Updated on 28 October 2026 with Law 14/2013 (consolidated text in the Spanish Official Gazette, the BOE) and the frequently asked questions of the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit of the Ministry of Inclusion. Sources at the end. The official texts are in Spanish.

In short: the «digital nomad visa» is, in Spanish law, residence for international remote work (teletrabajo de carácter internacional). It lets you live in Spain working remotely for companies or clients based abroad, as an employee or as a freelancer. You first apply for a visa at the Spanish consulate (valid for up to one year) and, before it expires, for the residence permit (up to three years, renewable for two). You need a company with at least one year of real activity, three months of relationship with it, a university degree or three years of experience, enough income and health insurance with no co-payments or waiting periods. Permits are processed online by the Ministry, which has twenty days to decide; if it does not, the permit is granted by default.

What the digital nomad visa is

«Digital nomad» is the popular name. The law (articles 74 bis to 74 quinquies of Law 14/2013, added by the start-ups law, Law 28/2022) speaks of international remote work: a national of a country outside the European Union is authorised to live in Spain to work remotely for companies located outside Spain, using only IT, online and telecommunication systems.

It is not the same as non-lucrative residence: that permit does not allow you to work at all, not even remotely. And it is not a work permit with a Spanish company (for that, see the work permit page, in Spanish).

Who can apply

  • Nationals of a non-EU country, aged 18 or over. It is not for EU citizens or people covered by EU law.
  • With a job that can be done remotely. The Ministry understands this to mean that the job needs no on-site supervision or management at the company's end (production, staff control, sales visits…), and it may ask for details about the company to check this.
  • With qualifications or experience. The law asks for a degree or postgraduate degree from a well-regarded university, vocational training or business school, or at least three years of professional experience.
  • Employees or freelancers. A freelancer can also apply, with a commercial contract with the foreign company lasting at least three months.

Requirements and documents

On top of the general requirements for residence permits under Law 14/2013 (article 62), you must show the following:

About the company and the relationship

  • The company or group must have real, continuous activity for at least one year.
  • That the work can be done remotely and the company allows it: usually a letter from the company describing the job and its tasks.
  • If you are an employee: an employment relationship with the company for at least the last three months before you apply.
  • If you are a freelancer: a commercial relationship with one or more companies outside Spain for at least the last three months, with the terms on which you will provide the service.

About you

  • Not being in Spain irregularly.
  • Criminal record: a certificate from Spain and from the country or countries where you have lived in the last two years, plus a sworn statement that you have none in the last five years.
  • Health insurance: public (through registration with Social Security) or private with an insurer authorised in Spain. According to the Ministry, travel insurance does not qualify, nor does insurance limited to reimbursement of costs or with waiting periods or co-payments.
  • Enough income for you and your family, from work income. According to the Ministry: for the main applicant, 200% of the monthly minimum wage (SMI); for the second person in the family unit, 75% of the SMI, and 25% for each additional member.
  • Fee for the initial permit: €73.26 for the main applicant and for each family member, paid online before you apply. The visa fee depends on the consulate.

What work you can do

  • If you are an employee: in Spain you can only work for the company abroad that you applied with.
  • If you are a freelance professional: you can also work for a company in Spain, as long as it is a professional relationship (never an employment one), you keep the relationship with the company abroad and that work does not exceed 20% of your total professional activity.

If your company has a branch in Spain and transfers you to it, you are no longer a remote worker: that is a different category (intra-company transfer) with different requirements.

Visa from your country or permit from Spain

If you are outside Spain

You cannot apply for the permit directly from abroad. You apply at the Spanish consulate for the visa for international remote work. It lasts up to one year and is enough to live and work remotely in Spain while it is valid. The consulate has ten working days to decide, unless other Schengen countries have to be consulted.

Then, in the sixty days before the visa expires, you can apply for the residence permit, provided you still meet the conditions.

If you are already in Spain

You can apply for the permit directly if you are in Spain legally. Some specific cases:

  • With a valid student stay (which lets you work): yes, if you were registered with Social Security from the moment you started working for the company abroad.
  • With non-lucrative residence: remote work you did before does not count, because that permit does not allow work. You would have to meet the requirements without counting that time.
  • Other situations (for example, entering as a tourist): each needs to be studied case by case.

Step by step

  1. We check that you qualify and gather the documents: company letter and contract, criminal record certificates, insurance and proof of income.
  2. You pay the fee online and keep the receipt (the full reference number, NRC).
  3. Application: from abroad, the visa application at the consulate; from Spain, the permit application filed online with the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (UGE-CE).
  4. Decision: permits, within twenty days of the online filing; if there is no decision by then, they are granted by default (positive silence). Visas, ten working days.
  5. Social Security registration (see below).
  6. Residence card (TIE): if the permit lasts more than six months, you have to apply for it. In Bilbao, at the National Police on calle Gordóniz, 8.

While your permit application is being decided, your previous residence or stay status stays extended.

Social Security: registration is compulsory

You work from Spain, so you must be registered. There are two cases:

  • Employee: the company abroad must first register with Social Security as a non-resident company with no establishment in Spain. Registration can be replaced by a certificate from your home country if there is a Social Security agreement with Spain and it covers you while working in Spain.
  • Freelancer: you have to register in the self-employed scheme (RETA). No agreement applies here. An Entrepreneurship Support Point (PAE) can handle the tax and Social Security registration.

Your passport is enough to register with Social Security during the first six months. If a freelancer does not register after getting the permit, it can be cancelled and the person and their dependent family lose the right to live and work in Spain.

Family

You can bring your spouse or partner, your children under 18 (or older children who depend on you and have not formed their own family unit) and dependent parents. They can apply for the permit or visa at the same time as you or later, and each one pays the fee. They have to meet the same personal requirements (criminal record, insurance and income).

According to the Ministry, family members can work in Spain, as employees or self-employed.

Duration, renewal and moving to another permit

  • Initial permit: up to three years, unless you ask for a shorter period.
  • Renewal: for periods of two years, as long as the conditions are met. It is processed online; once you file it, your permit stays valid until a decision is made, and also if you file within ninety days after it expires (without prejudice to a possible penalty).
  • Changes: if anything changes in your conditions (for example, you change company), you must tell the UGE-CE within thirty days. If the conditions are no longer met, the permit can be cancelled.
  • Moving to another permit: you can apply to change to another type of permit at any time if you meet the requirements of the new one. For the general regime, the rules on changing status in the Immigration Regulations apply.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Applying with a newly created company or one without a year of real activity.
  • Not having three months of relationship with the company or clients before applying.
  • Travel insurance, or insurance with co-payments or waiting periods.
  • Documents from your country that do not cover the last two years of residence.
  • Working for Spanish companies under an employment contract, or above 20% as a freelancer.
  • Not registering with Social Security or not reporting changes in time.
  • Holding non-lucrative residence and working remotely in the meantime: it does not count.

How we help

  • We assess whether you qualify (your company, your contract or clients, your qualifications) and which route suits you: visa from your country or permit from Spain.
  • We prepare the file: company letter, contracts, criminal records, insurance and proof of income.
  • We file the application online, follow up on the decision and support you with Social Security registration, the residence card and, later, renewal.

We help you in English and Spanish, at our office in the centre of Bilbao (calle Colón de Larreátegui, 15), or by video call and phone from anywhere in Spain or from your home country.

Frequently asked questions

It is the Spanish residence for international remote work: it lets you live in Spain working remotely for companies abroad. You need to be a national of a non-EU country, have a company with at least one year of real activity and three months of relationship with it, hold a degree or have three years of experience, show enough income and health insurance with no co-payments or waiting periods, and have no criminal record.

Yes, if you have a commercial contract lasting at least three months with one or more companies outside Spain. You will have to register in the self-employed scheme (RETA). If you do not register after getting the permit, it can be cancelled.

According to the Ministry of Inclusion, work income equal to 200% of the monthly minimum wage (SMI) for the main applicant. For the second person in the family unit, 75% of the SMI is required, and 25% for each additional member.

It depends. If you are an employee, you can only work for the company abroad that you applied with. If you are a freelance professional, you can work for a Spanish company under a professional (not employment) relationship, as long as it does not exceed 20% of your total professional activity.

If you are in Spain legally, you can apply directly for the permit. With a valid student stay it is possible if you were registered with Social Security when you started working for the company abroad. With non-lucrative residence, remote work done before does not count. Other cases, such as entering as a tourist, are studied one by one.

The visa lasts up to one year. The permit lasts up to three years and is renewed for periods of two years while the conditions are met. Renewal is processed online and, once you file it, the permit stays valid until a decision is made.

Yes: spouse or partner, minor or dependent children and dependent parents, at the same time as you or later. Each one pays the fee and must meet the personal requirements. According to the Ministry, family members can work in Spain.

The consulate has ten working days to decide on the visa, unless other countries need to be consulted. The residence permit has a maximum of twenty days from the online filing and, if there is no decision, it is granted by default (positive silence).

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Sources