Arraigo Social por Cuenta Propia or Spanish Self-employment Visa 

Documents needed to prove work activity

Social Integration or “Arraigo Social por Cuenta Propia” is, perhaps, the main way of regularizing many foreigners in Spain.

The Spanish work Arraigo comes from the verb arraigar, which means “to put down roots” or “settle down”.

This residence authorization due to exceptional circumstances, as a general rule, is requested by also providing an employment contract with which we can guarantee our economic support during the validity of our residence authorization. This authorization will be initially for one year. There is also the possibility of doing this same Social Integration but creating our own company.

In order to benefit from this residence authorization, we must prove our continuous residence in Spain for the last three years and, in addition, lack a criminal record both in Spain and in our country of origin or country in which we have resided with anteriority.

However, it is also very important that we can prove what our economic support will be during the next year. Whether or not you obtain a work authorization (employee or self-employed) or only a residence permit that will not allow us to carry out any type of lucrative activity will depend on the documents that we present.

In most cases, a work contract (or a job offer) is presented to prove the economic means that we will have during the next year. In these cases, we will also have to prove that the company or person who intends to hire us is in a position to do so, that is, that they need to hire a worker and, in addition, that they have sufficient financial means to meet the costs of hiring and that He has no debts with Social Security or with the Treasury.

On other occasions we decide to present Social Integration (“Arraigo Social”) on our own, that is, proving that we are qualified to work as self-employed and that the activity we intend to carry out will give us sufficient benefits for our economic support.

In these cases, it may be more difficult for us to prove to the immigration office that our project is viable and that we will be able to support ourselves economically thanks to our self-employment activity.

Arraigo Social por Cuenta Propia documentation

In order to avoid problems, here’s a list of documents that will help you to prove your self-employment activity and its viability and thus be able to obtain a residence authorization due to exceptional circumstances due to social integration with a self-employment authorization.

• Establishment project or activity to be carried out, indicating the planned investment, its expected return and, if applicable, jobs that are expected to be created.
• Prove the forecast that the exercise of the activity will produce sufficient economic resources from the first year at least for the maintenance and lodging of the interested party, once those necessary for the maintenance of the activity have been deducted.
• We must also prove the professional qualification or sufficient accrediting experience in the exercise of the professional activity.
• Prove the economic means available to carry out the business activity project presented (savings book, bank deposits, commitment to support financial institutions, etc.)
• Necessary qualification for the professions whose exercise requires specific homologation and, where appropriate, membership when a regulation requires it.
• Contract for the provision of services or commitments / formal budgets that guarantee the activity to be carried out and identity documents of the people who contract.
• Bank and customs certificates that certify the import-export operations carried out.
• If premises or office are available:
  • Lease contract of the premises or deed that proves its ownership and total square meters of the property.
  • Responsible declaration (“Declaración responsable”), or prior communication in the terms established in article 71 bis of Law 30/1992, when the useful area of ​​exhibition and sale to the public is not greater than 300 square meters.
  • Licenses for the opening or operation of the projected activity or professional exercise.
  • Change of ownership of the business.

We remind you that this Residence Authorization for Exceptional Circumstances due to Social Integration has a duration of one year, which we must renew proving that we continue with our work activity.

Last but not least, here below there’s a detailed article about the process to obtain the Arraigo Social por Cuenta Propia, although in this case the author already had another type of residency and needed to get a “Modificación” or “change” from a prior residency type to a Freelance Social Integration visa.