Digital nomad visa Spain — requirements checker

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.

Not working remotely — living on pensions, rentals or savings? That's the non-lucrative visa instead: run the NLV checker. Coming to Spain to eventually work locally? Browse live English-friendly jobs, check what roles pay, and read the permits guide.