There was a question of going back and forth from USA to Spain to obtian a resident's visa for independent contractors who want to start their own business in Spain. There MAY BE a way to bi-pass all the travel and have your documentation completed before ever stepping on Spanish soil:

First, check out the Spanish Consulat's site on what you'll need to apply for this type of visa. One of the items listed is a copy of the "Work Authorization Application (Solicitud de Permiso de Trabajo)" filed with the Ministry of Labor in Spain.

When you go to www.google.com and do the following search:
"Solicitud de Permiso de Trabajo"
(which is the document needed from Spain, to apply for a work permit), you come up with the following sites:
http://club.idecnet.com/~manuria/derecho/imp_reg.htm
http://club.idecnet.com/~manuria/consulta/consult3.html

One of these sites is the actual Work Authorization Application (Solicitud de Permiso de Trabajo), the other is the directions for SENDING the application. The important thing is though, that it may be SENT.
I am uncertain as to whether or not this is a legal route to obtaining a RESIDENCE VISA/INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR visa. I still need to do more reseach on it. But it's a good start for anyone who is serious about worrking in Spain and running their own company.

What I suggest someone doing if they wanted to go this route and SKIP going back and forth to Spain, is hiring a lawyer familiar with this process. Lawyers seem able to bi-pass annoying laws

*AGAIN, I say though that I am NOT CERTAIN that this is valid. I will soon be posting this information on the Expatriate Cafe AFTER I research it more.

Tracy