The Spanish Digital Nomad Visa, fully consolidated under the Law of Emerging Companies (Startups Law), has become one of the most efficient pathways for international talent. Since its implementation, our firm has successfully managed numerous applications, adapting to the latest 2025 criteria issued by the UGE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas). We provide expert guidance on the current 2026 financial requirements and Social Security ‘Certificates of Coverage’ (Form A1), ensuring your remote work status is fully compliant with both Spanish tax and immigration authoritie.
Introducing this new visa for digital nomads is intended to attract talent, reduce bureaucracy and make taxation more attractive with tax breaks for foreign remote workers. As a result, foreign workers applying for a digital nomad visa in Spain must, in addition to other general requirements that are already in place for other types of visas, meet the following requirements:
Professional Profile and Employer Eligibility
- Be a highly qualified professional. (Having graduated from a university or postgraduate school of recognized prestige, or possessing professional training or a business school degree. In the absence of a formal qualification, this requirement may be substituted by demonstrating a minimum of three years of relevant professional experience.)
- Demonstrate that the foreign company has been operational for at least one year and that international employers permit remote work.(Prove that the company for which you work has had a real and continuous existence for at least one year and that you have express authorization to perform your duties remotely from Spain. In such cases, official documentation must be requested from the relevant department in the company’s country of residence, certifying the entity’s date of incorporation).
- Evidence of employment/professional relationship ( autonomo/freelance) of at least three months from the date of the application with the foreign company/companies with which the relationship is maintained.
Mandatory Technical Documentation
- Criminal Record Certificate: From your country of origin and from any country where you have resided during the last 2 years.
For Spanish visa applications, local or state police certificates are not accepted. The certificate must be the federal criminal record issued by the FBI (Department of Justice).
In addition, the criminal record certificate must be duly apostilled in accordance with the Hague Convention, or where applicable, legalized through diplomatic channels.
It must be submitted together with an official sworn translation into Spanish, carried out by a sworn translator officially recognized in Spain.
The document must be no older than three months at the time of submission to the Consulate or the UGE.
U.S. citizens must obtain the Hague Apostille at the federal level. As this is a federal document, the apostille must be requested from the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.
Important note: The apostille must also be translated into Spanish. Translations carried out by translators who are not included on the official list of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC) will not be accepted.
- Passport: A full copy of all pages of your valid passport.
- Social Security / Private Medical Insurance:
- For teleworkers who do it as a Self-employed must be registered in the Spanish social security as a freelancer.
- For those teleworkers who do it as employees for a company abroad, they will have 2 options:
- If there is a bilateral agreement in place between Spain and the individual’s country of residence, a Certificate of Coverage for the transfer of Social Security rights, known as Form A1, may apply. For American citizens, the Certificate of Coverage is requested using Form E/USA-1.
- If there is no bilateral social security agreement between Spain and the issuing country or the issuing country does not want to issue said certificate, the registration of the foreign company in the Spanish Social Security must be accredited.
Financial Requirements (2026 Update)
- You must prove sufficient financial means. The main applicant is required to demonstrate an income of at least 200% of the Spanish Minimum Wage (SMI). Based on the 2026 projections, you must prove a monthly income of at least €2,849.00 (or €34,188.00 per year).
- Family Members: If you are applying with family, you must contribute an additional 75% of the SMI for the first dependent (approx. €1,068.38/month) and 25% for each additional member (approx. €356.13/month).
As your digital nomad visa Spain lawyer, Tejada Solicitors’ professional advice is to look beyond the basic financial thresholds. Since your income may be received in foreign currencies such as GBP, USD or CAD, we strongly recommend maintaining a safety margin of 10–15% above the minimum requirements to protect your application against exchange rate fluctuations throughout the approval process
There is a widespread misconception that every non-EU citizen who is eligible for a Digital Nomad Visa is also eligible for the Beckham Law. This is not true. It is also true that many users think they do not have to register with social security in Spain or they think that having private health insurance is enough for them. Each specific case must be studied in depth, we encourage you to consult with an expert professional in immigration and taxation.
If you are working for yourself, you can find detailed information in our guide on how to get the Digital Nomad Visa as a self-employed individual in Spain.
