PROCESSING OF VISAS UNDER THE LAW OF SUPPORT TO ENTREPRENEURS AND THEIR INTERNATIONALIZATION
30 Marzo, 2023
Many foreigners choose Spain as their new base of operations from which to set up their new project or business. Clear examples of this are the large brands such as Xiaomi installed in Spain in 2017 or Huawei in 2012. The main cities of the country have become some of the most important European centers for entrepreneurs. In that sense, one of the most important requirements to be able to make this trip is to obtain a residence permit.
Due to this, our country has always sought to be at the forefront of national and foreign entrepreneurship with the most innovative laws and projects for the management of nationalities and residences. Spain beat last year, for the seventh consecutive year, since the Entrepreneurs Law was launched in 2013, the granting of golden visas to foreign citizens. In total, 8,061 of these visas were granted last year alone, not counting the others. It represents an increase of 22.6% compared to 2018. Once again, excluding the causes of family reunification or business relocation, the most common case was the purchase of a house valued at more than 500,000 euros.
APPROVAL OF THE LAW
In 2013, due to the crisis in the country, and the need to have effective entrepreneurship measures for nationals and internationals, Law 14/2013 was published to support entrepreneurs and their internationalization.
The Law came to regulate certain cases in which, for reasons of economic interest, the granting of visas and residence authorizations is facilitated and expedited. The project is fundamentally based on two pillars: the elimination of bureaucracy when starting a business and the development of the venture capital industry.
In relation to measures to promote internationalization, internationalization bonds have been established, making financing more flexible for companies and entrepreneurs abroad. Likewise, it is about attracting foreign talent by speeding up the obtaining of residence permits for economic investors of business projects, entrepreneurs, scientists and foreign professionals transferred for work reasons, among others.
1. ADVANTAGES OF THIS LAW FOR FOREIGNERS
a. The wide variety of residence visas that it contemplates.
b. Much faster application process.
Under the general regulations, the immigration office can take up to 3 months to issue a response when submitting the green card application. That is undoubtedly a long time. However, when applying for any residence permit under the Entrepreneurs Law, the time is greatly shortened. Well, the resolution period is only 10 days.
c. Easy renovation
In most cases, to be able to renew your residence card in Spain you must have stayed, at least, 183 days in Spain per year. This is a problem for many foreigners, since they become residents for tax purposes, thus paying taxes as residents.
In other words, if they leave Spain for more than 6 months per year, their card is directly extinguished.
However, the investor visa and those of foreign workers under this law do not require such permanence in order to be renewed. You will only have to visit the country once a year to be able to carry out the procedure.
d. Initial card duration
Any residence card under the general immigration regime initially grants one year to live in Spain. Once said period ends, it is possible to renew.
But with a golden visa or an entrepreneur visa this is not the case. The initial residence is directly for 2 years, something that saves a lot of administrative procedures by not having the need to start the renewal so early.
e. Possibility of requesting the card from Spain directly
It will not be necessary to start the process from the country of origin. You can directly skip the step of getting the visa to travel to Spain.
With any of these residences it is possible to convert your status as legal directly from Spain, for example with your tourist visa.
f. You can come with your family
Another of the most important advantages is the possibility of obtaining residency for your relatives through a joint application.
That is, if you meet all the requirements for any of these visas, you can easily include your family members in your application.
They will also receive an authorization to reside and work in the country.
2. VISA CLASSES
We have already seen all the advantages that applying for one of these visas entails. Something that makes it an ideal way to obtain residency in Spain.
But what exactly are those residence permits?
a. Golden visa or investor visa
Without a doubt one of the easiest ways to start living in Spain. With the golden visa you will only have to invest € 500,000 in real estate and the residence will be yours. That easy!
However, if you prefer, you can also choose to invest in Spanish companies, buy debt or government bonds. Thus, in those cases the minimum investment can go up to 2 million euros.
b. Entrepreneur visa
If you would like to set up your startup in Spanish territory, the entrepreneur visa is for you. It is the card that is granted to foreigners who set up an innovative business that promotes the socio-economic development of the country.
In this case, the requirements are a bit stricter, since a complete business plan is required in which you demonstrate the viability of your project and how it can promote the country's economy, in addition to creating employment.
Keep in mind that setting up a traditional business will not allow you to get an entrepreneur visa. You will have to start something innovative that does not exist yet. Something that uses technology and breaks the market.
c. Work permit as a highly skilled worker
Getting a work permit in Spain can be a difficult task. However, as long as you have higher education and receive an offer as a manager / manager or in a technical position, you can opt for the highly qualified visa.
This will avoid the need to go through the dreaded shortage list that governs general work visas.
As an important requirement, you must charge more than € 50,000 per year for your offer to be valid for the application.
d. Permission for intra-corporate transfer
Let's say you work for a multinational company based in Spain. In that case, if you are assigned to Spain for work or professional training reasons, the intra-company transfer visa will be the easiest option for you.
e. Residence authorization for internships
On the other hand, students can also benefit from this law.
In case you have finished (or are still studying) during the last 2 years studies of level 6 or higher, you can go from a student visa to a residence permit that will allow you to carry out an internship in Spain.
The application is very simple, can be done completely online, and avoids the need to wait 3 years as a student to obtain a work permit.
f. Researcher visa
Finally, there is a visa created specifically for scientific and research personnel.
A visa for all those who travel to Spain to work in an R&D center or carry out research tasks after an agreement with a public or private entity.
It may also include professors hired by universities or higher education centers.
If you still have doubts or need our team of lawyers at Ara y Asociados to help you get any of these visas, don't think twice.
We are at your complete disposal!
