Digital Nomad & Residency · Spain
Spain digital nomad visa & residency (2026)
Spain shaded by its digital nomad & residency status
Spain introduced a dedicated Digital Nomad Visa ('Visado/Autorización de Residencia para Teletrabajo de Carácter Internacional') under Law 28/2022, in force since January 2023, allowing non-EU/EEA remote workers to live in Spain while employed by or freelancing for companies based primarily abroad. The visa offers a pathway to long-term residency and includes access to a preferential flat 24% income-tax rate under the Special Expatriate Tax Regime (Beckham Law). Spain's separate Golden Visa (residency-by-investment) was formally abolished in April 2025.
Key points
The Autorización de Residencia para Teletrabajo Internacional was created by Ley 28/2022 (BOE, 22 Dec 2022), entering into force 1 January 2023. It covers both employed remote workers and freelancers/self-employed whose clients are predominantly outside Spain.
Consulate applications yield a 1-year visa; in-country applications grant a 3-year residence authorisation renewable for 2-year increments, with eligibility for long-term (permanent) residency after 5 years of continuous legal stay.
Applicants must show minimum monthly income of 200% of Spain's Minimum Interprofessional Salary (SMI), approximately €2,850/month for a single applicant in 2026 (based on Royal Decree 126/2026 SMI update), plus 75%/25% of SMI for the first/subsequent dependents. A recognised university degree or at least 3 years of relevant professional experience is also required.
Qualifying DNV holders may opt into Spain's Special Expatriate Tax Regime (Régimen especial de trabajadores desplazados, colloquially 'Beckham Law') via Form 149 within 6 months of Social Security registration, paying a flat 24% rate on Spanish-sourced income up to €600,000/year instead of progressive IRPF rates of up to 47%.
Spain's investor residency programme (minimum €500,000 real-estate investment, operative 2013–2025) was formally terminated by Organic Law 1/2025, published 3 January 2025, with new applications closed from 3 April 2025. Existing holders may renew under original conditions provided they maintain qualifying investments.
Alternatives include the Autónomo (Self-Employed) Visa for those operating a business in Spain under RETA social-security registration, the Non-Lucrative Visa (passive income only; active remote work now typically disqualifies applicants), and the EU Blue Card for highly qualified employment. The DNV remains the primary recommended route for most remote workers.
Timeline - major decisions & events
The 90-day transitional period established by Organic Law 1/2025 expired on 3 April 2025, permanently ending the investor residency (Golden Visa) programme; approximately 14,576 permits had been granted since 2013, with 94% linked to real-estate purchases of €500,000+.
Plataforma ONE – Spanish Government ↗Organic Law 1/2025 (dated 2 January, published 3 January 2025) struck Articles 63–67 from Law 14/2013, ending Spain's real-estate investor residency pathway after 11 years and triggering a 90-day window for pending applications to proceed under the old rules.
Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) ↗At its 9 April 2024 session, Spain's Council of Ministers reached consensus to end the investor residency visa, citing its contribution to unaffordable housing prices in Madrid, Barcelona, and coastal cities; the political decision launched the legislative process that produced Organic Law 1/2025.
La Moncloa – Spanish Government ↗Roughly two months after intake opened, Spanish consulates issued the first approved Digital Nomad Visas, confirming the programme was fully operational; successful applicants receive a 1-year consular visa (from abroad) renewable into a 3-year residence permit, extendable to 5 years.
Spain Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Consulate London (exteriores.gob.es) ↗The fiscal provisions of Ley 28/2022 took effect on 1 January 2023, explicitly expanding the Beckham Law 24% flat-rate special expat tax regime to international teleworkers holding the new remote-work visa — a major financial incentive not available under the prior non-lucrative visa route.
BOE – Ley 28/2022 ↗Spain's Startups Law (Ley 28/2022 de 21 de diciembre, BOE-A-2022-21739) was published 22 December and entered into force 28 December 2022; it created the 'visado para trabajo a distancia de carácter internacional' for non-EU remote workers, establishing the entire current legal framework for nomad and remote-worker residency in Spain.
BOE – Ley 28/2022 (BOE-A-2022-21739) ↗Ley 14/2013 de Apoyo a los Emprendedores established Spain's first non-standard residency pathways for non-EU nationals: a Golden Visa (investor residency requiring €500k+ in real estate or €1M+ in capital) and an entrepreneur visa for innovative-project founders; it was the foundational economic immigration framework that the 2022 Startups Law later built upon and whose Golden Visa pillar was abolished in 2025.
BOE – Ley 14/2013 (BOE-A-2013-10074) ↗Spain - other topics
Last verified 5/24/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Explore the full world map →