Application for the Digital Nomad Visa
Benefits
- Foreign nationals who wish to carry out remote work or professional activities for companies located outside Spain, using exclusively computer, telematic, or telecommunications means.
- Foreign nationals who perform salaried work for companies located outside Spain.
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Foreign nationals who carry out self-employed activities (as freelancers) and may also work for companies located in Spain, provided that the percentage of such work does not exceed 20% of their total activity.
- National visa application form: Each applicant, or their representative, must complete all sections and sign the visa application.
- A recent passport-size color photograph with a light background.
- Original and a photocopy of the page(s) containing biometric data from the passport. The passport must be valid for at least 1 year and have two blank pages. Passports issued more than 10 years ago are not accepted.
- The visa applicant must prove legal residence in the country where the application is submitted.
- If the visa is requested through a representative, a copy of the representative’s ID or passport and the power of attorney or document proving representation must be presented. Originals must be shown when submitting the application.
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Company certificate stating:
a) For salaried workers: the employee’s length of service (not less than three months) and the company’s express authorization for remote work.
b) For self-employed teleworkers: the length of the contractual relationship (not less than three months) and the terms and conditions under which the professional activity will be carried out remotely. - Certificate from the Commercial Registry (or equivalent authority) showing the company’s incorporation date (not less than one year) and the type of activity it carries out.
Responsible declaration (from the company or the self-employed worker) confirming the commitment to comply, prior to the start of the work or professional activity, with social security obligations.
a) For salaried teleworkers: proof of application for the company’s registration with Spanish Social Security and proof of the worker’s affiliation.
b) For self-employed workers: proof of registration with RETA (Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers).
The requirement for Social Security registration may be replaced by the portability of rights from the country of origin when there is an international Social Security agreement with Spain. In this case, the Social Security authority of the country of origin must issue a certificate of applicable legislation for teleworkers, based on said agreement, providing temporary coverage in Spain. This circumstance must be included in the responsible declaration. -
Documentation proving financial resources:
a)Teleworker: an amount representing 200% of the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) per month.
b) Family members: at least 75% of the SMI for the first dependent and at least 25% of the SMI for each additional member.
c) Any means of proof may be used (employment contract, firm job offer, or, in the case of professional activity, a commercial contract corresponding to the work to be performed, among others). Ownership, legality, and availability of the funds used as proof must be demonstrated. - Original and copy of a graduate or postgraduate degree from a recognized university, vocational training institution, or reputable business school. Alternatively, documents proving a minimum of three years of professional experience in similar roles to the position to be performed as an international teleworker. The experience must be equivalent to the required qualification and relevant to the remote work or professional activity authorized.
- For regulated professions, proof of recognition of the necessary qualification must be provided.
- If there are doubts about the equivalence of a vocational training qualification within the Spanish education system, proof of validation by the competent educational authority may be required.
- It is necessary to apply for a Foreign Identification Number (NIE) at the same time as the visa. For more information, see the “NIE Application for International Individuals” section on the ONE Platform.
- Not be in an irregular situation within Spanish territory.
- Be over 18 years of age.
- Have no criminal record in Spain and in the countries where you have resided during the last two years, for offenses under Spanish law. Additionally, a responsible declaration of the absence of criminal records for the last five years must be submitted.
- Not appear as inadmissible in the territorial space of countries with which Spain has signed an agreement to that effect.
- Have public or private health insurance contracted with an insurance company authorized to operate in Spain.
- Have sufficient financial resources for yourself and your family members during your stay in Spain.
- Pay the fee for processing the authorization or visa.
What steps should you follow?
Step 1. Complete the health form
Access the “Embassies and Consulates” page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation and download, fill out, and sign the national visa application form, specifying the reason for travel. In case of traveling with family members, you must submit an application for each member.
Step 2. Payment of the fee
Once the application form is completed, you must pay the fee at banks, savings banks, and credit cooperatives. The amount of the fee to apply for the visa depends on the applicant’s situation.
Step 3. Appointment request and submission of documentation
You must request an appointment at the Consular Office for visa processing.
The visa application must be submitted in person. Exceptionally, and for justified reasons, it may be allowed to submit the application through an accredited representative.
Step 4. Notification
Once the documentation has been submitted and the corresponding fee paid, the residence visa will be issued and notified to the contact information provided. From the notification date, you have only one month to collect the visa; otherwise, your visa will be canceled.
Leave the country immediately.
Under the general immigration regime, the following family members can be regrouped (minimum of 1 year of residence plus an additional year requested by the sponsor):
The foreign national may regroup the following family members in Spain:
- Spouse, provided they are not legally or de facto separated and the marriage was not entered into fraudulently. Under no circumstances may more than one spouse be regrouped, even if the foreign national’s personal law allows this type of marriage. A foreign resident who is married for the second or subsequent time may only regroup the new spouse and their relatives if they prove that the dissolution of previous marriages occurred through a legal procedure that determined the situation of the former spouse and their relatives regarding the shared home, spousal support, and child maintenance.
- Person maintaining a relationship analogous to marriage with the sponsor. For the purposes of this chapter, a relationship analogous to marriage will be considered to exist when:
- Such relationship is registered in a public registry established for this purpose and has not been canceled; or
- The existence of an unregistered relationship, established prior to the sponsor’s residence in Spain, is proven. For these purposes, without prejudice to the possible use of any legally admissible evidence, documents issued by a public authority will take precedence. The provisions relating to the spouse in the second and third paragraphs of section (a) above will apply to this case. Situations of marriage and analogous relationships will be incompatible for the purposes of this chapter.
- Children of the sponsor or of their spouse or partner, including adopted children, provided they are under eighteen years of age at the time of the application for residence authorization or have a disability and are objectively unable to meet their own needs due to their health condition. If the children belong to only one of the spouses or partners, it will also be required that this person exercises sole parental authority or has been granted custody and that the children are effectively in their care. In the case of adopted children, it must be proven that the adoption decision meets the necessary requirements to be effective in Spain.
- Persons legally represented by the sponsor, when they are under eighteen years of age at the time of the application for residence authorization or have a disability and are objectively unable to meet their own needs due to their health condition, provided that the legal act granting representative powers is not contrary to the principles of Spanish law.
- Ascendants in the first degree, or those of the spouse or partner, when they are dependent, over sixty-five years of age, and there are reasons justifying the need to authorize their residence in Spain. Exceptionally, when humanitarian reasons exist, ascendants under sixty-five years of age may be regrouped if they meet the other requirements mentioned above. Humanitarian reasons will be considered to exist, among other cases, when the ascendant lived with the sponsor in the country of origin at the time the latter obtained their authorization; when the ascendant is incapacitated and their guardianship has been granted by the competent authority in the country of origin to the foreign resident or their regrouped spouse or partner; or when the ascendant is objectively unable to meet their own needs.
Humanitarian reasons will also be considered when the sponsor’s ascendant, or that of their spouse or partner, is the spouse or partner of the other ascendant, and the latter is over sixty-five years of age. In this case, applications for residence authorization through family reunification may be submitted jointly, although the application of the age exception for the ascendant under sixty-five years will be conditional upon the authorization of the other ascendant being granted. If the competent authority has doubts about the existence of another reason for exemption from the age requirement, it will submit a prior consultation to the Directorate-General for Immigration.
Family members will be considered dependent on the sponsor when it is proven that, during at least the last year of their residence in Spain, the sponsor has transferred funds or borne expenses for their family member amounting to at least 51% of the annual per capita gross domestic product of the family member’s country of residence, as established by the National Statistics Institute in its indicators on income and economic activity by country and type of indicator.
Foreign nationals holding a long-term visa or a residence permit issued by one of the Member States may, under that permit and with a valid travel document, move freely for a maximum of three months within any six-month period throughout the territory of the other Member States, provided that:
- They meet the entry conditions set out in points (a), (c), and (e) of Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 establishing a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code), and
They are not listed as inadmissible in the national list of the Member State concerned.
The entry conditions are:
- Be in possession of a valid travel document granting the holder the right to cross the border and meeting the following criteria:
- It remains valid for at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States. In justified emergency cases, this obligation may be waived.
- It was issued within the previous ten years.
- Be in possession of documents justifying the purpose and conditions of the intended stay and have sufficient means of subsistence for both the intended period of stay and the return to the country of origin or onward travel to a third country where admission is guaranteed, or be able to obtain such means lawfully.
- Not be registered as inadmissible in Schengen Information System (SIS).
- Not pose a threat to public order, internal security, public health, or the international relations of any of the Member States, and in particular, not be listed as inadmissible in the national databases of any Member State for the same reasons.
- It should also be noted that a Member State may impose by law the obligation for third-country nationals to declare their presence in its territory in accordance with Article 22 of the Schengen Convention. Spain has imposed this obligation.
Initial applications for the visa for entrepreneurs are processed at the Spanish consulate in the country of residence by submitting the national visa application form and the required documentation.
Applications for residence authorizations regulated by Law 14/2013 must be submitted through the electronic headquarters of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, where you can find all the information about electronic processing.
The applicant, depending on the type of authorization, may be:
- For initial authorizations:
- In the case of investors and entrepreneurs: the foreign individual themselves.
- In the case of highly qualified professionals, researchers, or intra-company transfers: the company or entity requiring the foreign worker’s services.
- For family authorizations:
- If the application is submitted together with that of the main holder, it will be the main holder (in the case of investors and entrepreneurs) or the company/entity (in the case of highly qualified professionals, researchers, or intra-company transfers).
- If the application is submitted at another time, it may be one of the above or the family member themselves.
- Renewals are submitted by the foreign individual holding the authorization (family members apply for the renewal of their own authorization).
Applications may be submitted by the interested person themselves or through a representative.
The national visa application forms can be found on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, under the section for embassies and consulates. The official form to be submitted is the National Visa Application Form.
During their stay in Spain, the foreign national must have coverage either through public healthcare or private insurance.
It is not necessary to provide proof of insurance when there is a prospect that the foreign national (and their family members) will be covered by the National Health System, due to registration with Social Security as a result of an employment contract or a professional relationship.
In the case of entrepreneurs, if the activity is not going to start immediately, insurance policies with limited validity (for example, travel insurance, which usually lasts three months) are accepted.
In all other cases, a public or private health insurance policy contracted with an insurance company authorized to operate in Spain is required, providing coverage equivalent to that of the National Health System and for the duration of the authorization or at least one renewable year (travel insurance is not valid).
For inquiries about Social Security contributions, you can access the official website.
The law does not establish a specific amount or specific documentation. Therefore, you may prove that you have sufficient financial means by any legally admissible means of evidence. For example, with a job offer, pay slips, updated annual average balance of bank accounts, deposits, etc.
All documents must be translated into Spanish. In the case of foreign public documents, they must also bear the Hague Apostille or, failing that, have been legalized through diplomatic channels.
• You can find more information about document legalization at this link.
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