Nomad life in Spain
Spain's digital nomad visa: requirements and how to apply
Who qualifies for Spain's international telework visa, the 2026 income threshold for you and your family, the document list with apostille and translation notes, how consulates differ, and when filing from inside Spain is the better route. Checked against official sources, October 2026.
By EzyHop teamPublished Last updated 14 min read
You qualify for Spain's digital nomad visa if you are a non-EU adult who works remotely for an employer or clients based outside Spain, have worked with them for at least three months, hold a degree or three years of professional experience, and earn at least twice Spain's monthly minimum wage (about €2,442 gross a month as of October 2026). From abroad you apply for a visa at the Spanish consulate for where you live; if you are already in Spain legally, you file online for a residence authorization with the Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos (UGE).
The legal name is teletrabajo de carácter internacional, international telework, and the rules sit in articles 74 bis to 74 quinquies of Ley 14/2013. This guide follows that law, the UGE's telework page and its document sheets as of October 2026. Consulates add their own requirements, so for a visa application your consulate's page has the last word.
The conditions, one line each
Check every line before you pay for a single apostille. Each one comes from the law or the UGE's official FAQ.
- Nationality. You are not an EU citizen, and EU free-movement law does not apply to you.
- Age. 18 or older.
- Fully remote work. The job runs on computers and telecoms alone. Roles that need on-site supervision, staff management or sales visits do not qualify.
- Who pays you. Employees may work only for companies based outside Spain. Freelancers may also bill Spanish clients, as long as that work stays at or below 20% of their total professional activity.
- Three months already. Your employment or freelance relationship with the foreign company started at least three months before you apply.
- A company with a year behind it. The company or group you work for has at least one year of real, continuous activity.
- Qualifications. A degree or postgraduate degree from a recognized university, vocational training or a recognized business school, or at least three years of professional experience.
- Clean record. No criminal record in Spain or in the countries you lived in. The law asks for certificates covering the last two years plus a signed declaration covering five (article 62). Consulates often ask for more, as the consulate section below shows.
- Legal status. You are not in Spain irregularly.
- Insurance and income. Qualifying health cover and enough income for you and any family, both explained below.
Does your situation fit?
These are the cases that trip people up most often. The answers come from the UGE's FAQ and its document sheet for applicants.
| Your situation | Fits this route? |
|---|---|
| Employee of a company abroad with no Spanish office | Yes, if the company has a year of activity and you have three months with it |
| Employee of a company that has a Spanish branch | No. The UGE treats this as an intra-company transfer, a separate permit |
| Freelancer with mostly foreign clients and some Spanish ones | Yes, while Spanish work stays at or below 20% and is freelance, never employment |
| Sole owner of your own foreign company, working through it | Yes, with extra proof (see the documents section) |
| Living in Spain on a non-lucrative residence permit | No. That permit bans work, so remote work done under it cannot count |
| In Spain on a study stay that allows work | Yes, if you were registered with Spanish Social Security from the day you started working for the foreign company |
| Your profession is regulated in Spain | Yes, with your degree recognized in Spain or a notarized declaration that you will not practice that profession here |
One more trap: proof of an employment contract does not count as proof of a freelance relationship, and the other way round. Submit the evidence that matches how you are actually paid.
Consulate or in-Spain filing: which route is yours
| Consulate visa | Residence authorization from inside Spain | |
|---|---|---|
| Who uses it | You live outside Spain | You are in Spain legally on the day you file |
| Where you file | The Spanish consulate for where you live: in person at some (New York), by post at others (Houston) | Online, through the Ministry of Inclusion's electronic office (sede electrónica) |
| Digital certificate | Not needed | Needed, or a legal representative files for you |
| Fee, as of October 2026 | Set by each consulate, sometimes by nationality | €73.26 per application (form 790, code 038) |
| What you get | A visa valid for up to one year | An authorization valid for up to three years |
| Decision deadline in the law | Ten working days; consulates say it can run longer if they call you for an interview or ask for more documents | Twenty days from electronic filing; no answer by then counts as approval |
| Next step | In the sixty days before the visa expires, apply to the UGE for the residence authorization | Get your foreigner identity card (TIE), then renew every two years |
Durations and deadlines come from article 74 quater, article 75 and article 76; the UGE fee comes from its FAQ. The UGE is blunt that you cannot request the residence authorization from abroad: outside Spain, the consulate visa is the only way in.
For the in-Spain route, article 74 quinquies asks only that you be in Spain de forma regular. It does not require an existing residence permit, and the Houston consulate's telework page says the same thing in plain English: if you are traveling to or already in Spain, you can apply there without a visa first.
A rule of thumb. If you can enter Spain legally without a visa, can file while your permitted stay is still running, and can get a digital certificate or a representative, the in-Spain route is usually the better deal. You get up to three years instead of one, the law asks for two years of criminal records instead of the five that New York and Houston want, and there is no consulate appointment to chase. If you need a visa just to enter Spain, or you want the decision before you move, apply at your consulate.
The income rule, as a share of the minimum wage
The threshold is a multiple of the salario mínimo interprofesional (SMI), Spain's minimum wage, which a royal decree resets each year. For 2026, Real Decreto 126/2026 sets it at €1,221 a month, applied from 1 January 2026. The UGE's document sheet asks for 200% of the SMI for you, 75% more for a second person such as a partner, and 25% more for each person after that.
As of October 2026, that works out as follows. The euro figures match the ones the Houston consulate publishes.
| Household | Share of the SMI | Gross monthly income, as of October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| You alone | 200% | about €2,442 |
| You and a partner | 275% | about €3,358 |
| You, a partner and one child | 300% | about €3,663 |
| You, a partner and two children | 325% | about €3,968 |
All amounts are gross, before tax and social security deductions. A consulate page may still show a figure based on an older minimum wage; the UGE sheet says the SMI in force (vigente) is what counts, so check the decree for the year you apply.
The income has to come from the contract your application rests on. Send payslips or invoices for the three months before you apply, plus a bank certificate for the same months, stamped or signed by the bank, with the matching payments marked separately. If you fall short, savings can cover the gap, but a bank certificate must show they cover the difference for the whole length of the authorization. If you work through your own company and lack those documents, the UGE accepts your personal income tax return for the previous year instead.
Documents: what to gather and how to prepare it
This follows the UGE's sheet for in-Spain applications. Consulates ask for close equivalents, as the New York consulate's telework visa page shows.
| Document | Where it comes from | Preparation |
|---|---|---|
| Application form (MI-T at the UGE; the national visa form at a consulate) | UGE or consulate website | Signed by you |
| Passport, copy of every page | You | New York asks for one year of validity, two blank pages, and a passport issued less than ten years ago |
| Proof the fee is paid (form 790, code 038, at the UGE) | Paid online before you file | Keep the reference number (NRC) |
| Contract showing at least three months with your employer or clients | Employer or clients | Sworn translation if not in Spanish |
| Company letter: permission to work from Spain, your role and main duties, a statement that the work can be done remotely, your pay in euros | Employer or main client | Sworn translation |
| Commercial registry certificate showing at least one year of activity | Company registry in the company's country | Apostille or legalization, plus sworn translation |
| Payslips or invoices, and the bank certificate, for the last three months | You and your bank | Sworn translation |
| Degree, or proof of three years of experience (official employment history plus employer certificates with dates and duties) | University, employers, social security office | Apostille the public documents, plus sworn translation |
| CV | You | A simple translation is enough |
| Criminal record certificate for each country you lived in during the last two years | That country's police or justice authority | Apostille or legalization, plus sworn translation |
| Signed declaration of no criminal record in the last five years | You | None |
| Health insurance certificate | Your insurer | See the insurance section |
| Social security documents | Employer, or your home social security office | See the Social Security section |
If you own the company you work for, the UGE asks for more: proof that you own or control it, its latest corporate tax return, proof of investment in productive assets, and a report from your home social security body listing the employees it has registered. Your three months of relationship are assumed if you prove full ownership and a year of real activity.
Apostilles and translations. Foreign public documents must be apostilled or legalized. Translations must come from a sworn translator (traductor intérprete jurado) authorized by Spain's foreign ministry, which explains both on its legalization and apostille page. The UGE also recommends a short cover letter explaining any document that does not match the list exactly.
If you already hold a Spanish stay or residence permit of more than six months and supplied a criminal record certificate for it, the UGE does not ask for a new one.
Where consulates ask for more
Two US consulates show how much the visa side can differ. Both pages were checked in October 2026; yours may differ again.
| New York | Houston | |
|---|---|---|
| NIE before you apply | Yes | Yes |
| Criminal records | FBI check with apostille, issued within six months, plus a record from any country where you lived six months or more in the last five years | FBI check with federal apostille, issued within six months, plus records from the countries you lived in during the last five years |
| How you submit | In person, by appointment requested by email | By post, with a possible interview |
| Visa fee | Listed in the consulate's fee schedule | $190 for US citizens, $106 for many other nationalities |
The practical takeaway: start with the criminal records and the NIE, because neither consulate takes an application without them.
Health insurance: what the exclusions mean
The UGE accepts public cover through Spanish Social Security, or private insurance with a company authorized to operate in Spain. It rejects three kinds of policy by name:
- travel insurance
- policies that only reimburse you after you pay
- policies with waiting periods (carencia) or copayments (copago)
So the policy has to work like full health cover in Spain from day one, with no charge per visit. New York's wording is that it must cover all the risks the Spanish public health system covers. Houston adds no deductible and no coverage limit, and does not accept an insurance card as proof. Ask your insurer for a certificate, in Spanish, that states each of these points explicitly.
If you file from inside Spain and will join Spanish Social Security once approved, the UGE sheet says you do not need to send insurance documents with the application. If instead you keep your home country's social security through a certificate, and that agreement does not include Spanish public healthcare, you need a qualifying private policy.
Social Security: employee or freelancer
How you are paid decides your scheme.
- Employees join Spain's general scheme (Régimen General). Your foreign employer must first register with Spanish Social Security as a company with no workplace in Spain, and commit to registering you once you are approved and before you start. The alternative is a certificate from your home social security system, issued under an agreement with Spain, stating that it covers you working remotely from Spain. A pending request for that certificate is not accepted.
- Freelancers register as self-employed in the RETA scheme. Keeping your home coverage is not an option here. The UGE warns that if a later review finds you never registered, the authorization is ended for you and your family.
Under article 76.5, your passport is enough to register with Social Security during your first six months if you do not have an NIE yet.
Filing from inside Spain, step by step
- Check your status on the filing date. Filing extends your current stay or residence until the decision, so submit while it is still valid.
- Get a digital certificate, or appoint a legal representative. The UGE's applications page has the forms and the certificate information.
- Pay the fee online with form 790, code 038 (€73.26 per initial application as of October 2026, for you and for each family member). Someone else can pay it for you, as long as your details are entered as the applicant.
- Fill in form MI-T for yourself and form MI-F for each family member applying with you.
- Upload everything with your cover letter. The UGE can ask for more documents at any point, so check your notifications.
- Count twenty days from filing. If no decision arrives, the law treats the application as approved by administrative silence.
After approval
- Visa holders. The visa itself lets you live and work remotely in Spain while it is valid, and article 75.4 says you do not need a TIE for it. In the sixty days before it expires, apply to the UGE for the residence authorization.
- TIE card. A residence authorization longer than six months needs a foreigner identity card (article 76.2). Book the police appointment as soon as you are approved: Spain's Ottawa embassy page warns that slots can be several weeks away.
- Padrón. Article 15 of Ley 7/1985 obliges everyone living in Spain to register with the town hall where they usually live (empadronamiento). Do it once you have an address.
- Social Security. Register in the right scheme before you start working from Spain.
- Tax. You may be able to opt into the special regime for people who move to Spain to work, often called the Beckham law; the Tax Agency names teleworkers among the groups with specific requirements for it. Its deadline page says you file form 149 electronically within six months of the start date on your Social Security registration. Talk to a tax adviser well before that window closes.
- Changes. Report any change to the conditions of your authorization, such as a new employer, to the UGE within thirty days.
- Renewal. The authorization renews for two years at a time while you still meet the conditions. Filing on time keeps it valid until the decision. Article 76.3 also accepts a renewal filed up to ninety days after expiry, but you may face a penalty procedure for the delay.
Order the slow documents first
- Decide your route with the rule of thumb above.
- Order the slow documents: criminal record certificates and their apostilles, your company's registry certificate, and the remote-work letter from your employer or main client.
- If you are going through a consulate, request the NIE early: New York and Houston both want it before they accept your application.
- Book a sworn translator once the originals arrive, and ask your insurer for the Spanish-language certificate.
- Open your consulate's telework visa page on exteriores.gob.es, or the UGE sheet, and tick it off line by line against the tables above.
Staying connected in Spain while you apply
Keep your home SIM in the phone through the whole process. Banks and many other services send one-time codes by text, and you will need them while you gather documents, pay fees and set up Spanish Social Security. A data eSIM sits alongside that SIM, so the codes keep arriving while maps, email and WhatsApp run on local data. Leave data roaming off on the home line, so the only data you use abroad is the eSIM's.
If you file from inside Spain, you will be uploading scanned passports, contracts and bank certificates to the sede electrónica, sometimes before your flat has broadband. Tethering a laptop from your phone works for that, but check that your plan allows hotspot use before you buy; our FAQ explains how. A Spanish contract can wait until you have your TIE and a local bank account.
Check your phone on our compatibility page, then compare the Spain eSIM plans from $3.99. If your process includes trips to other countries, for example to collect documents or for a consulate appointment, a Europe plan covers several countries on one eSIM.
We email your eSIM as soon as you pay, with a QR code and a one-tap install link, and you can top up from your account. The iPhone and Android guides cover the install.
Sources
- BOE: Ley 14/2013, de apoyo a los emprendedores y su internacionalización (consolidated text), checked 28 October 2026
- BOE: Real Decreto 126/2026, salario mínimo interprofesional para 2026, checked 28 October 2026
- BOE: Ley 7/1985, reguladora de las Bases del Régimen Local, article 15, checked 28 October 2026
- Ministry of Inclusion, UGE: Teletrabajadores de carácter internacional, checked 28 October 2026
- Ministry of Inclusion, UGE: Frequently asked questions, international teleworkers (English), checked 28 October 2026
- Ministry of Inclusion, UGE: Preguntas frecuentes, nómadas digitales (Spanish), checked 28 October 2026
- Ministry of Inclusion, UGE: Solicitudes iniciales de autorización para teletrabajadores de carácter internacional (document sheet), checked 28 October 2026
- Ministry of Inclusion, UGE: Solicitudes, checked 28 October 2026
- Consulate General of Spain in New York: Telework visa, checked 28 October 2026
- Consulate General of Spain in Houston: Telework Visa (Digital Nomad Visa), checked 28 October 2026
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Legalización y apostilla, checked 28 October 2026
- Embassy of Spain in Ottawa: Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE), checked 28 October 2026
- Agencia Tributaria: Plazo para el ejercicio de la opción por el régimen especial (Manual práctico de Renta 2025), checked 28 October 2026
- Agencia Tributaria: Ejercicio de la opción por el régimen especial, familiares (Manual práctico de Renta 2025), checked 28 October 2026
Frequently asked questions
- Can I apply from inside Spain if I arrived as a tourist?
- Article 74 quinquies of Ley 14/2013 lets anyone who is in Spain regularly file with the UGE, and it does not require an existing residence permit. File while your permitted stay is still running; under article 76, filing extends it until the decision.
- How much is the application fee?
- As of October 2026, the UGE charges €73.26 for each initial application, for the main applicant and for each family member, paid online with form 790 code 038 before you file. Consulate visa fees are set by each consulate and can depend on your nationality, so check your consulate's page.
- Do I need a TIE card if I enter on the telework visa?
- No. Article 75.4 of Ley 14/2013 says these visas authorize residence without a TIE. You need a TIE once you hold a residence authorization of more than six months, for example after switching from the visa to the UGE authorization.
- Can my partner and children work in Spain too?
- Yes. The UGE's FAQ says family members who get their authorization through you may live and work in Spain without restrictions, as employees or self-employed.
- Can I apply from a student stay permit?
- The UGE's FAQ says yes, if your study stay allows work and you have been registered with Spanish Social Security since you started working for the foreign company.
- Can I switch to another type of permit later?
- Yes. While you still meet the telework conditions, the UGE says you can apply at any time for another authorization under Ley 14/2013, provided you meet its requirements.
- Does the income have to come from my job?
- Yes. The UGE asks for income from the employment or freelance contract your application rests on, proved with payslips or invoices and matching bank records. Savings can only make up a shortfall, and must cover it for the whole authorization.
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