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The essentials
People who consult us about the digital nomad visa are usually employees of a foreign business who already work from a laptop, or freelancers whose clients are abroad, and who want to live in Spain without changing how they work, and become legal residents here. The residence for international remote work was introduced by the Startups Law (Law 28/2022) into Law 14/2013 on support for entrepreneurs.
The delicate point is rarely the form. It is showing that you work remotely for companies outside Spain, or that Spanish clients are no more than 20% of your work if you are self-employed, that your income reaches 200% of the SMI and that you can prove at least three months of professional relationship with the company or clients. We review those requirements, together with health insurance and your criminal record certificate, before filing anything, so that the visa application is complete from the start.
If you will not work from Spain and plan to live on a pension, rental income or savings, the route is the non-lucrative visa, not this one. If the move is part of a wider plan (bringing your family, changing permit or applying for Spanish citizenship later), we look at it with our team of immigration lawyers. And when it is time to renew, we also handle the residence permit renewal.
A quick guide: if you will keep working from Spain for an employer or clients abroad, this is your visa. If you will live on a pension, rental income or savings without working, the route is the non-lucrative visa. Choosing the wrong type means starting again from scratch.
Want to move to Spain and keep working remotely, but not sure whether the digital nomad visa fits you?
Figures published by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, worth checking before you plan your move.
Law 28/2022
the Startups Law, which introduced the residence for international remote work
source: Law 28/2022 and Law 14/2013
200% of the SMI
per month is the minimum income for the main applicant, plus 75% of the SMI for the first family member and 25% for each additional one
source: Law 14/2013 and Spanish consulates (exteriores.gob.es)
20%
is the maximum share of your professional activity that can be for Spanish clients if you are self-employed
source: Law 14/2013 and Spanish consulates (exteriores.gob.es)
3 years
is the maximum validity of the residence permit when you apply from within Spain; the consular visa is valid for one year
source: Law 14/2013 and Spanish consulates (exteriores.gob.es)
Many refusals can be foreseen with the file in front of us. This is the documentation we review with you, item by item.
The law requires income of at least 200% of the Spanish minimum wage (SMI) per month for the whole period of the permit, plus 75% of the SMI for the first family member and 25% for each additional one. As the SMI is updated each year, we calculate the amount with the value in force and check how to document it, so that the consulate or the authority can follow it without doubts.
You need at least three months with the company, or under contract with your clients, and the business must have been active for at least one year. Employees can only work for companies outside Spain. We review your contract or client agreements and the supporting documents so that the file tells a clear story.
You need health insurance covering the same risks as the Spanish public health system, unless you are covered by Spanish Social Security, and a criminal record certificate. We check the insurance, and that documents issued abroad arrive legalised or apostilled and, where needed, translated.
If you work as a freelancer, work for Spanish clients cannot exceed 20% of your professional activity. We review where your clients are located and how to prove it.
You can start from abroad, with a visa at the Spanish consulate, or from within Spain if you are already here legally, with an electronic application for the residence permit. The information below sets out each step until approval.
1
We check whether the route fits you and who comes with you, and we review income, insurance and certificates.
2
From abroad, you book an appointment at the Spanish consulate and file the national visa application form with the documents. From within Spain, the application is filed electronically before the UGE. We prepare the documents for whichever route applies.
3
The authorities review the file and we deal with any request for further documents. If the application is refused, we help you with the appeal.
4
After approval, you receive the visa, valid for one year, or the residence permit, valid for up to three years.
5
When the application is resolved, we explain what comes next so that your relocation and your life in Spain start with your documents in order.
The sooner you tell us, the more room we have
Whoever obtains this residence may, if they meet the requirements, apply the special tax regime for inbound workers (Beckham Law). We look at it together with the visa so that both steps fit, without assuming the result.
Obtaining the residence does not mean that the tax regime applies automatically: it is a separate option with its own requirements. We study both together.
For the digital nomad visa we start from this:
The visa is for work with companies outside Spain. As a freelancer, Spanish clients can be no more than 20% of your activity. If your clients are mainly Spanish, this route does not suit you.
The minimum income threshold and your professional relationship have to be proved with documents, not just stated. Start gathering them early.
The non-lucrative visa does not allow you to work, not even remotely for your home country. If you will keep working from Spain, this is the visa to apply for, from abroad at the consulate or from within Spain before the UGE.
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It is the residence for international remote work, introduced by the Startups Law (Law 28/2022) into Law 14/2013 on support for entrepreneurs. It lets non-EU/EEA nationals live in Spain while they keep working remotely for companies or clients abroad. Unlike the non-lucrative visa, which does not allow you to work, it is designed for people who work.
Individuals from outside the EU/EEA with a degree or at least three years of professional experience who work remotely for a company outside Spain, with at least three months’ seniority, or as self-employed workers with a contract of at least three months. The company must have been active for at least one year.
Employees can only work for companies outside Spain. If you are self-employed, work for Spanish clients cannot exceed 20% of your total professional activity. We check how your clients are distributed before filing.
At least 200% of the Spanish minimum wage (SMI) per month, plus 75% of the SMI for the first family member and 25% for each additional one. The SMI is updated each year, so we calculate the amount with the value in force. You will also need health insurance and a criminal record certificate.
Yes, if you are already in Spain legally: the residence permit is applied for electronically before the UGE and can be valid for up to three years. From abroad, you apply for a visa at the Spanish consulate, valid for one year. The permit can be renewed while you still meet the requirements.
Yes. Your spouse or unmarried partner, your children (including adult children who depend on you financially) and ascendants in your care can be included, adding 75% of the SMI for the first family member and 25% for each additional one.
Time with this residence permit counts as legal residence in Spain. Long-term residence (permanent residency) and Spanish citizenship by residence have their own requirements, separate from this visa. We review them with you when you plan that step.
We have six offices in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Málaga, Córdoba and Palma de Mallorca) and we also work with clients online.
