Spain–India focus

Company Registration in India from Spain

Planning company registration in India from Spain? This guide covers why Spanish businesses are building their presence in India, what the Apostille process means for your paperwork, the entry structures available to you, and the practical steps involved in incorporation.

Why Spanish businesses are entering India

Spain is already India's 16th largest source of cumulative foreign direct investment, with roughly US$4.29 billion invested between April 2000 and March 2025, and more than 200 Spanish companies already operating in India today. Bilateral trade reached around US$8.3 billion in the 2025–26 period, and both governments constituted a dedicated India–Spain CEOs Forum in early 2026 to deepen commercial ties further. With the India–EU free trade agreement concluded and expected to be formally implemented in the years ahead, momentum for Spanish businesses considering direct incorporation in India — rather than working through intermediaries alone — continues to build.

Documents for company registration in India from Spain: apostille, not embassy legalisation

Spain has been a member of the Hague Apostille Convention since 1978, and India joined in 2005. In practice, this means documents executed in Spain for Indian company registration — director and shareholder documents, board resolutions, powers of attorney — generally only need an apostille from the relevant Spanish authority, rather than the more time-consuming embassy legalisation process required for non-member countries.

Entry structures for company registration in India from Spain

Most Spanish companies choose a wholly owned subsidiary — a separate Indian company that gives you full operational control and can trade, hire and generate revenue directly. A Branch Office extends your existing Spanish company into India for permitted activities such as consultancy, export/import or technical support, without incorporating a new entity. A Liaison Office suits businesses that only need a representative presence, for market research or coordinating with Indian partners, without conducting commercial activity. We help you work through which structure actually fits your plans, rather than defaulting to one.

One requirement that catches many Spanish boards by surprise: under Section 149(3) of the Companies Act, 2013, every Indian company — including a wholly owned subsidiary with 100% Spanish shareholding — needs at least one director who is resident in India for 182 days or more in the financial year, even if the rest of the board is entirely Spain-based. If your directors will only visit occasionally, this is usually addressed with a professional resident director alongside your own board. See our complete guide to the resident director requirement for how it works, what it costs, and the three ways foreign companies typically satisfy it.

Once your subsidiary is running, two further annual filings apply on top of standard RoC compliance: the FLA Return to the RBI, and — if your Indian company transacts with its Spanish parent, such as management fees or intercompany charges — Form 3CEB transfer pricing documentation. See our guide to FLA Return and transfer pricing compliance for the deadlines and what each actually requires.

Company registration process in India from Spain, step by step

For a subsidiary, incorporation typically follows this sequence:

Obtain a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) and Director Identification Number (DIN) for your directors.
Reserve your company name with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Prepare and apostille the required Spanish director and shareholder documents.
File the SPICe+ incorporation form and supporting documents.
Complete post-incorporation steps — PAN, TAN, a bank account and any applicable GST registration.

Branch, Liaison and Project Offices instead go through an RBI-authorised bank rather than the MCA. For the full walkthrough — DSC, DIN, SPICe+ filing and what happens after your Certificate of Incorporation — see our step-by-step incorporation guide. For the full document checklist and how India's FDI automatic-vs-government-approval route split works by sector, see the same guide.

FAQs: company registration in India from Spain

Do I need to travel to India for company registration in India from Spain? No — incorporation can be completed remotely. Company registration in India from Spain is done with documents apostilled in Spain and filings handled by your India-based team, with no travel required for the standard subsidiary route.

Can profits be repatriated back to Spain? Yes. Dividends from company registration in India from Spain are freely repatriable once withholding tax is deducted, and Spain’s tax treaty with India can reduce the applicable rate.

Is there a minimum capital requirement? No. India abolished the minimum paid-up capital requirement for private limited companies years ago, so company registration in India from Spain can start with any authorised capital amount your business plan calls for.

How long does company registration in India from Spain take? Typically around 10–15 working days once your Spanish director and shareholder documents are apostilled and ready, covering DSC and DIN issuance, name approval and SPICe+ processing — though name-approval or document queries can extend this.

How much does company registration in India from Spain cost? It depends on your authorised capital and entity structure, since government fees and stamp duty scale with capital and vary by the state you register in. We provide a fixed quote once we know your structure — get in touch for exact figures rather than a generic estimate.

Explore other markets

AU Corporate publishes dedicated guides for businesses entering India from other markets, and a full introduction to our team on the About AU Corporate page.

Next step

Talk to our India team about your Spain–India plans.

Talk to an India Expert

Spain–India Enquiry

Confidential · We typically respond within 24 hours.