The client had lived in Spain for almost two years on a start-up visa, and the start-up never began to earn. His autónomo registration was left over from the start-up: contributions were paid, but no invoices had ever been issued. Instead of waiting for the renewal, he moved to the general regime — cuenta propia — together with his partner, registered as a pareja de hecho. The Tarragona immigration office approved the main applicant 17 days after filing, without a report from a self-employed workers’ association.
- 17 days
- from filing to approval
- filed on 3 October; the decision dated 15 October was signed and arrived on 20 October 2026
- Tarragona
- where it was decided
- the Tarragona provincial immigration office, filed through Mercurio
- no report
- from the association
- the plan went to the association, but we filed without waiting for the answer
- 5
- pre-contracts
- with future clients in Spain, gathered in nine days
- until 2030
- validity of the new permit
- from 3 October 2026 to 2 October 2030, work as an employee and on one’s own account
In the client’s own words
What they came with
The client held the start-up visa under Law 14/2013, and his partner lived in Spain as his family member. The project never became profitable, so the ground the permit had been issued on was effectively gone. The autónomo registration was still active and social security and taxes were paid, but there were no invoices — there was no business history to lean on. The family lived in Tarragona. In mid-September we started preparing the move to cuenta propia: the business plan, pre-contracts and a document file for two.
How the timeline ran
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01
Found what to build the plan on
16–18 September. There were no autónomo invoices, so the plan was built on what could be evidenced: the activity code in the autónomo registration, experience from the CV and LinkedIn profile, and a university degree in a related field. The client filled in our questionnaire, and the CV was translated into Spanish.
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02
Draft plan
19–21 September. Three days after we started, the client had a draft business plan. Investment was kept to a minimum: the family had just over €4,000 in the account, and it had to cover both the plan’s investment and living costs. The end of the start-up work was given the same date in the plan, the explanatory letter and on LinkedIn.
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03
Pre-contracts with future clients
23 September — 2 October. We provided samples of a letter of intent and a pre-contract, and the client gathered five pre-contracts from business owners in Spain. The texts were written for this plan rather than copied from a template. They were signed with a digital signature in AutoFirma; two signatories had no valid certificate and signed by hand.
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04
The plan went to the association
30 September. The business plan was sent to a self-employed workers’ association for a viability report — informe de viabilidad. The same day the client took a bank statement: it has to be recent at filing.
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05
Filed without the report
1–3 October. The association was swamped and was not returning plans. The report is optional and Tarragona approves without it, so we did not wait for the statement to go stale. On Saturday 3 October the gestor filed the main applicant through Mercurio: at weekends the system does not freeze. The 790-062 and 790-052 fees for the main applicant came to €92.48.
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06
Filed the partner and added documents
5–7 October. Once the main applicant’s case moved to en trámite, the partner was filed as a family member and her application was linked to his case; the 790-052 fee was €16.40. The same day we added the sworn translation of the degree, and on 7 October the collective registration certificate.
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07
Main applicant approved
20 October. The decision on the main applicant arrived: dated 15 October, it was signed and sent on the 20th — 17 days after filing. The residence and work permit, as an employee and on one’s own account, runs from the filing date, 3 October 2026, to 2 October 2030. The ground is article 191.3 of the regulation: moving from a Law 14/2013 permit that already allowed work, after more than a year in Spain. The next day an appointment for fingerprints for the new residence card came through, for 26 October. We filled in the EX-17 form and the 790-012 fee form. The partner’s decision is pending: family members take longer.
What did not go to plan
What actually delayed or complicated the process, and what we did about it.
Autónomo without a single invoice
The autónomo registration had been opened for the start-up and was formally active, but it had no invoices. There was no working business to show, so the plan rests on qualifications — the degree, experience from the CV and LinkedIn — and on pre-contracts with future clients.
The association report got stuck
With a viability report the immigration office reads the plan more calmly: specialists have already checked it. In autumn 2026 the association could not keep up with demand, while the bank statement was getting older. We filed without the report — in Tarragona that works.
A marriage that could not be translated
The couple were married abroad, but no sworn translator from the language of the certificate could be found in Spain. So the partner was filed on the basis of a pareja de hecho registered in Spain.
Health cover certificate for the family member
The partner needed a social security certificate showing she is a beneficiary on the main applicant’s health cover — documento acreditativo del derecho a la asistencia sanitaria. The main applicant downloads it from his own account, and the file would not load until pop-ups were allowed in the browser.
Signing in turn
A pre-contract is signed in turn: the second party signs the file already signed by the first. When the client tried to sign a document he had already signed himself, AutoFirma returned an error, and two pre-contracts had to be signed again from a clean version.
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What we did
- Worked out what to base the business plan on without autónomo invoices
- Wrote the business plan and the explanatory letter about closing the start-up
- Provided pre-contract samples and checked the texts and signatures
- Kept a document checklist for two people up to filing
- Filed the modification for the main applicant and the partner through a gestor
- Filled in the fingerprint forms and explained the risks of the partner’s trip
What the service did not cover
The client gathered the pre-contracts himself — from acquaintances and local business chats. We provided samples and checked the texts and signatures, but did not look for signatories.
Seventeen days is Tarragona’s timeline in autumn 2026, not a promise. Filing without the association report worked here, but in another province its absence may cost a document request. The partner is still waiting for her decision, and we advise her not to leave Spain until it comes: once the main applicant was approved, her previous ground formally lapsed, and the new one has not been granted yet. We will report when the decision arrives.
Questions we had to answer
Can you move from a start-up visa to cuenta propia if the start-up has closed?
Yes. In this case the project never became profitable, and the client applied for residence and work on his own account under article 191.3 of RD 1155/2024. The Tarragona office approved it: the decision dated 15 October arrived on the 20th, 17 days after filing, and the permit runs until October 2030.
Do you need autónomo invoices to move to cuenta propia?
Not necessarily. Here the autónomo registration was active but had no invoices. The business plan relied on the degree, experience from the CV and LinkedIn, and five pre-contracts with future clients in Spain.
Can you file the modification without a self-employed association report?
Yes, if the provincial immigration office does not require it. Here the association could not issue the report in time, the plan was filed without it, and Tarragona approved the modification.
How many pre-contracts does a business plan need?
The law sets no number. We advise at least three. In this case there were five, each written for this business plan.
Do you have to notify UGE that the start-up has closed?
In practice the Tarragona office does not ask for such a notice, while Valencia and Barcelona request it. An explanatory letter on why the start-up closed goes into the application either way.
When should a family member file when moving to cuenta propia?
Once the main applicant’s case has moved to en trámite. In this case the main applicant was filed on 3 October and the partner on 5 October, with her application linked to his case.
Can a family member leave Spain while waiting for the decision?
We advise against it. Once the main applicant is approved, the family member’s previous ground formally lapses, and the new one has not been granted yet. It is safer to travel after approval, fingerprinting and getting a return authorisation from the police.
Sources
The laws and official documents we relied on. Links go to the primary sources, so you can check them yourself.
- Real Decreto 1155/2024, de 19 de noviembre, Reglamento de la Ley Orgánica 4/2000 The new immigration regulation. Moving from a permit that allows work to residence and work on one’s own account — article 191.3; the government sub-delegation’s competence — article 193. Both are cited in the decision.
- Ley 14/2013, de apoyo a los emprendedores y su internacionalización The law under which the client got the start-up visa and his partner lived in Spain as his family member.
- Ley Orgánica 4/2000, sobre derechos y libertades de los extranjeros en España The immigration law the regulation belongs to.
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The decision in this case
The Tarragona immigration office's decision (Oficina de Extranjería, Subdelegación del Gobierno en Tarragona). Filed 3 October 2026, decision dated 15 October and signed 20 October; valid from 3 October 2026 to 2 October 2030.
The decision grants residence and work as an employee and on one's own account, moving from a Law 14/2013 permit that already allowed work after more than a year in Spain — article 191.3 of RD 1155/2024.
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