Spain Digital Nomad Visa — FAQ & do-it-yourself guide

It is a residence route for third-country nationals to whom EU free-movement rules, or equivalent free-movement rights under an applicable EU agreement, do not apply and who work remotely for companies or clients located outside Spain. Its formal name is the authorization for international teleworking, created by Spain's Startups Law (Ley 28/2022, which amended Ley 14/2013). It exists in two forms: a visa handled by the responsible Spanish consular office abroad, and a residence authorization filed through the UGE in Spain and decided by the competent migration authority (see the section on where to apply).

In broad terms, the route requires all of the following:

• •You are not an EU citizen and do not enjoy equivalent EU free-movement rights under an applicable agreement. The applicable free-movement status, not a nationality label alone, determines whether this Ley 14/2013 route applies.
• •You work remotely for an employer or clients based outside Spain (employees must have a foreign employer; self-employed applicants may perform up to 20% of their total professional activity for a company in Spain).
• •You provide the required criminal-record certificates and declaration, unless the specific exception described below applies.
• •You meet the financial means requirement (the authority assesses the evidence submitted — see below).
• •You have qualifying education or experience (a degree or postgraduate qualification from a university of recognized standing, a vocational-training qualification, a qualification from a business school of recognized standing, or at least 3 years of relevant professional experience).
• •Your employment or professional relationship is at least 3 months old, and the relevant foreign company or group shows at least 1 year of real, continuous activity.
• •You meet the applicable healthcare and social-security requirements.

This is general guidance, not a determination — confirm the current requirements with the consular office handling a visa or through the official UGE residence-authorization procedure.

Both can apply, but the rules differ slightly:

• •Employees must work for an employer located outside Spain. Under the DNV, a salaried employee generally cannot work for a Spanish employer at all.
• •Self-employed / freelancers must work mainly for non-Spanish clients, but may do some work for a company located in Spain — capped at 20% of their total professional activity (see the 20% cap section).

There are two routes:

1. Consulate abroad (visa route). A person who is not resident in Spain applies at the Spanish consulate responsible for their place of legal residence. The international-telework visa is valid for up to 1 year, or for the shorter work period if applicable, and is itself sufficient authority to reside and work remotely in Spain during its validity. A holder who wants to continue may apply for the residence authorization during the 60 calendar days before the visa expires, provided the qualifying conditions remain in place.

2. UGE in Spain (residence-authorization route). A person who is lawfully in Spain, including someone who entered on the international-telework visa, may apply electronically through the UGE for a residence authorization valid for up to 3 years, or for a shorter requested work period. A prior DNV visa is not required when the applicant is otherwise lawfully in Spain.

The UGE (*Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos*) is the specialized unit that processes residence authorizations under this part of Ley 14/2013 through electronic filing; the competent migration authority grants or refuses them. Article 76 sets a maximum decision period of 20 days from electronic submission and provides for positive administrative silence if no decision is issued within that period (see the timeline section).

It depends on where and on what legal basis you can file:

• •For the UGE route, you must be lawfully in Spain when filing; the residence authorization can be valid for up to 3 years, or for a shorter work period.
• •The consular route is for a person not resident in Spain and produces a visa valid for up to 1 year, or for the shorter work period.

Document lists, appointment procedures, and local filing instructions can vary by consulate. Confirm the route and current requirements on the responsible consulate's official page or with the UGE.

You must show financial means equal to 200% of the Spanish minimum wage (SMI). For 2026, the SMI is €1,221/month, so the main-applicant threshold is €2,442/month. The authority assesses the evidence in each case, and the amount changes when the SMI changes. Confirm the figure in force on your application date with the consular office handling a visa or through the official UGE residence procedure.

On top of the main applicant's 200%, add:

• •75% of the SMI for the first family member: €915.75/month at the 2026 SMI.
• •25% of the SMI for each additional family member: €305.25/month at the 2026 SMI.

A main applicant plus one family member therefore has a 2026 threshold of €3,357.75/month. Confirm the current amount when filing because the SMI can change.

Financial means may be evidenced with income, funds, or a combination, but the authority evaluates the documents individually. For any funds used as evidence, the official joint instruction requires proof of their ownership, lawful origin, and availability. It does not establish a universal savings multiplier or a fixed formula for converting an income shortfall into a required bank balance. Do not rely on a “months of shortfall” rule; ask the consular office handling your visa or use the official UGE residence procedure to confirm what evidence is appropriate for your circumstances.

The law distinguishes the two routes:

• •A self-employed professional may also work for a company located in Spain only where that work is no more than 20% of their total professional activity. The competent authority assesses the evidence against that statutory professional-activity test.
• •A salaried employee may work only for companies located outside Spain; the 20% exception does not apply to employment for a Spanish company.

At least 3 months before the application date. For employees, the company certificate states your seniority (at least 3 months); for freelancers, you show a professional relationship with one or more non-Spanish companies for at least the last 3 months.

The foreign employer/company (or group) must show real and continuous activity for at least 1 year. A commercial-registry / companies-house extract may establish the entity's identity, incorporation date, and current registration, but registration age alone does not prove genuine operations. Follow the handling authority's checklist and provide separate evidence of real, continuing business activity where requested.

You meet the qualification requirement either way:

• •Education / credentials: a degree or postgraduate qualification from a university of recognized standing, a vocational-training qualification, or a qualification from a business school of recognized standing; or
• •Experience: at least 3 years of professional experience in functions analogous to the teleworker role, which can be considered comparable to the required qualification and relevant to the authorized remote work.

You only need one route, but further recognition rules can apply. For a regulated profession, the qualification must be formally recognized under the relevant sector rules. If the authority has doubts about a vocational-training qualification's equivalence to the Spanish system, it may require proof of official validation.

Exact lists vary by the consular office or UGE procedure, but the common set is:

• •Passport (and NIE/current residence permit if you already have them)
• •Employment contract / service agreement and a remote-work authorization letter from your employer
• •Company registration certificate and separate proof the company has ≥1 year of real, continuous activity
• •Payslips and/or invoices, plus bank statements
• •Qualifying university, vocational-training, or business-school credential, or proof of 3+ years of relevant professional experience; often a CV
• •Criminal-record certificate, unless the applicable exception applies
• •Applicable healthcare evidence: an insurance policy/certificate, healthcare-entitlement certificate, or Spanish Social Security route evidence
• •Where relevant: social security declaration / A1 or other applicable-legislation certificate
• •For family: marriage certificate, birth certificates
• •Plus apostilles and sworn Spanish translations where required (see below)

Foreign public documents submitted in an immigration procedure generally require authentication unless an applicable treaty or EU rule exempts the particular document:

• •A Hague Apostille is normally used when the issuing country is party to the 1961 Hague Convention.
• •Diplomatic/consular legalization is normally used when no applicable apostille or other exemption exists.

EU Regulation 2016/1191 removes legalization/apostille requirements only for specified categories of public documents issued by one EU country for use in another; it is not a blanket exemption for every EU-issued document or every translation. Private supporting documents are not normally apostilled, but the authority may still require evidence of authenticity or a Spanish translation. Check the exact document list and formalities with your consulate or the UGE.

Any required foreign document not already in Spanish generally needs an official Spanish translation — usually a traducción jurada by a translator appointed by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC). Key points:

• •The **apostille must be affixed *before* translation**, because the translator also translates the apostille.
• •The translation itself does not need a separate apostille.
• •Other official translation forms can be accepted (e.g. done/certified by a Spanish consulate). Which translators are accepted varies by consulate — use your consulate's approved list where one is provided.

The official joint instruction calls for criminal-record certificates covering the country or countries where you lived during the previous 2 years, plus a responsible declaration stating that you have had no criminal record during the previous 5 years. It also states that those two requirements do not apply where the applicant already holds a Spanish residence or stay authorization valid for more than 6 months. The handling authority may specify the issuing body, accepted age, and country-specific formalities, so follow its current instructions and confirm that the exception applies to your filing. A foreign public certificate generally needs the applicable apostille or legalization and, where required, an official Spanish translation.

The required evidence depends on your social-security position:

• •If no international coordination instrument applies and you must contribute to Spanish Social Security, the joint instruction treats the health requirement as evidenced through the required commitment to comply with Spanish Social Security obligations.
• •If an applicable coordination instrument does provide cross-border healthcare, use the healthcare-entitlement certificate issued by the competent institution in the country whose system covers you (often an S1 in EU cases).
• •If a coordination instrument applies but does not provide healthcare, you need public or private health insurance with coverage comparable to Spain's National Health System. A private insurer must be registered/authorized in Spain; a qualifying public route can include an eligible healthcare agreement with the autonomous community where you are registered.

Any separate insurance must remain active for the authorization period, and travel insurance is not valid. The joint instruction does not state a universal no-copayment/no-waiting-period rule; a particular consular office may publish additional policy conditions, so follow the current instructions for the authority handling your application.

The international-telework visa is valid for up to 1 year, or for the shorter work period when applicable. The residence authorization is valid for up to 3 years, unless a shorter work period is requested. Holders of the residence authorization may renew it for 2-year periods while the conditions that created the right continue to be met. A visa holder who wants to continue residing in Spain may apply for the residence authorization during the 60 calendar days before the visa expires.

The NIE is the foreigner identification number used in Spanish procedures. The TIE (*Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero*) is the physical identity card linked to a residence authorization.

• •The international-telework visa, valid for up to 1 year or a shorter work period, is sufficient authority to reside and work remotely in Spain during its validity without obtaining a TIE.
• •Once a residence authorization lasting more than 6 months is granted, Ley 14/2013 requires the holder to request the TIE.

A visa holder who wishes to continue residing in Spain may apply for the residence authorization during the 60 calendar days before the visa expires if the qualifying conditions remain in place. Check the current appointment and document instructions for the TIE after the residence authorization is granted.

Yes. Ley 14/2013 covers the main applicant's spouse or person in an equivalent affective relationship; minor children; adult children who are financially dependent on the main applicant and have not formed their own family unit; and dependent ascendants. They may apply jointly and simultaneously with the main applicant or later to accompany or join them.

The main applicant must meet the higher financial threshold (+75% of SMI for the first family member and +25% for each additional one), and the family relationship, dependency, and required personal documents must be evidenced. Foreign public documents require the applicable authentication and translation formalities, and criminal-record documents are required where applicable under the authority's instructions.

Potentially — general information only, not tax advice. Holding a DNV does not by itself grant Spain's special regime for people who move to Spain (the 'Beckham Law,' Article 93 of the IRPF law). The employment route includes qualifying remote employees, and the law expressly recognizes employees holding the international-telework visa. Separate statutory routes can cover company administrators, qualifying entrepreneurs, highly qualified professionals serving startups, and specified training, research, development, or innovation activities. Eligible family members may also opt in under their own conditions. An ordinary self-employed DNV holder does not qualify merely because they hold a DNV.

If the conditions are met, the person remains an IRPF taxpayer but calculates tax under special non-resident rules. The non-savings base is taxed at 24% up to €600,000 and 47% above that; savings income follows a separate scale. The person generally must not have been Spanish tax resident in the five prior tax periods, and the regime applies for the tax period in which Spanish tax residence is acquired plus the five following tax periods. The option is filed electronically on Modelo 149, generally within a maximum of six months from the documented activity-start date shown in the applicable Spanish Social Security registration, home-country coverage document, or other supporting document when registration is not required. Eligibility and the tax outcome are highly fact-specific, so obtain advice from a qualified Spanish tax adviser.

General information only, not advice. Depending on your situation and country, you may remain subject to a home-country social-security system through an applicable coordination rule or bilateral agreement, or you may need to register and contribute in Spain (common for self-employed autónomos). Within the EU/EEA/Switzerland, an A1 certificate normally confirms which country's social-security legislation applies; an S1 form is different and is used to register healthcare entitlement in another country. A bilateral coverage certificate is separate and depends on the relevant agreement. Confirm both contribution and healthcare requirements for your case with the competent institutions or a qualified professional.

For the in-Spain UGE route, the relevant government fee is paid using modelo 790, código 038 at the rate in force when you apply. Issuing the physical TIE later involves a separate fee (tasa 012).

For the consular visa route, you pay the visa fee required by the consulate. The amount can vary by consulate, nationality, reciprocity rules, and filing date. Check the live official fee table and payment instructions immediately before filing.

The statutory rules differ by route:

• •UGE residence authorization: Article 76 of Ley 14/2013 sets a maximum decision period of 20 days from electronic submission. If no decision is issued within that period, the authorization is treated as granted by positive administrative silence.
• •Consular visa: Article 75 allows 10 working days to decide and notify, except where the consultation procedure under Article 22 of the Visa Code applies. The 20-day residence-authorization rule and its positive-silence provision do not govern the consular visa route.

Actual completion can still depend on whether the authority requests further material, a consultation applies, and the consulate's local filing process. Check the responsible authority's current official instructions; anecdotal timelines are not a reliable guide for any individual case.

The most frequent, avoidable problems are:

• •Insufficient or poorly evidenced financial means — not demonstrating the required SMI-based amount or the ownership, lawful origin, and availability of funds with evidence the authority accepts.
• •Missing apostilles or sworn translations, or getting them in the wrong order (apostille must come before translation).
• •A criminal-record certificate that does not meet the handling authority's rules on issuing country, coverage period, recency, authentication, or translation.
• •Non-compliant healthcare evidence — for example travel insurance, an unauthorized insurer, a policy that does not cover the required period, or missing Social Security/entitlement evidence for the route relied on.
• •Company/relationship conditions not met — under 3 months with the employer/clients, or failure to prove at least 1 year of real and continuous company activity.
• •Too much Spanish-source work (over the 20% cap for freelancers; any Spanish employer for employees).
• •Inconsistent documents — names, dates, amounts, or job titles that don't match across contract, payslips, and bank statements.
• •Using the wrong/old authority requirements — many online lists are outdated or from a different consulate.

• •Start from your specific consular office's page or the official UGE procedure and use the route-specific checklist as your source of truth.
• •Do apostilles and translations early — they're the slowest step. Apostille first, then sworn-translate.
• •Make your money evidence coherent: enough income and/or funds, proof that the funds are yours, lawful, and available, plus matching contracts, payslips/invoices, and bank statements.
• •Document the correct healthcare route: Spanish Social Security, a coordination/entitlement certificate, or a qualifying public/private policy, as applicable.
• •Keep all figures and names consistent across every document.
• •Confirm the current SMI-based thresholds and fees before filing, since they change.
• •Keep proof of the ≥3-month relationship and the company's ≥1-year real and continuous activity.

It offers an optional document-readiness review before you submit to the authorities. The review may use automated systems, including AI-assisted tools, to flag what appears missing, is the wrong document type, or presents an obvious readiness issue. The service does not file an application or decide your visa or authorization. Each plan covers one named main applicant and one case. Family-size answers and listed relationship or dependency evidence may be checked, but this is not a separate complete review for each dependent.

Plans (gross totals include applicable tax):

• •Essential — €99: an initial document review and written report; no re-check.
• •Standard — €129 (recommended): Essential plus specific fix-it notes and one included re-check.
• •Plus — €199: Standard plus a second included re-check.

Each included re-check must be submitted within 60 calendar days after the report that offers it; unused re-checks expire and cannot transfer to a new case. The interface and contract information are available in six languages, but document-review reports and fix notes are delivered in English unless the operator expressly confirms another language before the order. There is also a preliminary eligibility questionnaire. File handling and retention are described in the Privacy Notice.

No. Nomad Visa Service is not a law firm and provides no legal advice. It cannot and does not guarantee approval — a visa is decided by the responsible Spanish consular office, while a residence authorization filed through the UGE is decided by the competent migration authority. The service is a pre-submission document-readiness check; Spanish authorities make the decision, and a qualified immigration lawyer or tax adviser should address legal or tax questions about your specific case.