit held as an autónomo, and the card expired on 1 September. His wife and adult son had obtained permits with him, but the son was going his own way: his company had set up a Spanish entity and was hiring him into it. So the decision had to cover two people — the applicant and his wife. Modification has its own logic: the nomad permit comes under Ley 14/2013 and allows remote work for companies abroad, while cuenta propia falls under the general regime and means full self-employment in Spain. What changes is not the length of the card but the basis itself.
How the timeline ran
-
01
We chose modification rather than renewal
June. On the consultation we went through both routes. Renewing the nomad permit keeps the tie to clients abroad: you cannot work for the Spanish market on it. Cuenta propia carries no such limit, but it asks for other things — a business plan, a favourable report from a self-employment association, and filing under the general regime rather than through the UGE.
-
02
We costed three options for the spouse
Autónoma colaboradora: registration with social security and contributions above €400 a month, with a 50% discount for the first eighteen months and 25% for another six, and tarifa plana is not available in that status. A separate autónomo: cheaper thanks to tarifa plana, and the activity can be closed later. Family member: no contributions at all, but an informe de vivienda is required. While it was unclear how long that report would take, we worked towards the autónomo option.
-
03
The informe de vivienda came faster than feared
On 7 July the client filed the request at Oviedo city hall. The inspector rang the next day and came on the 9th — against the three weeks people describe in forums. She asked for a sworn translation of the marriage certificate. The report is dated 15 July and was delivered by courier on the 22nd. As soon as it was clear the paper would come quickly, we chose the family member route for the wife — no contributions and no extra registration.
-
04
We prepared the business plan
For cuenta propia this is not a formality but the document by which the viability of the activity is judged: without a favourable report from a self-employment association there is no point filing. The plan was built together with the applicant — only he can supply the facts about his work and his clients.
-
05
We paid the fee and filed the applicant
4 August — the fee for both of them; 5 August — the main applicant's filing. The en trámite status appeared the same day, which is the signal that the case has been admitted.
-
06
We filed the wife as a family member
10 August, five days after the applicant. The order is not arbitrary: a family member is filed once the main applicant is en trámite, and the time limit for that case runs from its own filing date, not from the applicant's.
-
07
We waited
On day 31 the client wrote that he had found a forum post about a decision in 35 days and asked when he should start worrying. The answer was the same one every time: the law treats up to three months as normal, and at the end of August officials return from holiday, which lengthens the queue. Chasing makes sense no earlier than one or two weeks after the usual timescale.
-
08
Approval
25 September — a positive decision for the main applicant. 51 days from filing.
What did not go to plan
What actually delayed or complicated the process, and what we did about it.
The document is not called what people search for
In Oviedo the city hall issues an informe de vivienda suficiente, while every set of instructions calls it adecuada. The client saw the different word on his receipt and assumed he had requested the wrong thing. They are the same document — but someone who does not know that loses a day to worry, and sometimes goes off to request a second report.
Colaboradora looks simpler and costs more
It has a genuine convenience: no registration with the tax agency, no quarterly returns, no bookkeeping. But contributions are paid every month and tarifa plana does not apply in that status. And crucially, turning a colaboradora into a family member after approval means going through the whole route again, timescales included. This is decided before filing, not after.
Forum timings are not legal timings
Communities say Asturias decides in a month. Here it took fifty-one days, and that is equally normal: the law allows up to three months. Taking someone else's lucky timing as the benchmark is a reliable way to start worrying for no reason.
A family is not filed all at once
First the main applicant, then the wait for en trámite, and only then the family member. File everyone together and the family member's case has nothing to attach itself to.
What we did
- Went through what renewing the nomad permit gives and what switching to cuenta propia gives
- Costed three status options for the spouse and explained the consequences of each
- Checked the informe de vivienda timings with Oviedo city hall so the strategy followed the dates rather than guesswork
- Prepared the business plan and took it through a self-employment association
- Assembled the document packs for the applicant and for his wife
- Filed the applicant and waited for the en trámite status
- Filed the wife as a family member, in the right order
- Stayed in touch until the decision and explained when waiting is normal and when it is time to chase
What the service did not cover
The client went to the city hall for the informe de vivienda himself: filled in the request, received the inspector at home and delivered the sworn translation of the marriage certificate. That part is quicker done on your own feet — the inspector comes to look at the flat, and the residents being there is worth more than any representative. It also turned out there is no need to agree in advance who will be home.
There is no decision on the wife's case yet: she was filed on 10 August and her clock runs from her own filing. Timings in Asturias depend on the load at the immigration office, and the end of summer means holidays and a queue. We cannot speed up a decision, and we will not promise the month that forums talk about: the law allows up to three.
Questions we had to answer
How does cuenta propia differ from the digital nomad permit?
The nomad permit lets you live in Spain and work remotely for companies outside it: the Spanish market is closed to you and the share of Spanish clients is capped. Cuenta propia is ordinary self-employment in Spain with no such limit. Different laws and different bodies: the nomad permit goes through the UGE under Ley 14/2013, cuenta propia under the general regime.
When should you file for modification if the card is about to expire?
In this case the filing was on 5 August with a card valid until 1 September — a margin of 27 days. Leaving it to the last week is risky: a cuenta propia pack includes a business plan and an association report, and those are not produced in a day.
Is a business plan compulsory?
For cuenta propia, yes, and it is not a formality: the viability of the activity is judged by it, and without a favourable report from a self-employment association there is no point filing.
Should a spouse be filed together or separately?
Separately, and afterwards. The main applicant is filed first, then you wait for the en trámite status, and only then is the family member filed. Here five days passed between the two.
Is the informe de vivienda required, and how long does it take?
It is required when the spouse is filed as a family member. The timing depends on the city hall: in Oviedo the inspector came two days after the request, the report was dated a week later and spent another week with the courier. Some city halls call the paper an informe de vivienda suficiente — it is the same thing as adecuada.
How long does a decision take?
Here it took fifty-one days. The law allows up to three months, and stories of a decision in a month are someone else's luck rather than the rule. The end of summer lengthens the queue as officials return from holiday.
Sources
The laws and official documents we relied on. Links go to the primary sources, so you can check them yourself.
- Ley 14/2013, de 27 de septiembre, de apoyo a los emprendedores y su internacionalización Chapter V bis, articles 74 bis to 74 quinquies: the international teleworking permit the modification started from. Article 74 quinquies.3 — renewal for two years provided the conditions are maintained.
- Real Decreto 1155/2024, Reglamento de la Ley Orgánica 4/2000 The general regime: self-employment permits and modification of status. The nomad permit is handled by the UGE, cuenta propia under the general regime — different platforms and different fees.
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