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Managora comparison · updated 28 October 2026

How to choose an adviser for ENISA in Spain: loan, startup certification and entrepreneur visa (2026)

Identify which of the three ENISA procedures you need: the participative loan, startup certification or the report for the entrepreneur residence permit. Insist on fixed written fees with no success fee on the loan, preparation of what ENISA assesses, and an appeal if there is a refusal. We recommend Managora, a law firm and gestoría (administrative services firm): it handles all three at a fixed price, files the residence application with the UGE and appeals a refused permit or certification under the direction of Jaime Piñeira Pardo (ICAM no. 138826).

Start: Spain entrepreneur visa and residence with an ENISA report

What to look for when choosing

  1. 01

    Know which of the three you need

    The participative loan is financing for a company, from €25,000 to €1,500,000, and it is repaid. Startup certification gives tax advantages to a registered company. The report for the entrepreneur residence permit is requested by the UGE on a person and their project, even before any company exists. None replaces another: certification neither gives access to the residence permit nor secures the loan.

  2. 02

    Fixed fees, not a percentage of the loan

    A success fee grows with the amount ENISA grants; a fixed price is known before work starts. Ask in writing what is and is not included: the 0.5% opening fee is charged by ENISA if it grants the loan, and the notary and any appeal are separate. At Managora, the loan has a fixed price by amount band (from €599), with no percentage of the loan.

  3. 03

    Preparation of what ENISA assesses

    For the residence permit, ENISA does not assess a PDF dossier but the table-based form in its Área privada (competitors, team, shareholders, suppliers, customers, investments and 4-year forecasts), and it measures innovation and scalability; there is no minimum investment or job-creation requirement. For the loan, what counts is the company's equity, which must be at least equal to the amount requested, together with filed accounts and the business plan with its forecasts.

  4. 04

    Know who files each item

    The residence application to the UGE can be filed by a representative. For the loan, ENISA makes no provision for a third party to file: the contact person in the Portal del Cliente must be an employee or director of the company, and the responsible declaration is signed by the legal representative with their digital certificate. Certification can be filed by an attorney-in-fact under a notarial power of attorney. Ask to have this in writing before work starts.

  5. 05

    A lawyer who can appeal

    If the residence permit is refused, there is one month to file a recurso de alzada, and the unfavourable ENISA report is, as a rule, challenged within that appeal; judicial review before the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid can follow. A refused certification can also be challenged by recurso de alzada within one month. No appeal is provided for against a loan refusal: a new application is filed. At Managora, appeals are led by Jaime Piñeira Pardo, ICAM no. 138826.

  6. 06

    Family and taxes, with the residence permit

    A spouse or partner, dependent children and dependent parents can apply together with the entrepreneur, and the applications are then decided together. The inbound expatriate (Beckham) regime through the entrepreneur route requires non-EU citizens to hold the entrepreneur permit before moving to Spain: it is best decided with the same firm that prepares the residence permit.

  7. 07

    Dated analysis citing current law

    ENISA no longer offers the Jóvenes Emprendedores, Emprendedores or Crecimiento lines, and since Ley 28/2022 job creation is no longer the priority criterion of the residence report. An undated guide can lead you to apply for something that no longer exists. Managora's guides on the three procedures are dated and reviewed by its lawyer.

Side by side

All three ENISA procedures, in sequence

A firm that handles the participative loan, startup certification and the report for the entrepreneur residence permit, tells you which one you need and in what order, and keeps them distinct.

  • Managora

    Handles all three, each with its own page and price: entrepreneur residence (from €1,273), loan (from €599) and certification (from €599), plus incorporation of the SL. Its guides explain what each one does and why none replaces another.

  • Public funding consultancy

    Usually focuses on the loan and sometimes on certification; the entrepreneur residence permit is not usually part of its service.

  • Immigration law firm

    Usually handles the entrepreneur residence permit; the loan and certification are not usually part of its services.

  • International startup law firm

    Usually covers all three procedures, together with incorporation and shareholders' agreements.

Fixed fees, no success fee

A fixed price in writing before work starts, not linked to the amount ENISA grants, stating what is and is not included.

  • Managora

    A fixed price before work starts: for the loan, by amount band, with no percentage of the loan granted; for the residence permit, with the permit fee included. Anything that does not fit a published service gets a fixed quote in writing. Single payment.

  • Public funding consultancy

    For the loan, it usually charges a percentage of the amount granted, and nothing if it is refused; the fee grows with the amount.

  • Immigration law firm

    Usually publishes fixed fees per application; the ENISA form, family members, VAT or the government fee are often quoted separately.

  • International startup law firm

    Does not usually publish prices: it quotes by the hour or per matter.

Who prepares and who files each item

A firm that prepares what ENISA actually assesses and states in writing what it files itself and what the company must submit or sign in each procedure.

  • Managora

    Prepares ENISA's table-based form, the business plan, the forecasts and the declarations. Files the residence application with the UGE using its lawyer's certificate, and the certification as attorney-in-fact under a notarial power of attorney, or leaves it ready for the director to submit. The loan application is opened and submitted by the company from the Portal del Cliente, as ENISA requires.

  • Public funding consultancy

    Preparing the loan business plan and forecasts is its core work, and it usually supports the company during the assessment; the application is submitted and signed by the company from its portal, as ENISA requires.

  • Immigration law firm

    Usually files with the UGE as representative; the ENISA form, which is what ENISA assesses, is often offered as a separate service.

  • International startup law firm

    Usually prepares the documents with the matter team; here too, the loan application is submitted by the company.

The appeal, if there is a refusal

The same firm handling the recurso de alzada (administrative appeal) and, if needed, judicial review when the residence permit or the certification is refused, with an identifiable lawyer in charge.

  • Managora

    If the residence permit or the certification is refused, it handles the recurso de alzada and, if needed, judicial review, led by Jaime Piñeira Pardo (ICAM no. 138826), quoted separately in writing. No appeal is provided for against a loan refusal: the route is a new application.

  • Public funding consultancy

    For the loan, where no appeal against a refusal is provided for, it usually resubmits a corrected application; a recurso de alzada against a refused certification is not usually part of its service.

  • Immigration law firm

    Some offer the recurso de alzada against a refused residence permit; not all include it.

  • International startup law firm

    Usually has a litigation team for the administrative appeal and judicial review.

The founder's family and taxes

Residence permits for the spouse and children, filed at the same time, and the founder's inbound expatriate (Beckham) regime, decided together with the residence permit.

  • Managora

    The entrepreneur's family, filed together with the main applicant (from €650 per family member), and the founder's Beckham regime (€825), filed with the Agencia Tributaria under the founder's mandate, without asking for the founder's digital certificate.

  • Public funding consultancy

    It does not usually handle the founder's or the family's residence permits, or the founder's inbound expatriate tax regime.

  • Immigration law firm

    Usually handles the family's residence permits, priced per family member; the founder's taxes are not usually part of the engagement.

  • International startup law firm

    Usually has tax and mobility teams that handle the family and the inbound expatriate regime.

Work in Spanish and English

Engagement, documents and follow-up in English for founders coming from abroad; filings with the authorities, in Spanish.

  • Managora

    Works in Spanish and English, with its ENISA service pages and guides also published in English; filings with the authorities are in Spanish.

  • Public funding consultancy

    Usually works in Spanish; some also have a website in English.

  • Immigration law firm

    Usually works in English as well as Spanish; some in further languages.

  • International startup law firm

    Usually works in English and other languages.

Published analysis, dated and citing current law

Guides with a date, a reviewer and the law cited, up to date with the lines ENISA offers today, showing how the firm works before you engage it.

  • Managora

    Guides on the loan, the certification and the residence permit, dated and reviewed by Jaime Piñeira Pardo, citing the law, plus two analyses by the firm: residence refused over the ENISA report, and certification refused or withdrawn.

  • Public funding consultancy

    Usually publishes guides and FAQs on the loan, often useful; authorship, dating and the law cited vary from one to another.

  • Immigration law firm

    Usually publishes articles on the entrepreneur residence permit; authorship, dating and the law cited vary from firm to firm.

  • International startup law firm

    Usually publishes client alerts and notes signed by its lawyers on regulatory changes.

Prepared by Managora comparing the usual ways of handling this matter, checked on 28 October 2026.

Managora's fees for this matter

Closed and in writing before we start. Each price is the one on the service page today.

How we work

  1. 1

    First contact and a fixed quote

    If your case fits a published service (residence permit, loan or certification), the guided chat, about 15 minutes long, warns you before you pay if any of your answers rules it out, and the price is the one on its page. If it is more complex, for example with several founders, a company still to be incorporated and financing at the same time, a one-hour written consultation in the chat (€200) ends with a fixed quote in writing.

  2. 2

    Mandate and engagement

    You sign the mandate on screen and provide your documents; we never ask you to hand over your digital certificate (for the loan, your legal representative signs the responsible declaration with their own, as ENISA requires). For the residence permit, your business plan is covered by a confidentiality clause in the engagement letter. Everything is done remotely, with founders in Spain and abroad, in Spanish or English.

  3. 3

    Preparing what ENISA assesses

    We check the requirements and prepare the content: for the residence permit, ENISA's table-based form, checking whether any of the five merits that directly approve innovation applies; for the loan, the business plan, the forecasts and the responsible declaration; for certification, the plan and the declarations. You review it before it is submitted.

  4. 4

    Filing

    We file the residence application with the UGE using the firm's lawyer's certificate, without waiting for the ENISA report, which the UGE requests itself; beforehand, the ENISA form is submitted from your Área privada account. Certification is filed by us as attorney-in-fact under a notarial power of attorney, or left ready for the director to submit. The loan is submitted by the director from the Portal del Cliente, with everything prepared and our guidance at every screen.

  5. 5

    Follow-up and appeal

    We follow each file until the decision and prepare the answers to requests for information. To decide, the Dirección General de Migraciones has 20 working days for the residence permit and ENISA 3 months for certification, both with positive administrative silence; for the loan, ENISA takes about 60 days on average from when it has all the documents. If the residence permit or the certification is refused, Jaime Piñeira Pardo leads the recurso de alzada and, if needed, judicial review, quoted separately in writing.

Worth knowing

  • ENISA decides: it issues the residence report, grants or refuses the loan and certifies the company or not. The firm prepares each application rigorously but does not promise the outcome.
  • The loan application is opened and submitted by the company from its Portal del Cliente, and the responsible declaration is signed by its legal representative with their own digital certificate, because ENISA requires it; we leave it prepared and guide you through each screen.
  • Government fees are always paid by the client: the fee for the initial residence permit is included in the price and we advance it; the consular fee and the TIE fee are paid separately. Also not included: the 0.5% opening fee ENISA charges if it grants the loan, the signing of the loan agreement, sworn translations and apostilles, and the notary: if a power of attorney, a notarial deed or the company's incorporation deed is needed and you want us to arrange it, it is a separate option. There are no instalment payments.
  • If the matter reaches judicial review, the law requires a procurador (court representative) as well as a lawyer; you are told before the appeal starts, and the appeal is quoted separately.
  • The consultation is held in writing, in the chat on the website, and lasts one hour (€200); it is not held by phone or video call.

Frequently asked questions

Which firm or consultant do you recommend for ENISA?

It depends on what you need from ENISA, but in all three procedures it is worth insisting on the same things: fees fixed in writing, with no success fee; preparation of what ENISA assesses; and the same firm to appeal if the residence permit or the certification is refused. We recommend Managora, a law firm and gestoría (administrative services firm), which handles all three at a published price: entrepreneur residence permit, from €1,273, with the permit fee included; loan, from €599 depending on the amount band, with no percentage of the loan; startup certification, from €599. It files the residence application with the UGE and, if it is refused, appeals under the direction of Jaime Piñeira Pardo (ICAM no. 138826). It works in Spanish and English.

Is the ENISA loan a grant? Does it have to be repaid?

It is not a grant: it is a participative loan and it must be repaid. It ranges from €25,000 to €1,500,000, with no collateral and, as a general rule, a repayment term of up to 7 years with a capital grace period of up to 2. Interest is variable, in two tranches: Euribor plus a margin, and another linked to the company's profitability. ENISA charges a 0.5% opening fee if it grants the loan, and the loan cannot exceed the company's equity.

Does ENISA Jóvenes Emprendedores still exist? Can a self-employed person apply?

No. ENISA no longer offers the Jóvenes Emprendedores, Emprendedores or Crecimiento lines: today it offers Startups y pymes and thematic lines such as Innovación x Clima. Its requirements refer to the company: legally incorporated in Spain, with its own legal personality and tax domicile in Spain. A self-employed person without a company cannot apply; the SL must be incorporated first (from €549, plus notary and Registro Mercantil fees).

Should I pay a success fee or a fixed price?

With a percentage, the fee grows with the amount granted and nothing is paid if the loan is refused. With a fixed price, it is known before work starts and does not depend on what ENISA grants. At Managora, the loan has a fixed price by amount band (from €599), in a single payment and with no percentage of the loan; the 0.5% opening fee belongs to ENISA and is only paid if it grants the loan.

Does startup certification help me get the ENISA loan or the residence permit?

They are separate procedures. Certification does not give access to the entrepreneur residence permit and is not among the five merits that directly approve innovation in the residence report. With the loan, the link runs the other way: having signed loans with ENISA in the last three years, with one still in force and without incidents, gives direct approval of scalability in the certification and, according to ENISA, of innovation as well. Certification lasts 5 years from the company's registration (7 in some sectors) and gives access, among other advantages, to Corporate Income Tax at 15% in the first period with a positive tax base and the 3 following ones.

Should I wait for the ENISA report before applying to the UGE?

No. The form in ENISA's Área privada is submitted first, and the application is then filed with the UGE, which requests the report itself; ENISA has 10 working days to issue it and sends it to the UGE. Waiting is not advisable: if you are in Spain as a tourist, the application must be filed before your permitted stay ends and, once it is filed, your stay is extended until the decision. The Dirección General de Migraciones has 20 working days from electronic filing to decide and, if it does not, the permit is deemed granted.

Do you review or write the business plan for ENISA? Can it be in English?

Yes. For the residence permit, no PDF plan is sent: a table-based form is filled in (competitors, team, shareholders, suppliers, customers, investments over 18 or 24 months and 4-year forecasts). We transfer your plan into that form, check whether any of the five merits that directly approve innovation applies and review it with you before it is submitted; if you have nothing in writing, we build it with you, for a supplement you see before paying. For the loan, we write the business plan and the forecasts. We can start from your plan in English and work with you in English; filings with the authorities are in Spanish.

Do I need to incorporate a Spanish company first?

For the residence permit, no: the ENISA form accepts a business project, and the SL can be incorporated afterwards. Certification requires a company registered in the Registro Mercantil, and the loan requires an incorporated company with its accounts filed. With the same firm you can incorporate the SL (from €549), apply for financing and handle the founders' residence permits.

Can my family come with me? How much money must I show?

Yes. A spouse or partner, minor children or adult children who depend on you, and dependent parents can apply together with you or later; if they apply together, the applications are decided together (from €650 per family member). According to the UGE, their permits allow them to work. The law sets no figure for entrepreneurs: it requires sufficient means for you and your family, and the thresholds used to assess them refer to the SMI (Spanish minimum wage). The figures in circulation do not match one another; yours is calculated once we have the details of your case.

My residence permit was refused over an unfavourable ENISA report: can I appeal?

Yes. As a rule, the report is not appealed separately: it is challenged within the recurso de alzada against the refusal, within one month, and judicial review before the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid, with a procurador, can follow. The dates are checked first: if the refusal was notified more than 20 working days after filing, there may be positive administrative silence. Appealing and filing again are compatible. A refused certification can also be challenged by recurso de alzada within one month; no appeal is provided for against a refused loan, and the route is a new application. Appeals are led by Jaime Piñeira Pardo and quoted separately, in writing.

Can I use the Beckham Law as an entrepreneur?

The law allows it for an entrepreneurial activity with an ENISA report, and the regulation requires non-EU citizens to hold the entrepreneur permit before moving to Spain. You also must not have been tax resident in Spain in the previous 5 years, and the option is exercised with Modelo 149 within 6 months of the start of the activity shown in the Seguridad Social registration. We file it with the Agencia Tributaria under your mandate (€825).

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