Indian Solutions Architect (Client Company in India)

The Case & Challenge

The applicant, an Indian Solutions Architect, applied for Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa from within Spain based on his long-standing freelance relationship with a company in India.

He had been providing services to the company since October 2022 as an independent contractor. His agreement clearly established that this was a freelance rather than employer-employee relationship and that his work was performed entirely remotely, with the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world.

During the review of his application, UGE issued a requerimiento focused on two specific documents. They requested an apostilled and sworn-translated certificate proving his registration as self-employed in India, as well as a current official commercial registry certificate for the Indian company.

The main challenge was the first request. India does not issue a document literally equivalent to Spain’s certificado de alta como autónomo, so we needed to demonstrate his self-employed status using the appropriate Indian documentation instead. 

The Strategy & Solution

Rather than trying to provide a document that does not exist in the Indian system, we prepared an explanation letter clarifying how the applicant’s self-employed activity was officially registered in India.

The applicant operated as a proprietor under a registered proprietorship. To address UGE’s request, we submitted his GST Registration Certificate (Form GST REG-06), duly apostilled and sworn translated, and explained its role as official evidence of his independent economic activity in India.

For the second part of the requerimiento, we provided the company’s official Certificate of Incorporation, issued through India’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs, together with the required apostille and sworn translation. The explanation also clarified the applicant’s relationship with the company as an independent contractor who invoices for his professional services.

This allowed us to respond directly to UGE’s concerns while explaining the differences between the Spanish and Indian systems instead of attempting to force the applicant’s documentation into a Spanish equivalent.

The Outcome

The response successfully resolved the requerimiento.

On March 4, 2026, the applicant was granted his Initial Residence Authorization for International Teleworkers, valid until March 3, 2029.

This case is a good example of why a requerimiento does not always mean that an applicant lacks the necessary qualification or registration. Sometimes, the requested Spanish-style document simply does not have a direct equivalent in the applicant’s home country.

By identifying the appropriate Indian document, having it properly apostilled and sworn translated, and explaining its function to UGE, we were able to demonstrate the applicant’s self-employed status and secure his three-year Spain Digital Nomad Visa approval.