How is the entrepreneur visa different from being self-employed in Spain?

The entrepreneur route under Law 14/2013 is not a general self-employment permit. Its defining feature is that the project must be genuinely innovative and of special economic interest for Spain, confirmed through a favorable ENISA report.

Standard self-employed residence (the ordinary autonomo route) follows different rules and does not require demonstrating innovation in the same way. Choosing the entrepreneur route makes sense when your project is innovative and scalable; a more traditional business may fit better under the ordinary self-employment process.