Why it matters

Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa requires real work for a real company — and the Startup Law draws the line at companies with at least one year of existence. The UGE doesn’t take LinkedIn’s word for it. It takes documents: formation papers from the state registry where the company was born.

The rule protects the visa from its most obvious abuse — creating a company last month to “employ” yourself into Spain. For legitimate applicants it’s pure paperwork, but paperwork with sharp edges: the wrong document version, a missing apostille, or a certificate that shows current status without a formation date all produce the same result — a requerimiento and lost weeks.

When you need it

  • W-2 employees: your employer’s incorporation/Good Standing papers accompany the employer letter
  • 1099 contractors: documents for your main client companies — the contractor file leans on these
  • Founders paid by their own company: your company’s full formation history, plus evidence the business is real
  • PEO cases: the operating company’s documents — Spain tests age against your real employer, not the PEO on your paycheck

How it works

  • 1 · Identify the right company. The entity that pays you — and with PEOs, the operating company behind the payroll brand.
  • 2 · Order from the incorporation state. Certified formation documents and/or Good Standing from that state’s corporations office (Delaware, for half of tech).
  • 3 · State apostille. Same state’s Secretary of State — days, not weeks, in most states.
  • 4 · Sworn translation. Document plus apostille, into Spanish.
  • 5 · Into the file alongside the employer letter or client contracts it corroborates.

Common mistakes

  • A Good Standing certificate with no formation date. Proves the company is alive, not that it’s a year old. Order the version — or the pair — that shows both.
  • Printing from the company website or state search page. The UGE wants certified issue, not screenshots.
  • Ordering from the wrong state. Incorporation state rules, not headquarters. A New York office of a Delaware company is documented in Delaware.
  • Skipping the apostille because “it’s just a business record.” It’s a public document like any other — no apostille, no validity.
  • Founder files with only paper. For self-owned companies the certificate is necessary but not sufficient — the UGE wants signs of real activity. Structure that story before filing.

Frequently asked questions

The Startup Law requires the company paying you to have real, established activity — the working rule is at least one year old. It filters out shell companies created to manufacture visa eligibility.

Related but different. Incorporation documents prove the company exists and when it was formed; Good Standing proves it is currently active and compliant. Spain’s question is age plus reality — often the strongest file includes both.

The Articles of Organization or Certificate of Formation from the state where the LLC was formed, plus a Good Standing certificate. Same function, different names.

Yes — it’s a U.S. state document, so the Secretary of State of the incorporation state issues the apostille. Then it gets sworn-translated like everything else.

The rule still formally applies, but well-known employers are easy to document, and in practice their scale is self-evident. The document chain still gets done — it’s just never the risky part of the file.

The company must still be a year old, and the UGE will look harder at the reality of the arrangement — your role, clients, and revenue. Founder cases are absolutely viable but benefit most from legal structuring before filing.

The Delaware Division of Corporations issues certified copies of formation documents and Good Standing certificates online in days. Every state has an equivalent office — the incorporation state, not where the office sits.

Company paperwork, translated into a visa

Which certificate, from which state, in which version — that’s a fifteen-minute decision with the file in front of me, and a three-week detour without it. The free assessment asks about your company setup and my follow-up names the exact documents your case needs.

Sources: Ley 28/2022 (BOE) · state corporations offices (e.g. Delaware Division of Corporations). This page is general information, not legal advice. Last updated: July 2026.