The self-employed visa (also called freelance visa, freelancer visa or autónomo visa; in Spanish autorización de residencia y trabajo por cuenta propia) is for non-EU citizens who want to live in Spain and earn their living from their own business, trade or profession. It is not a business trip visa. English-speaking registered lawyers help applicants through the process.
Spain has several routes that people describe with similar words. This one is for working on your own account in Spain. Work under an employment contract is the work visa. Working remotely for clients abroad is the digital nomad visa. Entrepreneur and start-up routes for innovative businesses are separate programmes with their own approval, and a lawyer says which fits your plan.
The authorities want to see that the activity is real and viable. That normally means a business plan, evidence of the funds or backing needed to start, the professional or academic qualifications the activity requires, the licences or registrations for it and, in many cases, a NIE. The file is built around the specific activity, so a freelance translator and a shop owner have different papers.
Once the visa is granted and the person arrives, the practical steps follow: registering with Social Security, collecting the residence card (TIE) and setting up tax obligations. See self-employed set-up for the registration side.
No. A business visa usually means a short trip for meetings. The self-employed visa is for living and working in Spain.
Normally yes, showing what the activity is, how it will be financed and why it is viable.
This route is meant for exactly that. If your clients are only abroad, the digital nomad route may fit better.
Family members can usually apply to join once you hold a permit. See family reunification.
It is a temporary permit that is renewed while conditions are met, and years of residence can later count toward long-term status. Rules change; a lawyer confirms the current position.
Count your days in the Schengen area or Turkey under the 90-in-180 rule: days used, days left and how long your next trip can be.
The figures update as you type: the days used and left on that day, any overstay in your trips, the last day you could stay on the next trip, and the earliest date a stay of the length you want fits.
Visitors who do not need a visa for the Schengen area — British, American, Canadian and Australian citizens among them — may stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period. The period is rolling: for every day of your stay, look back over that day and the 179 days before it. The days you were present in any Schengen country within that window may not add up to more than 90.
Turkey is not part of the Schengen area. Its law limits a stay on a visa or visa exemption to 90 days within 180 days, for all foreigners and across all their passports, and to stay longer you need a residence permit. The days are counted separately from Schengen; choose Turkey above — the calculator counts them the same rolling way. Some nationalities have shorter stays (Russian citizens 60 days) or a window counted from the first entry; check the rule for your passport.
To stay longer you need a long-stay (national) visa or a residence permit of the country — a non-lucrative or retirement visa, a digital nomad visa, a golden visa or a work permit, depending on the country and your situation. A lawyer can tell you which route fits and prepare the application.
This calculator gives an estimate for planning. It does not cover the bilateral agreements some Schengen countries keep with individual nationalities (New Zealand, for example), the different rule for Brazilian passports (three months within six from the first entry) or limits printed on a short-stay visa; the border authorities decide on entry.
1Your details
Your trips (entry and exit days both count)
2Your result
On 8 Nov 2026, in the Schengen area
35 days left
55 of 90 days used since 13 May 2026
Entering on 8 Dec 2026, you can stay until 10 Feb 2027 (65 days).
A stay of 30 days fits from 8 Dec 2026.
An estimate for planning, not legal or tax advice. Figures checked 26 Oct 2026. Sources: Schengen Borders Code, Regulation (EU) 2016/399, art. 6, European Commission — short-stay calculator manual, EU — Entry/Exit System, Türkiye — Law 6458 on Foreigners, art. 11, Türkiye, Ministry of Foreign Affairs — visa information.
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