A new category of national visas and residence permits for remote workers (Nomadas digitales) is provided for by Spanish law Ley 28/2022, de 21 de diciembre, de fomento del ecosistema de las empresas emergentes, which amends the current Spanish law Ley 14/2013, de 27 de septiembre, de apoyo a los emprendedores y su internacionalización.
This is the most popular and one of the easiest programmes to move to Spain in 2023. However, in reality it can be quite difficult to determine whether you qualify for the programme and how to properly prepare the documents for a national visa and residence permit for a nomad.
In this article we've tried to answer the most common questions we are asked by clients during consultations so that you can understand the requirements more thoroughly.
1. You are considered a remote worker under Spanish law in the following circumstances:
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You are not a Spanish or EU citizen.
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You have an employment contract for remote work or you are an individual entrepreneur/self-employed and you have a contract for providing services/performing work remotely.
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You can confirm your total monthly income with a contract and a bank statement of income under the contract for at least the last 3 months.
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Your total monthly income is 200% of SMI, i.e. €2,520 in 2023.
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The company you have an employment or professional contract with is located outside Spain.
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The company you have a contract with must have been registered for at least 1 year.
2. Duration of the national visa or residence permit on the basis of nomad:
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The national visa is issued for a period of 1 year, with the possibility of staying in Spain for more than 90 days in each half of the year. The visa allows you to apply for a residence permit from the territory of Spain during the validity period of the visa.
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The maximum period of residence permit is 3 years with the possibility of extension for 2 years.
3. Period of processing of national visa and residence permit:
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National visa processing is 10 working days.
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Residence permit issuance is 20 working days.
4. Where to apply for a national visa and residence permit:
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The application for a national long-term visa is submitted to the Spanish Consulate in the territory of the country of your permanent stay (citizenship, residence permit, permanent residence permit).
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The application for a residence permit is submitted online in Spain.
5. If you plan to move with your family your total monthly contractual income should be 200% of SMI for the main applicant + 75% of SMI for the second family member and 25% of SMI for the third and subsequent family members. Therefore, the income for a family of 3 members would be €3,780 in 2023.
6. Family members include:
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Spouses, including a partner in a civil marriage.
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Children, including adult financially dependent children, if they do not have their own family.
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Parents.
7. A foreign company must register with Seguridad Social (the state social insurance authority in Spain) if the following conditions are met collectively:
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You are not registered with the social insurance authorities in a country that has a bilateral treaty with Spain on the recognition of social insurance payments.
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You are an employee of the specified company under an employment contract.
8. Key documents:
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Employment contract or contract of service / work remotely.
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Bank statement confirming the transfer of funds under the contract.
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Documents confirming higher education or 3 years of work experience in the speciality.
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Certificate of Incorporation of the Company. The company must have been incorporated for at least 1 year.
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A letter from the company, drafted according to the criteria defined in the law, confirming the ability to work / provide services / perform work remotely.
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Certificate of sole proprietorship registration / confirmation of self-employed status, if the applicant is a sole proprietor / self-employed.
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CV.
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Employee's social security registration certificate. The sole proprietor provides a letter of commitment to register for social benefits in Spain. For sole proprietorships, a number of additional requirements must also be met, including the registration of a sole proprietorship analogue in Spain.
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Certificate of no criminal record for the last 5 years (for some countries, the certificate must have an apostille and a certified translation into Spanish) with an expiry date of 90 days.
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Private medical insurance with full coverage throughout Spain, taken out with a company accredited in Spain.
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Proof of legal residence in Spain.
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Birth and marriage certificates (for some countries, the certificate must have an apostille and a certified translation into Spanish) when filing jointly with the family.
9. The registration of a sole proprietorship in Spain after the granting of a residence permit is mandatory for those applying for a residence permit as a sole proprietor or self-employed.
10. Taxes:
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If the applicant has not been resident in Spain for the last 5 years, he/she is entitled to a special tax regime. That is, he will be allowed to pay a flat rate of income tax of 24% on income up to €600,000 (as for a non-resident), rather than a progressive rate which can be as high as 48%.
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General tax regime
* We recommend consulting a tax expert to calculate taxes based on your individual situation.
10. Applicants who apply for a residence permit in the status of a sole proprietor or self-employed have the right to work in Spain, but income from a Spanish company must not exceed 20% of the applicant's total income. Family members have no restrictions related to working in Spain.
11. Additional requests exist at the moment in both national visa and residence permit processes. It should be noted that immigration authorities have the right to request any documents that are not on the mandatory list. You should take additional requests easily, because additional request means that the whole package of documents has been reviewed and the immigration authority is clarifying some details of your dossier. If the immigration authority has grounds for refusal, you are likely to receive a refusal rather than an additional request within the decision-making time frame.
12. In case of refusal, the reason for refusal is always indicated by the migration authorities. If the denial is unjustified, an appeal is filed.
13. If a decision on a national visa or residence permit is not provided within the specified time frame, you can request a decision on the "silencio positivo administrativo" procedure. If there is no answer, most often you just need to wait, because delays in the decisions of immigration authorities in Spain are quite a standard situation.
14. The resident's card must be requested within 1 month after receiving approval for a residence permit.
15. The optimal period for preparing documents for a national visa and residence permit on this basis is 2 months.
We always treat our customers honestly, so we do not provide guarantees that your move with us will be perfect and stress-free. Moving to another country is always a complicated process that rarely goes perfectly smoothly, regardless of whether you are dealing with this issue on your own or with the involvement of experts. It is important to be patient and calmly treat any situation in the process of obtaining a national visa or residence permit. What we definitely guarantee to our clients is that we will always be there for you in the process of applying for a national visa and residence permit in any difficult situation and will try to solve all problematic issues before you get the result you expect.