Employee, director, entrepreneur or remote worker and who can enter

Key rules

• Residence history: You must not have been resident in Spain in the previous five tax years, whatever your job.
• Director stake: Directors generally must not hold 25% or more of the company at the time of the move.
• Remote worker: Remote workers need the telework visa or authorisation and can do only marginal work for Spanish companies.
• Freelancers: Ordinary freelancers with general clients do not qualify.

The short answer

Your job decides your route in. Employees, company directors, entrepreneurs and remote workers can each qualify, with conditions. An ordinary freelancer with general clients cannot. Whatever your job, you must not have been resident in Spain in the previous five tax years.

Employees

You qualify if you move to Spain because of an employment contract with a Spanish employer. A posting also works: a foreign employer sends you to work for a Spanish entity.

• The work must really be done in Spain, and the Spanish employer must benefit from it.
• Your income should not run through a permanent establishment (a fixed foreign business base in Spain). The exception is services provided to Spanish-resident entities.

Company directors

You can qualify as a director (administrator) if the role is genuine. The main limit is ownership: you generally must not hold 25% or more of the company, directly or indirectly, at the time of the move. This limit does not apply to directors of companies that are not asset-holding and not in the special regime.

Entrepreneurs and startup professionals

You can qualify if you start an entrepreneurial activity that is new and innovative. It needs an economic activity report from ENISA, the state innovation body. Founders can qualify this way.

Highly qualified professionals can also qualify. They provide services to startups certified under the Startup Law, or do training or R&D&I (research, development and innovation) work. Those services must make up a set share of what you do. Ask ENISA for the current certification rules before you plan around this route.

Remote workers

Since 2023, remote workers can qualify if they move to Spain under the international telework visa or authorisation. You must work only by IT means for a company outside Spain, and the company must be genuine.

Work for Spanish companies must stay marginal: no more than 20% of your total professional activity. Check the current treatment of that limit and the telework criteria before you apply.

Freelancers

Ordinary freelancers who serve general clients do not qualify. Generic freelance work gives no access.

A self-employed person can qualify only in one of three ways:

• as a highly qualified professional serving certified startups, or doing training or R&D&I work;
• as an entrepreneur with an ENISA-reported activity;
• as a remote worker under the telework rules.

If you are a freelancer, confirm your route with a Spanish tax adviser before you move.

Work done in Spain for a foreign employer

Work you physically do in Spain is taxed in Spain under the regime. It does not matter where your employer is or where you are paid. Work done outside Spain is generally not taxed in Spain under the regime. So the days you spend working in Spain matter, especially if you are a remote worker.

The questions below answer common edge cases.

Frequently asked questions

Can I qualify as a freelancer with ordinary clients?

No, ordinary freelancers who serve general clients do not qualify. Self-employed people can qualify only as highly qualified professionals serving certified startups, as entrepreneurs with an innovative activity, or as remote workers under the telework rules.

How much work for Spanish companies can a remote worker do?

Work for Spanish companies must be marginal, and no more than 20% of your total professional activity. You must work exclusively by IT means for a genuine non-Spanish company, under the international telework visa or authorisation.

Can a company director qualify if they own part of the company?

Yes, a director can qualify if the post is a genuine administrator role and, in most cases, you hold less than 25% of the company at the time of the move. The limit does not apply to directors of entities that are not asset holding or in the special regime.

Is work I do in Spain for a foreign employer taxed in Spain?

Yes, work you physically do in Spain counts as Spanish income wherever your employer is located or pays you.