Forming a UK company from Spain: a practical guide for founders

Prepare the Spanish file in this order: the issued passport, with both surnames and the accents; former names, date of birth, the home address in Spain and the previous twelve months; the extra papers the checker asks for; and the proposed directors, shareholders and people with significant control, plus where the work is done and who the customers are.

The Spanish NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) identifies foreigners who deal with Spain for economic, professional or social reasons: Sede Electrónica de la Policía Nacional — asignación de NIE.

A NIE number alone is not a photographic passport and does not automatically replace the identity documents Companies House expects. Bring the combination the ACSP confirms for your route. The ACSP has to follow the Companies House checking standard.

On the manual route the set is two photographic documents from group A, or one from group A and one from group B. Someone living outside the UK must include at least one document issued by a government. A passport without a chip is a reason to agree the route, not an acceptance promise.

Eteform’s ACSP support covers every nationality, including a chipless passport, when the papers are valid and the checks pass. Success is not guaranteed. Ordinary UK compliance screening still applies.

Companies House requires identity verification for directors and people with significant control (PSCs). Link the verified identity to each relevant role; verifying as a director does not replace a separate PSC linkage where that role applies.

Not every shareholder is automatically a PSC—rights and circumstances matter.

The HCCH status table records the Apostille Convention in force for Spain from 25 September 1978 and for the United Kingdom from 24 January 1965 (both by ratification).

If a Spanish recipient requests your UK company certificate, ask whether it needs an original or certified copy, a paper or accepted electronic apostille, and a Spanish translation.

The UK Legalisation Office apostilles eligible UK documents, including certain Companies House certificates, and cannot legalise Spanish-issued documents.

Spanish-issued public documents for use abroad follow Spain’s designated competent authorities—administrative, judicial and notarial routes differ: HCCH Spain authority.

Within the EU, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 removes apostille for certain personal public documents circulating between EU authorities; it does not exempt a UK Companies House certificate.

The apostille confirms the signature or seal on that Spanish or UK paper. It does not decide a bank file or Spanish tax residence.

Account approval is a separate decision from the Companies House filing. Before you build the business around an account, match the provider’s tests to the owners, residence in Spain, the activity and the payments you expect. Within the agreed service we prepare and file a WorldFirst application.

WorldFirst decides eligibility, currencies and any route connected to Spain. Opening an account is not promised. Cross-border digital services and ecommerce are not one automatic VAT story.

For eligible B2C services and distance sales of goods across the EU, the optional One-Stop Shop (OSS) lets taxable persons register in one Member State and file a single electronic VAT return: Your Europe OSS and the Agencia Tributaria ventanilla única overview.

OSS is optional and distinct from B2B reverse-charge or Spanish domestic VAT. Ask a Spanish tax adviser before changing the invoicing entity or regime.

Spanish personal tax residence turns on Article 9 of the IRPF Law: more than 183 days in Spain in the calendar year, or having in Spain the main centre or base of activities or economic interests.

Spanish tax residents are generally taxed under IRPF on a worldwide basis; UK incorporation alone is not a Spanish tax holiday.

The special impatriados regime (often called “Beckham”) under Article 93 IRPF is an option for individuals who acquire Spanish tax residence because they move to Spain and meet statutory conditions, including a five-year prior non-residence test and qualifying relocation grounds (employment—including certain remote work—administrator, entrepreneurial activity or highly qualified professional services).

It is exercised through Agencia Tributaria procedures (commonly Form 149 to opt; Form 151 for returns): AEAT impatriados manual.

Forming a UK Ltd does not enrol you automatically.

A non-resident entity’s establecimiento permanente in Spain is defined by Spanish law and, where a treaty applies, by that treaty: AEAT PE definition.

Mere UK registration, or a director who lives in Spain, is not by itself an automatic PE conclusion—seek Spanish advice on fixed place, agent and activity facts.

Britain and Spain coordinate taxing rights in the UK–Spain double taxation convention: the 2013 text, in force on 12 June 2014, later modified by the Multilateral Instrument. That convention is not a waiver of Spanish or UK tax.

The UK company still files its Companies House accounts and confirmation statement. If HMRC sends a notice to deliver a Company Tax Return, the return is due even when the year shows a loss or no Corporation Tax to pay.

Lucía, a product designer based in Valencia, considers a UK Ltd for overseas retainers while keeping any Spanish autónomo or census status in view.

She matches both surnames and accents on her issued passport with her bank statement, confirms with the ACSP that her NIE number does not replace the required photographic identity set, and reviews with an asesor fiscal where the work is performed, which entity should invoice, and whether Spanish VAT, reverse charge or OSS applies.

If a Spanish body later requests her UK certificate, she confirms certification and translation needs before a UK apostille. This is a labelled hypothetical, not a client result.