Spain quietly opened its Digital Nomad Visa in January 2023. The income bar is EUR 2,762 a month. The Startups Law gives you up to three years on first approval, renewable to five — plus an optional 24% flat tax for up to six.
Spain's Digital Nomad Visa is one of Europe's friendliest long-stay permits — generous on time, light on income proof, and uniquely paired with a 24% flat-tax option. The headline figures, in one place.
The DNV is for highly qualified remote workers paid from outside Spain — employees of foreign companies, or freelancers whose Spanish-client share is under 20%. Not for retirees (that's the Non-Lucrative Visa), and not for people invoicing mostly Spanish clients (that's the cuenta propia route).
Read the visa guideApply at the Spanish consulate in your country of residence (1-year visa, exchange for the TIE on arrival), or fly in on the Schengen tourist stamp and file directly with the UGE-CE in Madrid (3-year residence permit, no need to leave).
Open the checklistWithin 30 days of receiving your residence permit, book the cita previa for fingerprints and pick up your TIE. After 5 years of legal residence, you become eligible for permanent residency — and after 10 (or 2, with an Iberoamerican passport) for citizenship.
Long-term residencyThe visa is the easy part. The harder part is choosing where to actually live.— Nômade España
Banking, health insurance, and a SIM — three things you can sort online before you board the plane, no Spanish post-office queue required.
The bridge account every nomad in Spain needs. Hold USD, GBP, and EUR in one place; receive your foreign income; convert at the real exchange rate. Spanish-area IBAN for SEPA. Most nomads keep using it after their Spanish bank opens.
Open a Wise account → ii. InsuranceHealth cover that meets the Spanish DNV requirement: full private medical coverage in Spain, no co-payments, no deductibles. Cheapest of the compliant options for nomads under 40, simple to buy online. Your visa needs proof of cover — this is the easiest path.
Get a SafetyWing quote → iii. ConnectivityAn eSIM you can install before you board. Spain eSIMs from ~USD 5 for 1 GB. Order an Uber from MAD/BCN/AGP before you've cleared customs and skip the week of fumbling for a Spanish SIM (which needs your NIE anyway).
Browse Airalo Spain eSIMs →The country sub-divides into character, not just into autonomías. Pick the one that fits the life you actually want.
Twenty cities. One country.
Browse all 20 citiesThe six questions we get most often about Spain's Digital Nomad Visa. Click any to expand.
Officially, 20 working days at a Spanish consulate or 20 working days at the UGE-CE in Madrid if you apply from inside Spain. End-to-end with document gathering, apostilles, and sworn translations, expect 60–120 days. The in-Spain UGE route issues a 3-year residence permit on first approval; the consular route issues a 1-year visa that you exchange for the TIE card after arrival.
US, UK, Canadian, and Australian citizens can enter Spain visa-free for up to 90 days within any 180-day period under Schengen. From late 2026, the EU's ETIAS pre-authorisation may apply (~EUR 7, valid 3 years). Note that the DNV can be applied for either at a Spanish consulate in your country of residence, or from inside Spain on a tourist stamp via the UGE-CE in Madrid. See the routes side-by-side →
If you stay more than 183 days in any calendar year, you become a Spanish tax resident on worldwide income. Critically, the Beckham Law was extended to DNV holders by Ley 28/2022: you can opt for a flat 24% on Spanish-sourced income up to EUR 600,000 for up to six years. Speak with a gestor or asesor fiscal before you cross 183 days.
Yes — spouses, registered partners (parejas de hecho), dependent children, and dependent ascendants qualify as accompanying family. Income required rises by 75% of the SMI for the first dependant (~EUR 1,036/mo) and 25% for each additional (~EUR 345/mo). Marriage and birth certificates must be apostilled and sworn-translated into Spanish.
At least 200% of Spain's monthly minimum wage (the SMI) — roughly EUR 2,762/mo or EUR 33,144/year in 2025. Most consulates ask for proof of consistent income over the prior 3–12 months: ongoing client contracts, recent payslips, or invoices and bank statements. See the income-proof breakdown →
You don't strictly need it before arriving, but it is the single most useful piece of paperwork to have early. The NIE — Número de Identidad de Extranjero is required for renting, opening a Spanish bank account, signing utility contracts, and getting a Spanish phone plan. See the step-by-step →
Have a question we didn't cover? Send us a message →
A small sample from our full directory of Spanish immigration lawyers, gestorías, and real-estate agencies who work with foreigners. Independent listings, not endorsements.
Long-running Barcelona immigration firm with a substantial DNV practice and English-language intake. Transparent fixed fees, online-first onboarding, and detailed public guidance on the Startups Law.
balcellsgroup.comPan-Spanish network with English-speaking advisors in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Marbella, the Balearics, and the Canaries. Best fit for nomads buying or signing a long-term lease in major cities.
lucasfox.comCross-border firm advising US, UK, and Canadian clients on Spanish residency, the Beckham Law, and Modelo 720 alongside home-country filings. Offices in Alicante, Madrid, and Barcelona.
pellicerheredia.comDrop your email. We'll be in touch when there's something worth sharing — visa-rule updates, new city guides, the occasional Spain-only tax wrinkle.
We never sell or share your email.Open the checklist. Work through it as you go. Ping a lawyer when you hit anything you'd like a second pair of eyes on. A few months from now, you could be working from a Madrid plaza.