Update October 2023: My fiancé, Matt, and I have officially been approved for the digital nomad visa! Learn more about its requirements and how to apply in my most updated blog post about the Spain digital nomad visa.
One year and two months ago, I wrote one of the saddest blog posts I’ve written in my four-and-a-half years of being The Girl Who Goes: it was my goodbye to Spain and Madrid, which had been my home for the two years prior. Not only was I saying goodbye, I was saying it in the worst way — without getting a chance to say many goodbyes at all. As COVID-19 upended my second school year in Madrid, it also upended my future plans to stay in Spain.
And so I’ve been home for over a year. Not traveling enough (by my standards) and not writing enough as a result. While it seems like the pandemic has lasted forever, it also feels like we’re not getting any closer to any semblance of normal… even for countries that are privileged enough to have widespread vaccine access, like the U.S. and Spain. But I’ve still thought a bit about what I might like to do in the future. Six months ago, I considered some of the ideas I had for 2021 at the time. (None of which have really been an option yet, still.)
But the other day, an impromptu, impulsive Google search made my heart pound faster: “spain digital nomad visa.”
I didn’t expect to find anything new. I thought I’d learn about the two types of visas that I already knew were on the table — the “autónomo” visa and the “non-lucrative” visa, both of which could be options with the right type of planning. It was just supposed to be a way to distract myself from my work for a few minutes while I dreamed of what could have been.
Instead, I found new information about a new visa type. For digital nomads and remote workers. Which is exactly what I need, with fewer hoops to jump through than the other two visa types would provide. This could be my chance to live and work in Spain for the semi-long term, providing a residence permit without needing an employment visa.
The new digital nomad visa was only announced last month (at least in the English-speaking media), so there isn’t a ton of information yet. But I’ve been googling like crazy trying to figure out everything I can — even diving into the parallel world of Google España for the first time in a year.
I’m clearly very excited about this, and I thought it could be helpful to put together all the information we have so far here… with updates to come as more information becomes available.
What We Know
The new digital nomad visa is a partner to a larger law called the Startups Law, or Ley de Startups. The goal is to attract foreign talent (and money) to Spain so it can be seen as more innovative and compete on the world stage.
We know that Spain wants to attract remote workers — meaning these people are working for foreign companies but able to live in Spain. While remote working may look different for everyone, a digital nomad in Spain is classified as someone who earns 80% of their income outside of the country.
However, keep in mind that the specific details of this law are currently in “draft” status. Based on my research, the draft must be public for a certain amount of time for “public consultation” before it is submitted for final approval. An article I read said it will be evaluated by the Spanish government later this year.
Here’s one area that is subject to change, though we know how things stand at this point: Those who receive a digital nomad visa will pay a new, lower income tax rate than those who are self-employed or autónomo in Spain. While international remote workers will of course have to pay taxes, you will only be taxed at 15% unless you have an extremely high income. This is meant to be another incentive to attract foreign workers who want to set Spain as their base.
We also know that the new visa type will last for one year, and it will likely have the option to renew for an additional two years — maybe even longer, as long as the requirements are continually met.
What We Don’t Know
Of course, this is one of the biggest questions: When will it be available? And unfortunately, there isn’t an answer to this year. Trust me, this is what I want to know above all else. I want to know how soon I can get back to living in my favorite country.
I’m hoping it will be approved in the next six months or so; I figure if the point is to help boost the economy’s recovery from COVID-19, I’d think they would want to get this started sooner rather than later. But as I learned in two years, Spain doesn’t always operate the way we think it should. 🙂
We also don’t know what the requirements will be for applying for this visa. For some of the other visa types, for example, you must submit proof of accommodation — like a rental contract — before your visa can be approved. Here’s one of those things that doesn’t make sense: Why/how would you have a rental contract in a foreign country if you aren’t even legally approved to live there yet?
While you can find a full list of visa requirements on the Spanish consulate websites, there’s nothing about the new digital nomad visa yet.
Which brings us to another important factor that we don’t know: whether there will be any financial requirements in order to be approved for the visa. For the non-lucrative visa Spain offers, for example, you must submit financial statements proving that you have a certain amount of money in the bank. In Estonia, which was one of the first countries to offer a digital nomad visa, you must have a minimum monthly income of €3,504.
With this information in mind, it is likely that Spain will set some sort of income requirement threshold, but we don’t know yet what that number will be.
And finally, we also don’t know whether you can continue to renew your digital nomad visa after your initial two-year renewal. Though no one will be at this point for at least three years, so we may just have to wait and see.
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I couldn’t be more excited to learn about this coming down the line. I read somewhere that while the Startup Law was already in Spain’s plans, the addition of the digital nomad visa was a direct result of COVID-19. And while it may have messed up my original plans in a big way, maybe it will lead to something even better.
For now, I’ll be “just browsing” apartments on idealista and dreaming of my next appointment at the Spanish Consulate of Chicago.
What are your thoughts on the upcoming digital nomad visa? Let me know if you find out any additional information you’d like to share!
–Cathy
Originally Published on August 24, 2021.
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