Digital nomad visa Spain — requirements checker
Answer six questions and see where you stand against Spain's digital nomad visa (Ley 28/2022) requirements — income threshold, remote-work rules, family add-ons. Orientation, not legal advice; nothing you type leaves your browser.
How the visa actually works
- The income bar is 200% of the SMI (Spain's minimum wage) — roughly €2,760 gross/month against the 2025 SMI; the number moves when the SMI does, so verify the current figure. Family adds +75% of the SMI for the first member, +25% each additional.
- Two application routes: from your country at the Spanish consulate (1-year visa, then swap to a residence permit) or from inside Spain while legally present, e.g. as a tourist (up to 3-year permit directly, via the UGE-CE fast-track unit — resolutions in ~20 working days).
- Employees vs freelancers: employees need an employer outside Spain that authorizes remote work; freelancers register as autónomo and may keep Spanish clients up to 20% of activity.
- It stacks toward residence: renewable to 5 years total, counts toward long-term residence and eventually nationality timelines.
- Taxes are the real planning question — see the Beckham-regime FAQ below, and spend one consultation fee before you commit; it usually pays for itself.
The Beckham law question (the tax side)
Spain's special impatriate regime — the "Beckham law" — is the reason the DNV math works for many applicants: instead of progressive rates, a flat 24% on Spanish-sourced employment income up to €600,000, for up to 6 tax years. The catches that matter: you must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the previous 5 years, you must opt in within 6 months of registering with social security, and the regime fits EMPLOYEES cleanly — freelancers (autónomos) generally don't qualify unless they route through the startup-law exceptions. Whether your setup fits is exactly the question worth one paid hour with a Spanish tax advisor before you apply; it changes the net math more than any other single decision.
Two follow-ups that dominate the searches. "Is the tax 15% or 24%?" — for you as an individual it's 24%; the 15% figure floating around is the reduced corporate rate for startup companies under the same law, not personal income tax. And double taxation: the US and the UK both have tax treaties with Spain, so the same income isn't taxed twice — though US citizens keep filing US returns regardless, with foreign tax credits doing the offsetting.
The W-2 question (the American stumbling block)
If you're a US employee on a W-2, the visa's social-security requirement is the part that breaks: Spain asks for a certificate of social-security coverage from your home country, and in practice the US does not issue one for this remote-work setup. That has made straight W-2 applications the most commonly rejected file among Americans. The workarounds people actually use: switching to contractor status (1099) with the same company, or the employer registering with Spanish social security — both conversations to have with your employer and an immigration lawyer before spending money on the application.
Common questions
How much income do I need for the Spain digital nomad visa?
The income requirement is 200% of the Spanish minimum wage (SMI). With the 2025 SMI that works out to roughly €2,760 gross per month; the figure moves whenever the SMI is updated, so verify the current number before applying. Bringing family raises it: +75% of the SMI for the first family member and +25% for each additional one.
Can I work for Spanish companies on this visa?
Mostly no. Employees must work remotely for companies outside Spain. Freelancers may invoice Spanish clients only up to 20% of their total activity — the visa exists for foreign-sourced remote work.
How long does the digital nomad visa last?
Applied from abroad at a consulate it is issued as a 1-year visa; applied from inside Spain (legally present) the residence permit is granted for up to 3 years, renewable in 2-year blocks. Time on it counts toward permanent residence — after 5 years you can apply for long-term resident status, and eventually nationality (10 years of residence for most, 2 for citizens of Ibero-American countries).
What are the income requirements in US dollars?
The bar is set in euros — roughly €2,760/month solo against the 2025 SMI — which lands in the neighborhood of $3,000/month at recent exchange rates. Consulates judge the euro figure, so if your income is dollar-denominated, leave a margin for currency movement rather than aiming at the bar exactly.
What is the approval success rate?
Spain publishes no official statistics. In practice the in-Spain UGE route approves complete files at a high rate, and most reported rejections trace to two things: the social-security certificate problem for US W-2 employees (see the W-2 section above) and income that is poorly documented rather than genuinely insufficient.
What is the official website to apply?
There are exactly two official routes: the Spanish consulate serving your place of residence (each lists its own process), and — applying from inside Spain — the UGE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas) under the Ministry of Inclusion, via its inclusion.gob.es portal. Most sites ranking for this search are law firms; the official pages live on gob.es domains.
Can Indians, Filipinos or other non-EU nationals apply?
Yes — the visa is open to all non-EU nationalities on the same requirements; there are no per-country quotas. What varies by country is the paperwork around the edges: how your criminal-record certificate gets legalized (apostille vs embassy legalization) and which documents need sworn translation into Spanish. The checklist of the consulate serving you is the authority.
Do EU citizens need the digital nomad visa?
No. EU/EEA/Swiss citizens can live and work remotely from Spain without any visa — you register as a resident (certificado de registro) and that is it. This visa exists for non-EU nationals.
What taxes will I pay as a digital nomad in Spain?
Many visa holders can opt into the special impatriate regime (the "Beckham law"): a flat 24% on Spanish-sourced employment income up to €600,000 for up to 6 years, instead of progressive rates. Whether it applies to your setup (especially for freelancers) is exactly the question worth one paid consultation with a Spanish tax advisor.