Spain digital nomad visa

Requirements

• Remote income of at least 200% of the Spanish minimum wage (SMI) per month — higher with family members
• Work for companies outside Spain — Spanish clients may account for at most 20% of your income
• Your employer or main client relationship must be at least three months old, and the company operating for at least one year
• A university degree or at least three years of relevant professional experience
• Social security coverage: a certificate of coverage from your home country, or registering as self-employed (autónomo) in Spain
• Clean criminal record certificate (apostilled) and full private health insurance, or public enrollment via autónomo

How to apply

1. Gather documents — income proof, contracts, degree or experience evidence, criminal record with apostille, insurance — with sworn Spanish translations where required
2. Choose your route: apply at a Spanish consulate abroad (one-year visa), or enter Spain and apply to the UGE online for the three-year residence permit directly
3. Get your NIE (foreigner ID number) — assigned during the process if you don't have one
4. Wait for the UGE decision — the law sets short response windows, and silence counts as approval in many cases
5. Once approved, book the fingerprint appointment and collect your TIE residence card

Renewal and long-term stay

• Renewable: yes, up to 5 years in total
• Path to permanent residency: yes, after 5 years of residence
• Path to citizenship: yes, after 10 years

The in-country permit runs three years and extends by two. Renewal expects you to genuinely live in Spain — at least 183 days a year — so it doesn't suit a rotating base. Citizenship normally takes ten years, but nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal qualify after two.

Applying: where and how

• Apply from outside the country: yes — apply before you travel
• Where you file: either at a consulate or in-country, depending on where you start
• Income requirement as published: €2,849 per month

Where you apply changes what you get, which is unusual and worth planning around: from a Spanish consulate abroad you receive a one-year visa, whereas applying from inside Spain as a legal visitor yields a three-year residence authorisation. Same programme, three times the runway.

Bringing a partner or children

• Dependants: yes — a partner and children can be included

Tax

• You become tax resident: after 183 days in the country
• Foreign income taxed locally: yes — taxed once you become tax resident
• Special nomad or expat tax regime: yes — see below

The Beckham Law caps tax at a flat 24% (on income up to €600,000) for six years instead of progressive rates reaching 47%, and DNV holders were explicitly made eligible by the Startups Act. The distinction that decides your bill: if you are EMPLOYED by a foreign company you can opt in — if you are a FREELANCER invoicing clients, you generally cannot, and you face progressive rates of 19–47% on worldwide income plus compulsory autónomos social security. Same visa, very different outcome. You also must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the previous five years.

This summarises published rules, not your situation, and it is not tax advice. Two things it can't tell you: your home country may tax you anyway — US citizens are taxed on worldwide income wherever they live — and day-count is only the most common trigger for tax residency, not the only one. Having a permanent home, a family or your centre of economic interests in a country can make you resident well before the day count does. Get advice before you move.

Moving abroad means more than the visa — sort your travel insurance (many visa applications require proof of coverage), set up borderless banking, and land with data working.

First nomad visa? Our digital nomad visa guide explains how qualifying, applying, and taxes work across every country.