International Telework Visa

Spain's International Telework Visa (Visado de Residencia para Teletrabajo de Carácter Internacional), commonly known as the Digital Nomad Visa, allows non-EU nationals to reside in Spain while working remotely for employers or clients located outside Spanish territory. Established by Law 28/2022 (the Startup Law), the program is one of Europe's most attractive digital nomad schemes thanks to its potential 3-year residence authorization and access to the favourable Beckham Law tax regime for employed holders.

• Non-EU/EEA national working remotely for companies or clients outside Spain
• The role must be genuinely capable of being performed exclusively by remote means: its inherent functions must not require on-site supervision or in-person management of production, HR, or sales. The UGE-CE may request additional information about the foreign company's size, activity, and structure to verify this
• Graduate or postgraduate degree from a recognized university, training institution, or business school, OR at least 3 years of professional experience in the relevant field
• Employment or professional relationship must have existed for at least 3 months prior to application
• Employer company or group must have been in real and continuous operation for at least 1 year
• Minimum monthly income of €2,849 (200% of the 2026 annualized SMI)
• Cannot qualify as an intra-company transfer

Pathway 1 - Visa from abroad: Apply at a Spanish consulate or embassy in your country of residence. You must first obtain an N.I.E. (Foreigner Identity Number). The consulate has 10 working days to decide. The visa is valid for up to 1 year. This is the route most applicants must use — including anyone currently on a tourist or visa-exempt stay, or holding a non-lucrative residence, since those statuses do not authorize work (see below).

Pathway 2 - Residence authorization from within Spain: This in-country route is open only to foreigners in a regular situation whose current status already authorizes them to work. They may apply directly for a residence authorization through the UGE-CE, valid for up to 3 years, submitted electronically and resolved within 20 working days. Per the UGE-CE's official FAQ, holders of a non-lucrative residence cannot use this pathway — the non-lucrative status does not permit work, so prior remote work cannot be alleged — and neither can people on a tourist or visa-exempt stay. Such applicants must obtain the telework visa at a consulate abroad (Pathway 1) instead. The residence authorization also cannot be requested from abroad; visa holders wishing to continue residing must apply for it at least 60 days before their visa expires.

• Completed national visa application form with photograph
• Valid passport (minimum 1-year validity, 2 blank pages, issued within last 10 years)
• N.I.E. certificate
• Criminal record certificate from countries of residence in the last 2 years (apostilled and translated into Spanish), plus a declaration of no criminal records for the last 5 years
• Health insurance from an insurer authorized to operate in Spain, covering all risks of the public health system with no copayments or coverage limits
• Company certificate showing employment seniority, income, and remote work authorization
• Mercantile Registry certificate proving the company has operated for at least 1 year
• Proof of financial resources (200% of the SMI)
• University degree or proof of 3 years of professional experience
• All foreign documents must bear the Hague Apostille and be accompanied by a sworn Spanish translation

• Employed workers may only work for companies located outside Spain
• Self-employed professionals may work for Spanish companies, but this must not exceed 20% of total professional activity; the remaining 80% or more must be for entities outside Spain

Employed teleworkers may opt for the special impatriate tax regime (the Beckham Law), which applies a flat 24% rate on income up to €600,000/year and 47% above that, taxing only Spanish-source income. This regime is available for 6 tax years and requires that the holder was not a Spanish tax resident in the 5 preceding years. Self-employed teleworkers are not eligible for this regime. All residents spending more than 183 days per year in Spain are ordinarily considered tax residents.

Spanish Social Security affiliation is a substantive requirement, and enforcement is strict. Self-employed teleworkers must register (alta) with the RETA regime immediately after obtaining the authorization; this RETA affiliation cannot be substituted by a bilateral-agreement certificate of coverage (that substitution is available only for employed workers in the Régimen General). Per the UGE-CE's official FAQ, if a self-employed holder fails to register and this is detected in a later review, the authorization is extinguished under the seventh additional provision of Law 14/2013, disqualifying both the holder and dependent family members from residing and working in Spain.

Substitution of the affiliation requirement is permitted only for employed workers where a bilateral Social Security agreement between Spain and the worker's home country allows the worker to retain home-country coverage — in which case a Certificate of Coverage from the home-country authority (e.g., a US SSA Certificate of Coverage, a UK HMRC A1, or equivalent) must be presented, along with documentation that the remote work is genuinely carried out from Spain. The UGE-CE expressly does not accept mere applications for such a certificate.

Eligible dependants include a spouse or registered common-law partner, minor children, financially dependent adult children who have not formed their own family unit, and dependent parents or grandparents. Each family member submits a separate application with passport, proof of family relationship (apostilled and translated), criminal record certificate, and health insurance. The income requirement increases by 75% of the annualized SMI (€1,068/month) for the first dependant and 25% (€356/month) for each additional dependant. Family members' authorizations expire on the same date as the main applicant's.

The visa itself constitutes a residence authorization. After 5 continuous years of legal residence, holders may apply for long-term (permanent) residence. After 10 years of legal residence, holders may apply for Spanish citizenship, subject to an A2-level Spanish language requirement.