Your digital nomad visa application file

Key rules

• Qualification: You need a recognised degree, a postgraduate or vocational qualification, or at least 3 years of professional experience.

What the file must prove

Your file has to prove three things: you work remotely for companies or clients outside Spain, you have worked with them for long enough, and you have the qualifications or experience for your field. Your contract type and how much Spanish work you do decide whether the evidence is accepted.

You must also show monthly income of at least 200% of the monthly minimum salary (SMI), worked out from the yearly minimum salary paid in 14 payments. In 2026 that is €2,849 a month. The amount goes up by 75% of the monthly minimum salary for the first family member and by 25% for each further member. With a spouse and one child you show €4,273.50 a month.

Proof of remote work for foreign companies

What you show depends on how you work:

• Employee of a foreign company: an employment contract or a letter from the company. Add papers proving the company exists and has operated for at least one year, such as registration or incorporation documents. Also include a letter authorising remote work and details of your position and its duration.
• Freelancer: service contracts and invoices with your foreign clients.
• Owner or shareholder of a foreign company: company registration papers and proof of your ownership.

The minimum relationship

Your work relationship with the foreign company or clients must have existed for at least 3 months before you apply. Show it with contracts, engagement letters, invoices or payment records that cover that whole period. If your newest client is less than 3 months old, use older contracts and invoices to cover the full 3 months.

The cap on Spanish work

Work for Spanish companies or clients may not exceed 20% of your total professional activity. It is measured as a share of your total work or income. Contracts and invoices are what show it, so keep Spanish and foreign work easy to tell apart.

Qualification or experience

You need one of these:

• A degree from a university of recognised prestige.
• A postgraduate or vocational qualification.
• At least 3 years of professional experience in the relevant field.

For a qualification, supply the certificate. For experience, supply a CV plus letters from employers or clients that show it.

Paperwork and filing

Foreign documents must be apostilled or legalised, then translated into Spanish. Allow time for this before you file.

If you are lawfully in Spain, including on a tourist stay, you can file online with the Large Business Unit, UGE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos). That route is electronic and often used with a representative.

The rest of the file

Besides the work and qualification evidence, the file holds:

• the visa application form, your passport and a photo;
• a criminal record certificate from every country you lived in during the last 5 years;
• private health insurance valid in Spain;
• proof that you paid the €80 visa fee.

The criminal record certificate is valid for 3 months from issue.

Fees, decision and permit length

The residence authorisation costs €73.78, paid with modelo 790 code 038. The Large Business Unit decides within 20 working days from admission of the file; if it gives no answer in that time, the application is treated as approved. A file lodged at a consulate follows the same 20 working days from admission, and the consulate then issues the visa. The first authorisation is valid for up to 3 years. If your application is refused, you can file a recurso de reposición within 1 month, or go to the administrative court within 2 months.

If you bring family

• Spouse: can be included in your application or apply later, proved with the marriage certificate.
• Registered partner: can join your application when the partnership is entered in a public register, with the registration certificate.
• Unmarried, unregistered partner: no automatic right. Spain facilitates entry and decides on proof of a durable relationship.
• Children: minor children, and adult children who depend on you, can be included, with the birth certificate and, for adults, proof of dependence.

If you are a UK citizen

The Withdrawal Agreement does not apply to this visa; you apply as a non-EU national under the same rules.

Timeline and deadlines

• Gather contracts, engagement letters, invoices or payment records covering the full 3 months: Before you start the application

• Get foreign documents apostilled or legalised and translated into Spanish: Before you file, as these documents must be ready with the application

• File at the consulate if you are outside Spain, or online if you are lawfully in Spain: Once the full file is ready and the 3 months are complete