Your local partner in Spain for Canadian companies
Last updated 2 November 2026
The short answer
Spain does not require a Canadian company to have a Spanish partner: as a general rule, it can own 100% of its subsidiary or open a branch. What Spain does require is a presence: a NIF, a filing with the Investment Register (Registro de Inversiones), prior authorisation in some cases, a tax representative if it operates through a branch, and work permits for its staff. Since 11 January 2024, your documents are apostilled, and the tax treaty caps withholding tax on dividends at 5% or 15%. Managora, a law firm and gestoría (administrative services firm), files and signs on your behalf, remotely and in writing.
Canada and Spain in figures
| Indicator | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Gross productive investment 2023-2025 | €3,762.4 million, the fifth-largest investor by country of ultimate origin (€2,072.3 million in 2025) | DataInvex, consulted on 2 November 2026, provisional data |
| Subsidiaries in Spain of Canadian parent companies (2024) | 143, employing 14,439 people, with a turnover of €3,232 million | Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE), table 59943, consulted on 2 November 2026 |
| Investment position (2022) | €9,929 million by country of the ultimate investor; some €2,470 million by immediate country | Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business (Ministerio de Economía, Comercio y Empresa), Position 2022 (July 2024 edition), consulted on 2 November 2026 |
According to the Ministry, the difference arises because Canadian investors invest through companies in third countries.
What Spain requires of a Canadian company
Of the ten obligations of a company from outside the EU, this is how they apply to you:
| Obligation | Does it apply to you? | In your case |
|---|---|---|
| Prior authorisation of the investment | In some cases | If you acquire 10% of, or control over, a Spanish company in a sensitive sector (critical infrastructure, energy, data, critical technologies, media), or in any sector if your company is controlled by a government. If there is no response within three months, it is deemed refused; without authorisation, the transaction is not valid. |
| Investment Register | Yes | Form D-1A within the month following the incorporation of the subsidiary or the opening of the branch; annual report D-4 if the capital, the branch's allocated capital or the net equity exceeds €3 million. |
| NIF | Yes | For the Canadian company and for whoever signs on its behalf (NIE or non-resident NIF), before the deed is executed. |
| Tax representative | If you open a branch | Mandatory; the representative is jointly and severally liable for the non-resident income tax owed by your company, and failure to appoint one carries a penalty of €2,000. |
| VAT representative | If your Canadian company files VAT returns in Spain without being established here | You must appoint one. |
| Beneficial owner | Yes | The subsidiary declares it to the Commercial Registry (Registro Mercantil) together with its annual accounts; the branch must also identify it and keep the information up to date. |
| Staff authorisations | Yes | No visa for short trips; to work, an authorisation. |
| Apostille and translation | Yes | Apostille since 11 January 2024 and sworn translation into Spanish. |
| Electronic dealings with the authorities | Yes | The subsidiary deals with the authorities by electronic means only. |
| Data protection representative | Only if you sell from Canada | Save for exceptions, anyone offering goods or services to people in the Union without being established there must appoint a representative in the EU. |
What changes when you come from Canada
- Double taxation treaty of 1976, amended by the 2014 Protocol and, since 1 January 2023, by the OECD Multilateral Convention: it reduces withholding taxes and denies the benefit if obtaining it was one of the principal purposes of the transaction.
- Branch with a 5% cap: Spanish law taxes at 19% the profits that a branch transfers abroad; with Canada, the treaty caps this at 5%, as for the dividend of a subsidiary that meets its conditions.
- Investment protection: there is no bilateral investment agreement (Acuerdo de Promoción y Protección Recíproca de Inversiones, APPRI) between Spain and Canada, and CETA, provisionally applied since 21 September 2017, leaves out investment protection and its tribunal until it has been ratified by all EU Member States.
- Apostille since 11 January 2024 (previously, legalisation): it is issued by Global Affairs Canada or by the authority of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan. From the registry, the Certificate of Compliance or the Certificate of Existence from Corporations Canada (federal corporation) or the certificate from its provincial registry (in Ontario, the certificate of status), plus the articles, by-laws and the board resolution signed before a notary.
- Visa and permits: no visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, but an authorisation is needed to work. Once the EU puts ETIAS into operation, that travel authorisation will also be required.
- VAT: if your Canadian company files VAT returns in Spain without being established here, it needs a representative, unless it uses the EU one-stop shops; at present only Norway is exempt.
- Personal data: the EU recognises that Canada provides adequate protection for data received by organisations subject to its federal private-sector data protection law. If the parent company is subject to it, the subsidiary can transfer data to it without specific authorisation.
- Public funds and intermediate companies: a public fund or public-sector employee pension fund with independent management, focused solely on returns, may not count as controlled by a government. If it invests through a company in the EU or EFTA, prior screening applies all the same when the Canadian beneficial owner holds more than 25%.
Step by step: from Canada to your operating subsidiary in Spain
- 1
Review and fixed quote
We review the transaction, including whether it requires prior authorisation, and send you a fixed quote in writing. Beforehand, we identify the beneficial owner of your group, as the law requires us to do.
- 2
Documents and power of attorney in Canada
Registry certificate, board resolution and power of attorney before a Canadian notary; we tell you what they must say.
- 3
Apostille and sworn translation
The documents are apostilled in Canada and translated into Spanish; we coordinate the sworn translation.
- 4
NIF
We obtain the NIF for the parent company and prepare the application for the NIE or NIF of whoever signs on its behalf: the notary must record them in the deed.
- 5
Subsidiary or branch
Incorporation of the subsidiary or registration of the branch, before a notary and at the Commercial Registry. Notary and registry fees are separate and payable by you.
- 6
Bank account
The bank opens it under its own identification requirements; depending on the bank, it may ask for an in-person visit.
- 7
Investment Register
If you provide the details to the Spanish notary, the notary reports the investment; if not, Form D-1A is filed within one month. We tell you which details to give the notary.
- 8
Tax registration
Census registration with Form 036 and power of representation before the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria) so that we can act on your behalf.
- 9
Staff
Work authorisations, registration with the Social Security system and registration of employees.
- 10
Ongoing compliance
Corporate Income Tax, VAT, withholding tax on payments to the parent company, related-party transactions and annual accounts with its beneficial owner.
Your Canadian team in Spain
To work for your subsidiary, your Canadian staff need a residence and work authorisation. These are the international mobility routes for companies; we file them with the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos, UGE) through MERCURIO:
| Route | For whom | Key requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Intra-corporate transfer | Managers, specialists or trainees transferred by your group | Three months' prior service within the group and a higher education qualification or three years' experience; up to three years (one for trainees) |
| Highly qualified professional | Hired by the subsidiary for a qualified position | A qualification or three years of equivalent experience; three years, renewable for two |
| EU Blue Card | Highly qualified positions | A higher education qualification of three years or five years' experience, a contract of six months or more and a salary threshold |
| Entrepreneur | Anyone undertaking an innovative project or one of special economic interest | A favourable report from ENISA |
- The UGE decides within 20 days; if it does not respond, the authorisation is deemed granted. Anyone outside Spain then applies for the visa, which the consulate decides within 10 working days.
- The application extends the stay of anyone already in Spain while it is being decided.
- Family: a spouse or partner, minor or dependent children and dependent ascendants may apply at the same time as the holder, and their application is decided together with the holder's (family reunification).
- For the first six months, if the worker does not yet have a NIE, a passport is sufficient for registration with the Social Security system.
- Anyone who also holds the nationality of an EU Member State does not need an authorisation.
Tax: the treaty with Canada and what you pay in Spain
The subsidiary is taxed like any Spanish company. What is specific to Canada is what it pays to the parent company:
| Payment to Canada | Spanish law | Treaty | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dividends | 19% | 5% or 15% | 5% if the parent company, other than a partnership, directly holds at least 10% of the capital for a 365-day period that includes the payment |
| Interest | 19% | 10% | Exempt if the lender is not related to the debtor and deals on arm's length terms |
| Royalties | 24% | 10% | If taxed in Canada; copyright royalties for literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works are exempt, except for film and television |
| Profits transferred by the branch | 19% | 5% | Branch profits tax |
To apply the treaty, the subsidiary needs a certificate of tax residence for the parent company, issued by the Canadian tax authority, stating that it is resident within the meaning of the treaty; it is valid for one year.
We can act as your tax representative where the case allows; with a branch, since the law would make us liable for its debt, we tell you beforehand and agree the guarantees.
We do not advise on taxation in Canada.
What we do for you
We file and sign on your behalf before the Spanish Tax Agency, the Social Security system, the UGE and the Registries, with a fixed quote in writing before we start. We work in Spanish and English, in writing and remotely, and we attend to you at any hour, including on Toronto or Vancouver time.
- Setting up the subsidiary or branch, authorisations for your staff, and ongoing tax and corporate compliance: the services linked in this guide.
- European Union trade mark, and distribution or agency agreements if you prefer to start without a subsidiary.
We do not provide a registered office or an address for notifications, nor do we act as directors, company secretaries or shareholders of your company (not even nominee ones), customs representative, IOSS intermediary or the person responsible for your products in the EU; we coordinate the apostille and the sworn translation.
Frequently asked questions
Does my Canadian company need a Spanish partner?
No. As a general rule, it can own 100% of the subsidiary and have non-resident directors; it must, however, comply with the presence obligations set out in this guide.
Since when has the apostille been sufficient for Canadian documents?
Since 11 January 2024. It is issued by Global Affairs Canada or, for documents from their province, by the authority of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan.
What withholding tax applies to dividends paid by the subsidiary to the parent company?
A maximum of 5% if the parent company directly holds at least 10% of the capital for a 365-day period that includes the payment, and 15% in all other cases.
Does CETA protect our investment in Spain?
Not yet in that respect: CETA's investment protection is awaiting ratification by all EU Member States, and there is no bilateral agreement between Spain and Canada.
Does an investment by a Canadian pension fund require authorisation?
Yes, if it acquires 10% of, or control over, a Spanish company in a sensitive sector, save for exemptions. If it is controlled by a government, in any sector, although a public-sector employee fund with independent management may not count as controlled. We review this before signing.
This guide explains the general framework and does not replace a review of your own case: what applies to you depends on your transaction, your sector and your structure.