A requerimiento from the UGE: 10 days to answer

Foreign public documents have to be legalised or apostilled — unless an EU rule or a bilateral agreement exempts them — and documents not in Spanish translated by a sworn translator authorised by the Spanish foreign ministry. Nothing about the substance changes here, only the form — which is exactly why it is cheaper to settle before filing than after. A bank statement is a private document, so it is not apostilled — see bank statements for a Spanish application. One recurring gap is an apostille that has itself been left untranslated.

Certificates from each country of residence over the 2 years before filing, plus a responsible declaration (declaración responsable) of no criminal record covering the countries of residence over the last 5 years. The 2 periods are different on purpose, and mixing them up is an easy way to file the wrong thing.

A legible copy of the complete passport — every page — the signed application form, the power of attorney for anyone filing on the applicant’s behalf, and proof that the fee was paid, with a separate payment receipt where the form itself does not show it.

The sheet asks for an official commercial-registry certificate, or the equivalent in the country of origin, evidencing at least 1 year of real and continuous activity. Where the applicant owns or effectively controls that company, it asks for more on top: proof of that ownership or control, the last corporate tax return, evidence of investment in productive assets, and a social-security report on the company’s employment history.

A labour or professional contract with the company outside Spain covering at least the 3 months before filing, plus a letter from that company authorising the work to be done from Spain. The letter sets out the role profile, the main functions, an express statement that the work can be performed by telematic means, the salary in euros, and the remaining conditions of the remote work. In practice the express telework statement and the euro figure are what go missing, and reissuing the letter usually reads better than appending a note to the old one. What each document must show is in the Digital Nomad guide, documents section.

The sheet says directly that evidence of a prior employment relationship does not serve to establish a professional one, or the other way round. It surfaces most often where someone invoices through their own company but assembles an employee-shaped pack. What usually resolves it: matching the evidence to the relationship declared on the form. Which documents prove self-employment is covered in self-employment proof for the Digital Nomad permit.

The UGE’s FAQ says it may ask for further information about the company’s size, activity and structure in order to decide whether the functions of the post can genuinely be performed exclusively through telematic means. This is a judgement about the role, not a missing document, which makes it one of the harder requests to answer well.

A degree related to the post, or, failing that, evidence of at least 3 years in analogous functions. For a regulated profession the sheet asks for homologation to the corresponding Spanish qualification, or a notarised responsible declaration that the profession will not be exercised in Spain.

Payslips or invoices for the 3 months before filing, and a bank certificate in the applicant’s own name, stamped and signed by the bank, covering the same 3 months and matching those payslips or invoices. A self-downloaded statement with several hundred unlabelled lines answers none of that. Where earned income falls short of the threshold, the sheet asks for bank certificates evidencing savings that cover the difference for the whole period of the permit. What usually resolves it: the bank-issued certificate, the payslips or invoices for the same months, and a short table pairing each invoice with the credit that paid it. The form questions — signature, stamp, notarisation — are in bank statements for a Spanish application.

Public or private insurance from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, giving cover comparable to the Spanish national health system. The sheet is explicit about what does not count: travel policies, reimbursement-only policies, and policies with co-payments (copago) or waiting periods (carencia). Which policies pass is in the Digital Nomad guide, documents section.

It depends on the type of work. An employee goes into the general scheme (Régimen General), which needs the foreign employer registered with Spanish social security as a non-resident entity without establishments in Spain, plus a commitment to register the worker. A self-employed person goes into the self-employed scheme (RETA), always: the FAQ says keeping home-country cover under a bilateral agreement is not available on that side. Where an employee does keep cover at home, the certificate of applicable legislation must already be issued and say expressly that it covers remote work from Spain; the sheet states that a mere application for that certificate is not accepted. How this question comes back at renewal is in the Digital Nomad renewal guide.

Under article 70.1 the UGE itself asks ENISA for a mandatory report on the project, and ENISA assesses the business plan through its own online questionnaire. A frequent request is simply confirmation that you completed that form: without it the report cannot be written. The UGE does not put questions about the plan itself — innovation, partners, financing — that is ENISA’s work.

A bank certificate or statement in the applicant’s name showing the required funds, stamped and signed by the bank. The form questions are the same as for the Digital Nomad residency permit: see bank statements for a Spanish application.

Public or private insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain, without co-payments (copago) or waiting periods (carencia). Travel policies and reimbursement-only policies are not accepted.

For an application filed from inside Spain, evidence of lawful entry and stay: the passport entry stamp or travel ticket and, where you hold one, the current visa or permit. The full document set is in the Startup residency permit guide.

Family members filing from inside Spain get the same request as the holder: evidence of lawful entry and stay for each of them — the passport entry stamp or travel ticket and the current visa or permit.

In family files the sufficient means are established through the holder rather than separately for each member, and they are set against the SMI: 200% of the monthly SMI for the holder, a further 75% for the first family member joining, and a further 25% for each additional one. The bank certificate has to cover the whole sum. The 2026 arithmetic is in family income thresholds for 2026.

A marriage, registered-partnership or birth certificate issued abroad, with a sworn translation, and for an unregistered partner evidence of the relationship: cohabitation registration, a shared address, a joint history. The apostille does not always apply: the bilateral agreement between Spain and Russia exempts civil-registry certificates, and EU Regulation 2016/1191 waives it between member states. These requests are frequent and slow to close, because the document has to travel from another country.