Country visa guide
Spain digital nomad visa: who qualifies, income, and tax
Published:
Spain had no real remote-work visa until 2023. The Startup Law (Ley 28/2022) fixed that, creating the visado de teletrabajo internacional — a residence route built for people who earn their living online while living on the Iberian peninsula. It is one of the rare European nomad visas that pairs a clear path to residence with a tax option worth getting excited about, and that combination is why remote employees and freelancers keep asking about it.
Think of this page as the friend who already made the move talking you through it: the income you need to show, how long the permit lasts, where you actually file, and the tax wrinkle worth understanding before you book flights. The numbers tied to Spain’s minimum wage shift every year, so treat the table as a starting point for planning and confirm the live figures with the consulate or the UGE.
The facts, at a glance
| What | Spain |
|---|---|
| Official name | Visado de teletrabajo internacional (international teleworking visa) Created by the Startup Law, Ley 28/2022; aimed at remote employees and self-employed working for companies mostly outside Spain. |
| Minimum income | ~€2,640 / month for one applicant Pegged to 200% of the national minimum wage (SMI). Add ~75% of SMI for a spouse and ~25% for each extra dependant. Re-check the current figure. |
| Foreign-client cap (self-employed) | No more than ~20% of income from Spanish clients Freelancers may bill Spanish companies, but Spanish-sourced work must stay a minority of total income. |
| Initial duration | 1 year (visa from abroad) or up to 3 years (permit from inside Spain) Apply at a consulate for a 1-year entry visa, or apply to the UGE from inside Spain on a tourist stay for a 3-year residence permit. Renewable up to 5 years, then long-term residence becomes possible. |
| Where you apply | Spanish consulate abroad, or the UGE-CE inside Spain The Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos (UGE-CE) handles the in-country route and tends to decide faster (often within ~20 working days). |
| Tax angle | Optional special regime: flat ~24% on Spanish income up to €600k Holders can opt into the "Beckham"-style impatriate regime for up to ~6 years, taxing Spanish-source employment income at a flat rate instead of progressive rates. Eligibility and worldwide-income treatment are case-specific. |
| Key documents | Degree or 3+ years’ experience, clean criminal record, private health insurance, proof of remote work You also need an employment/contract relationship that has existed for at least three months and a company that has operated for at least one year. |
Income and tax figures are pegged to Spain’s minimum wage and reset every year — we mark them unverified in our notes, and you should confirm them against the consulate or UGE before you lean on them.
Eligibility, in one line
A strong fit if you work remotely for non-Spanish clients and can show steady income.
The visa rewards a clear, stable remote-work setup: an employer or clients based outside Spain, a contract that has run for at least three months, a company that has traded for at least a year, and income sitting comfortably above the SMI-linked floor. The tighter spots are the Spanish-client cap for freelancers and the paperwork on qualifications and criminal-record certificates — applicants tend to underestimate exactly those.
Voymo gives general information to help you organise your move. It is not legal, tax, or immigration advice, always confirm with an official source or a qualified professional before you act.
Two routes, one outcome
You can kick things off from home at a Spanish consulate, which issues a one-year entry visa that you later convert into a residence card in Spain. Or you can fly in as a tourist and apply straight to the UGE-CE (the unit for large companies and strategic groups) for a three-year residence permit in a single step. The in-country route is usually faster and skips the consulate queue, but you are doing the paperwork while the Schengen clock ticks on your tourist entry — so sort out the timing before you fly.
Whichever path you take, the substance is identical: prove the remote-work relationship, the income, the insurance, and a clean record. Once you are in, the questions that follow you around are tax residency and how Spain’s impatriate regime plays with your home country — and that is the part worth paying a local adviser to get right.
Run the numbers next
Before you commit, two of our free tools bring the picture into focus. Use the digital nomad visa checker to weigh Spain against other countries’ remote-work visas on income and eligibility, and the Schengen 90/180 calculator to be sure an application trip to Spain doesn’t quietly push you into an overstay before your permit comes through.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Spain digital nomad visa the same as the non-lucrative visa? +
No, and the difference matters. The non-lucrative visa (NLV) is for people living on passive income or savings, and it flatly bans working. The digital nomad visa is the mirror image: it exists for people who actively work remotely, whether as an employee of a foreign company or as a freelancer serving mostly non-Spanish clients. If you plan to keep earning from a job or your own business, the digital nomad visa is your track, not the NLV.
Does time on the Spanish digital nomad visa count toward Schengen days? +
Once you hold the residence permit, you are no longer a short-stay visitor, so the 90/180 Schengen limit stops capping your time in Spain. It still bites before the permit lands, though — say, while you are sitting in Spain on a tourist entry and applying through the UGE. Keep an eye on those early days with the Schengen calculator below, so an application trip does not quietly tip you into an overstay.
Will I pay Spanish tax on my worldwide income? +
If you become a Spanish tax resident (broadly, more than 183 days in the year), Spain can reach your worldwide income under the ordinary rules. The visa’s headline perk is the optional impatriate regime, which can tax Spanish-source employment income at a flat rate and keep much of your foreign income out of reach for a limited stretch of years. Whether you qualify, and how your home country treats the very same income, is genuinely your own situation — talk it through with a Spanish gestor or tax adviser before you move.
Last verified:
Sources
- Ley 28/2022 (Startup Law) — official text, BOE
- UGE-CE — Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (in-country route)
- Spanish consulates abroad — visa procedures
Voymo gives general information to help you organise your move. It is not legal, tax, or immigration advice, always confirm with an official source or a qualified professional before you act.