In December 2023, Spain enacted legislation to create a specific visa for people known as "digital nomads", joining more than 25 nations around the world that have implemented similar programmes. One example is Portugal, which introduced its own digital nomad visa last autumn.

The Spanish digital nomad visa is already proving very popular. However, there are a number of factors to consider before applying.

Who is eligible for the new visa?

The term 'digital nomad' broadly covers anyone who earns an income from a laptop while away from home. However, Spain will only offer a 1-year visa to a specific type of remote worker. And while the government can make adjustments to the specific criteria, we know the basics of the rules.

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Applicants from outside the European Union (EU) must be self-employed teleworkers or employed by a company that is not based in Spain. Once approved to work from Spain, the self-employed cannot earn more than 20% of their income from Spanish companies.

According to the Spanish government, individuals must meet a minimum income criterion, estimated at between $2,000 and $3,000 per month, or have savings that will allow them to support themselves financially in Spain.

In addition, applicants must have worked for their current company for at least 3 months, either as a full-time employee or as a self-employed person. If you work for a company in your home country and receive a salary, you can apply for digital nomad residence if there is a social security agreement between the country where the company you work for is based and Spain.

The applicant's spouse and dependants may accompany the applicant and apply for their own residence permit as family members.

Although there are no mandatory requirements to obtain a digital nomad visa, I recommend that you start learning Spanish before you move. Although English is taught in Spanish schools, it is always more advantageous to know the language of the place where you intend to live in order to communicate effectively with the local population.

In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about the Spanish digital nomad visa.

Advantages

Digital Nomad visas are designed to attract new talent and investment and are included in the new Startups Act.

However, the application process is not so straightforward. Before making any decisions, especially financial ones, it can be difficult to understand all the ramifications, so it is advisable to know all the pros and cons of the visa before making a decision.

You can find answers to the most frequently asked questions about Spain's new Digital Nomad Law here.

Here are the benefits you should know about:

1. The new visa allows you to work in Spain and emigrate at the same time: Before 2023, the main residence options were the Golden Visa, which required a minimum investment of 500,000 euros in a property, or the Non-Lucrative Visa, which prohibited working. Obtaining a work visa was also difficult, as many companies were unwilling or unable to sponsor a foreigner for a visa.
2. Applying for residency in Spain: If you are already living in Spain, you can apply for residency; if not, you can apply at the Spanish embassy or consulate in your home country. This means that you can visit many holiday destinations before deciding and then apply for the digital nomad visa from Spain, as long as you are here as a tourist within the 90-day period, or if you have another residence that entitles you to live in Spain. Be aware that the application process can be lengthy (mainly due to the need to gather documents rather than the time it takes to resolve the issue) and you may encounter various problems along the way.
3. The residence permit allows you to live in Spain for three years: If your application for a digital nomad visa from your home country is approved, you will first be issued with a one-year visa. Then, once you are officially in Spain, you can obtain a three-year residence permit. And then you renew it every two years. If you apply directly from Spain, you apply for the 3-year residency and forget about applying for the visa afterwards.
4. This is a route to citizenship and permanent residence: Becoming a Spanish citizen would help you achieve your ultimate goal of giving up your nomadic life and settling permanently in Spain. Once you have lived in Spain for five years, as described above, you can apply for permanent residency. If you have lived in Spain for ten years or more, you can apply for nationality. Residents from other areas, such as the Philippines or many Latin American countries, only need to live in Spain for two years to apply for Spanish nationality.
5. You can bring family members with you on your visa: Your visa application can include your spouse or unmarried partner and your dependent children, either concurrently or jointly. Also your unmarried partner.
6. Your spouse can work in Spain: According to the UGE, if you mentioned your spouse or unmarried partner in your application, Law 14/2013 states that the residence permit allows them to live and work as a self-employed or employed person.
7. You can travel freely within the EU: Once in Spain and with your residence permit, you will be able to move freely within the EU. Although it allows you to take short breaks and travel when you are not working, it does not give you the right to work or reside in other EU countries.

Conclusion

Despite the initial positive impact that the approval of this law has had at international level, the Spanish administration is interpreting it in such a way that those who work as employees for a company, if there is no social security agreement between the country where the company is located and Spain, the foreign company will have to open a contribution account in Spain and then register the employee in the company set up in Spain in order for the employee to be able to move to Spain.

This interpretation of the law on digital nomads by the Spanish administration means that the figure of the digital nomad disappears if the employee is a worker whose foreign company comes from a country that does not have a social security agreement with Spain, or if there is such an agreement but the "remote" employment relationship is not allowed under the existing social security agreement.

In other words, if the foreign company has to open a workplace in Spain, we consider that there is no longer a remote worker, i.e. a digital nomad. On the contrary, he/she would be a foreign worker with a residence and work permit in Spain.