UK Limited Company With Late Accounts or No HMRC History: Can It Support Your Spain Digital Nomad Visa? (2026)

Key Takeaways

• Spain's Digital Nomad Visa requires the company you work through to have at least one year of real, continuous activity (Article 74 ter a) of Ley 14/2013). A UK limited company under one year old cannot support your application.
• If you own your company or control it, the UGE also asks for the company's last corporation tax return. For a UK Ltd, that is the CT600.
• Overdue accounts at Companies House do not disqualify you by law, but they weaken your file. File them before you apply.
• A company in its second year may not have filed its first CT600 yet without being late. You can usually file it early, once the accounting period has ended.
• Years spent dormant show no real activity. Count your company's year of activity from when it started trading again.
• Management accounts and accountant letters help, but they do not replace filed accounts or a CT600.

If your UK limited company has overdue accounts, has never filed a corporation tax return, or has little or no history with HMRC, you may still be able to apply for Spain's Digital Nomad Visa, but probably not yet. Under Article 74 ter a) of Ley 14/2013, as amended by Ley 28/2022, the company you work through must show at least one year of real, continuous activity. If you own the company or control it, the UGE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas, the office that processes in-country applications) also asks for the company's last corporation tax return. A company under one year old does not meet the rule at all. A company with filing gaps usually can, once the gaps are closed. This guide explains which gap you have, what it means for your application, and what to fix before you file.

In this guide

• What the UGE asks UK company owners to prove
• Four different filing gaps, four different answers
• Overdue Companies House accounts or an unfiled CT600
• Your first CT600 is not due yet
• A UK limited company less than a year old
• A company restarted after being dormant
• When your personal tax return is missing too
• How to fix the gap before you apply
• Get your company file reviewed before you apply

What the UGE Asks UK Company Owners to Prove

Spain's Digital Nomad Visa, officially the residence authorisation for international teleworkers, has one condition that applies to every applicant, whatever their route. Article 74 ter a) of Ley 14/2013 requires the company you work for or through to have at least one year of real and continuous activity. The UGE checks this with an official company registry certificate. For a UK Ltd, that is a Companies House certificate, such as the summary statement that replaced the old certificate of good standing.

If you are the sole owner of the company, or hold effective control of it, you apply as an autónomo societario: a self-employed person who works through a company they own. The UGE's published documentation guidance asks autónomos societarios for four documents on top of the standard file:

That second line is where filing gaps cause trouble. The UGE's list asks for a document that, for some UK companies, does not exist yet.

The income test runs separately. You must show at least €2,849 gross per month in 2026, which is 200% of Spain's minimum wage under Real Decreto 126/2026, through three months of payslips or invoices matched to stamped bank statements. Our guide for UK limited company directors explains how to set your salary to meet it. The UGE's own definition of a company owner, and how it separates owners from employees, is covered in our article on how the UGE decides your route, and the full business owner route is in our business owner guide.

Four Different Filing Gaps, Four Different Answers

Owners in this situation often describe it the same way: "my company has no tax history". In practice that covers four different cases, and each one has a different answer.

If you are not sure which of these gaps applies to your company, request a free case evaluation and Hoply's immigration lawyers will tell you where your company stands before you spend money on translations and apostilles.

Overdue Companies House Accounts or an Unfiled CT600

UK companies have two separate filing deadlines. Annual accounts go to Companies House within 9 months of the end of the accounting period. The Company Tax Return (CT600) goes to HMRC within 12 months of the end of the accounting period it covers, while corporation tax itself is usually due 9 months and one day after it.

Missing the Companies House deadline triggers an automatic penalty for private companies:

The penalty doubles if accounts are filed late in two successive years.

For the Digital Nomad Visa, no Spanish rule says overdue accounts disqualify you. The problem is practical. The UGE asks for the company's last corporation tax return, so a missing CT600 leaves a document gap. And because the public Companies House register shows when a company's accounts are overdue, an unfiled year sits badly next to a requirement for real, continuous activity.

The fix is to bring every filing up to date before you submit. A company that has filed late is in a far stronger position than one with filings still outstanding. The UGE has published no criterion on how it treats accounts filed shortly before an application, so keep the submission confirmations and proof that any penalty was paid, in case it asks about the gap.

Your First CT600 Is Not Due Yet

This is the case that catches founders in their second year. A new company's first accounts are usually due 21 months after incorporation, and its first CT600 is due 12 months after the end of its first accounting period. A company can therefore pass its first anniversary, meet the one-year activity rule, and still have no CT600 on file, without being late on anything.

Take an illustrative case (the name is invented). James incorporated his UK consultancy in June 2025 and has been invoicing clients since. In October 2026 his company is 16 months old, and its first CT600 is not due until 2027. He meets the one-year rule, but he cannot give the UGE the "last corporation tax return" it lists.

The usual solution is to file early. Once the first accounting period has ended and the accounts are prepared, your accountant can normally file the accounts with Companies House and the CT600 with HMRC ahead of the deadline. That turns a missing document into a filed one. Management accounts and a letter from your accountant can support the file, but they work as context rather than as a substitute for the return itself.

A UK Limited Company Less Than a Year Old

Here the answer is the clearest. Article 74 ter a) requires at least one year of real, continuous activity from the company you work through, and that applies to every route. A UK Ltd incorporated eight months ago cannot support a Digital Nomad Visa application, however strong your income is.

Two options remain. The first is to wait until the company has a full year of activity, and use that time to set up payroll, keep invoices and prepare the documents above. The second, depending on your situation, is to apply through a different relationship that already meets the rule. That could be employment with an established company, or freelance work invoiced directly to clients whose own companies have operated for over a year. That route has its own requirements, including proof of self-employment registration in your home country. Our guide for freelancers and our article on self-employment registration proof explain them. Whether it fits your case needs individual review.

A Company Restarted After Being Dormant

Many UK founders keep a company dormant for years and restart it before moving abroad. A dormant company files dormant accounts with Companies House and, for corporation tax purposes, has no taxable activity. When it starts trading again, it must tell HMRC and register for corporation tax.

The age of the company on the register is not what the law looks at. Article 74 ter a) asks for real and continuous activity, and dormant years show the opposite. The UGE has published no criterion on how it treats a restarted company, so the prudent reading is to count your year of activity from the date the company started trading again, and to document that year with invoices, bank movements and, once due, its first CT600 after the restart.

When Your Personal Tax Return Is Missing Too

The UGE's guidance gives autónomos societarios one fallback for the income test. If you cannot provide payslips or invoices matched to bank statements, you can present your personal income tax return for the year before your application. For a UK director, that is your Self Assessment return and HMRC tax calculation (SA302), which show both salary and dividends.

This fallback only covers income. It does not replace the company's CT600, and it relies on a filed personal return. If you have neither payslips above the threshold nor a filed Self Assessment return, you have no income evidence the UGE recognises. The most predictable fix is to pay yourself a salary through PAYE above €2,849 gross for the three full months before you apply. Our income requirements guide explains how the threshold is calculated, including for family members.

How to Fix the Gap Before You Apply

Start with your accountant. Ask them to file anything overdue at Companies House and HMRC, and, if your company is in its second year, whether the first CT600 can be filed early. Late filings can take several weeks to prepare, so do this first.

Next, check your company's age against the one-year rule, counting from the restart if it was dormant. If the company does not meet it yet, pick your submission date for after it does.

Then set up the income evidence. The UGE looks at the three full months before you apply, so any salary change has to be on your payroll at least three months ahead. Bank statements must be stamped or signed by your bank, which is a known issue with app-only banks; our article on why the UGE rejects bank statements explains what to ask for.

Finally, order the time-sensitive documents. The Companies House certificate must be less than three months old on the day you submit, so order it about a month before, then allow for the apostille and sworn translation. When everything is ready, you apply online from inside Spain while your stay is legal. The government fee is €73.26, and the UGE has 20 working days to decide. For the full list, see our Digital Nomad Visa document checklist.

Get Your Company File Reviewed Before You Apply

A UK limited company with a filing gap is rarely a dead end. In most cases, the gap can be closed, and the question is when, not whether. The one gap that cannot be fixed by paperwork is a company that has not yet had a full year of real activity.

At Hoply, our immigration lawyers review your Companies House and HMRC records, tell you which gap you have and what to file first, set the date you can apply, and then prepare and file your application, with an approved-or-refunded guarantee. If your accounts are overdue, your first CT600 is not filed yet or your company restarted recently, request a free case evaluation and we will tell you exactly what to fix before you apply. For everything else British applicants need to know, read our complete guide to the Digital Nomad Visa for UK citizens.