# Autónomo.eus: how to be autónomo in Euskadi

> A plain-English starting point for foreigners who want to live and work as autónomo in Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.

- Page: https://autonomo.eus/
- Start here: [Find your path](https://autonomo.eus/steps/find-your-path.md)

## Part A: Right to work

The legal routes that let you work as an autónomo, how to renew them, and where to get free legal help.

- [Check your right to work](https://autonomo.eus/steps/right-to-work.md): Find the legal basis that lets you work as an autónomo in Spain, and the page that explains your route.
- [Register as an EU citizen](https://autonomo.eus/steps/eu-citizen.md): How EU, EEA and Swiss citizens staying more than 3 months get the EU registration certificate, which shows their NIE.
- [Get a family residence card](https://autonomo.eus/steps/family-card.md): Spouses, registered partners and some other relatives of EU or Spanish citizens can apply for a residence card that allows work as an autónomo.
- [Apply from abroad as a non-EU citizen](https://autonomo.eus/steps/apply-from-abroad.md): Compare the three permits that let a non-EU citizen living abroad move to Spain and work as an autónomo, and see where to apply.
- [Change your status from inside Spain](https://autonomo.eus/steps/change-status.md): Three routes to a permit that lets a non-EU citizen already living in Spain work as an autónomo.
- [Work under international or temporary protection](https://autonomo.eus/steps/protection.md): When asylum applicants and people under EU temporary protection can work as autónomos in Spain.
- [Get free legal help](https://autonomo.eus/steps/legal-help.md): Where to get free legal advice on immigration in Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa before you apply for a permit.
- [Renew your residence permit as an autónomo](https://autonomo.eus/steps/renew-permit.md): How a non-EU autónomo renews a residence and work permit: the 2-month window, form EX-07, the two fees, Mercurio, and the new 4-year permit.

## Part B: Settle in

Your ID card, a flat, your address registration, a bank account and your digital ID.

- [Get your TIE card](https://autonomo.eus/steps/tie-card.md): How to apply for your foreigner ID card (TIE), which proves your permit and shows your foreigner ID number (NIE).
- [Rent a flat](https://autonomo.eus/steps/rent-a-flat.md): What to check before you sign a rental contract in Euskadi, and how your landlord must lodge your deposit.
- [Register your address at the town hall](https://autonomo.eus/steps/padron.md): How to register your address in the town hall register (padrón): what to bring, where to go and how long it takes.
- [Open a bank account](https://autonomo.eus/steps/bank-account.md): How to open a basic payment account at a Spanish bank, what it costs, and what to do if the bank refuses.
- [Get your FNMT digital certificate](https://autonomo.eus/steps/fnmt-certificate.md): How to get the free FNMT digital certificate to identify yourself and sign online with Social Security, the Haciendas Forales and state offices.
- [Get your BakQ](https://autonomo.eus/steps/bakq.md): How to get BakQ, the Basque Government's free online ID for the Haciendas Forales, Osakidetza and other Basque services.
- [Register for Cl@ve](https://autonomo.eus/steps/clave.md): How to register for Cl@ve, the Spanish state's online ID for Social Security and other state services.

## Part C: Become an autónomo

Grants, whether to pay a gestoría, your Social Security number, your Hacienda, and the two registrations that make you self-employed.

- [Check the Lanbide start-up grants first](https://autonomo.eus/steps/lanbide-grants.md): Check whether you can get the Lanbide start-up grants for new autónomos, and why you must register as a job seeker first.
- [Gestoría or do it yourself?](https://autonomo.eus/steps/gestoria.md): What a gestoría does for an autónomo in Euskadi, what it costs, the free help that exists, how to check one is real, and when doing it yourself works.
- [Get your Social Security number](https://autonomo.eus/steps/social-security-number.md): How to find or request your Social Security number (NUSS), which you need before you can register as an autónomo.
- [Find your Hacienda Foral](https://autonomo.eus/steps/hacienda-foral.md): Find the Hacienda Foral that handles your taxes, which depends on the territory where you live, not where your clients are.
- [Choose your activity codes](https://autonomo.eus/steps/activity-codes.md): How to choose the IAE code for Hacienda and the CNAE code for Social Security that describe your work as an autónomo.
- [Register with your Hacienda Foral](https://autonomo.eus/steps/register-hacienda.md): How to file your census registration with your Hacienda Foral to start as an autónomo, with the form, deadline and office for each territory.
- [Register with Social Security](https://autonomo.eus/steps/register-social-security.md): How to register as an autónomo with Social Security (alta en el RETA) in Import@ss, using the same start date as at Hacienda.
- [Understand your monthly fee](https://autonomo.eus/steps/monthly-fee.md): How your monthly Social Security fee as an autónomo is worked out, including the flat fee for new autónomos and the 2026 brackets.
- [Set up TicketBAI invoicing](https://autonomo.eus/steps/ticketbai.md): How to set up TicketBAI, the system that sends each invoice you issue in Euskadi to your Hacienda, using the free app for your territory.

## Part D: Run your business

Invoices, records, your quarterly and annual returns, sick leave and benefits, and how to stop.

- [Issue your invoices](https://autonomo.eus/steps/invoices.md): What to put on your TicketBAI invoices for clients in Spain, in other EU countries and outside the EU.
- [Record your income and expenses](https://autonomo.eus/steps/records.md): How to record your income, expenses and investments: online in the LROE in Bizkaia, or in your own record books in Gipuzkoa and Álava.
- [Know what you can deduct](https://autonomo.eus/steps/deductions.md): Which business expenses lower your income tax, how the flat deduction of the simplified method works, and the rules for home, equipment and car.
- [File your quarterly returns](https://autonomo.eus/steps/quarterly-returns.md): Which quarterly VAT, income tax and EU sales returns to file in your territory, when they are due, and how much the modelo 130 is.
- [File your annual returns](https://autonomo.eus/steps/annual-returns.md): Each year you file an annual VAT return in January and your income tax return (Renta) in spring.
- [Work with foreign clients and suppliers](https://autonomo.eus/steps/foreign-clients.md): How to invoice clients in other EU countries and outside the EU, handle services you buy from abroad, and save for your taxes.
- [Sick leave and parental leave as an autónomo](https://autonomo.eus/steps/sick-leave.md): What an autónomo in Euskadi gets when ill, injured or having a baby: sick pay from your mutua, 19 weeks of birth leave at 100%, and the fee relief.
- [Claim the autónomo unemployment benefit](https://autonomo.eus/steps/cese-actividad.md): Who can claim the autónomo unemployment benefit (cese de actividad), how much it pays, for how long, and how to apply to your mutua in time.
- [Stop being autónomo or leave Spain](https://autonomo.eus/steps/closing-down.md): How to de-register as an autónomo with Social Security and your Hacienda Foral, what you still file afterwards, and the extra steps if you leave Spain.

## Part E: Life in Euskadi

Health card, languages, school, driving licence and business support.

- [Get your health card](https://autonomo.eus/steps/health-card.md): Get your Basque health card (TIS) at your health centre once Social Security has recognised your right to public healthcare.
- [Learn Spanish and Basque](https://autonomo.eus/steps/languages.md): Find Spanish classes at public adult education centres, and Basque courses from A1 to B1 for a single €120 payment in 2026-2027.
- [Enrol your children in school](https://autonomo.eus/steps/school.md): Enrol your children in school or a public nursery in Euskadi, including when you arrive during the school year.
- [Use or exchange your driving licence](https://autonomo.eus/steps/driving-licence.md): Check whether your foreign driving licence is valid in Spain, and how to exchange a non-EU licence.
- [Get help with your business](https://autonomo.eus/steps/business-help.md): Find the free public services in your territory that help new autónomos with advice, training and workspace.

## Reference

- [Look up a Spanish or Basque term](https://autonomo.eus/steps/glossary.md): Find the plain English meaning of the Spanish and Basque words used on forms, official portals and office signs.
- [Find an office](https://autonomo.eus/steps/offices.md): Addresses, phone numbers, opening hours and booking links for the main public offices in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Bilbao and Donostia/San Sebastián.
- [Install the official apps](https://autonomo.eus/steps/apps.md): The official Spanish and Basque public apps an autónomo in Euskadi uses: digital ID, Social Security, health, tax, notifications and appointments.
- [Check your 2026 tax deadlines](https://autonomo.eus/steps/tax-deadlines.md): The 2026 tax filing dates in Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa for an autónomo, a calendar feed with reminders, and what a missed deadline costs.
- [Check the 2026 figures](https://autonomo.eus/steps/figures.md): Every amount the guide uses in 2026, from the flat fee to the TIE fee, with its official source and the date it was last checked.
- [Start out in Bilbao](https://autonomo.eus/steps/bilbao.md): What is different when you are autónomo in Bilbao: Hacienda Foral de Bizkaia, Batuz and the LROE, the offices you use and the free help in the city.
- [Start out in Donostia/San Sebastián](https://autonomo.eus/steps/donostia.md): What is different when you are autónomo in Donostia/San Sebastián: Hacienda Foral de Gipuzkoa, ZergaBidea, the offices you use and the free help.
- [Start out in Vitoria-Gasteiz](https://autonomo.eus/steps/vitoria-gasteiz.md): What is different when you are autónomo in Vitoria-Gasteiz: Hacienda Foral de Álava, the modelo 037, the offices you use and the free help.
- [Euskadi or the rest of Spain: what changes for autónomos](https://autonomo.eus/steps/euskadi-or-spain.md): Most Spanish guides for autónomos follow the AEAT rules. See, topic by topic, what is the same in Euskadi and what is different.
- [About this guide](https://autonomo.eus/steps/about.md): Who writes Autónomo.eus and why, how each page is checked against official sources, and how to report a mistake.

## Common questions

### Is this for EU and non-EU citizens?

Yes. This page is a starting point for both. Your right to live and work depends on your situation. Not every visa or residence status allows self-employment. Check with the relevant official authority before you start.

### Does the process change between territories?

Yes. Araba/Álava, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa have their own provincial tax offices (Hacienda Foral). Tax forms and reporting duties can differ. Address registration (empadronamiento) is handled by your local town hall (Ayuntamiento).

### What does autónomo mean?

An autónomo is a self-employed worker. You work on your own account, rather than as an employee. You manage your registrations, invoices, and tax duties. The exact duties depend on your work and situation.

### Why is digital identity important?

Many official services are online. Cl@ve, an FNMT certificate, or BakQ from Izenpe can help you access them. Each portal accepts different methods. Check which one the service accepts before you apply.

### Can I get legal or immigration advice here?

No. This is a general overview, not legal, immigration, or tax advice. We do not calculate taxes or collect personal data. Confirm your next steps with official services or a qualified adviser.

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