Digital nomads, welcome! When you work from home, are you sick of being trapped in one place? Are you prepared to discover new perspectives and a different culture while maintaining your ability to support yourself? Spain has you covered with their new digital nomad visa, so you can stop looking.
Imagine surfing in Barcelona or working on your laptop while enjoying a café con leche on a terrace in Madrid. With this visa, you can do all of this and more! Let’s look deeper at this visa and what you’ll need to apply for before packing your bags and making travel arrangements. We’ll examine the key details of Spain’s new digital nomad visa in this article: It is what? How does it operate? What are the prerequisites and conditions?
Let’s learn everything you need to know about obtaining a digital nomad visa so you may set off on a voyage packed with tapas, flamenco, and limitless prospects for personal and professional growth if you’re prepared to take the plunge and begin your digital nomad adventure in Spain.
What is Spain’s New Digital Nomad Visa?
Let’s begin by looking at the legislative and historical circumstances that ultimately led to the development of the new digital nomad visa. The Entrepreneur Law was a brand-new piece of law that the Spanish government introduced in 2013. This rule was intended to lure talented workers and financial resources from other nations to settle on Spanish soil. This law made issuing the entrepreneur visa, the golden visa, and many additional visas feasible.
The “Startup Law” is a new law that the government recently published. The same inspiration and primary goal went into the creation of this statute. In contrast to the Entrepreneur Law, the Startup Law focuses a greater emphasis on freshly founded businesses, creative individuals, and innovative ideas than on established organizations. The Startup Law was developed to be a lot more receptive to the demands of the present market.
The ultimate goal is to solidify Spain’s position as one of the top countries on the international stage in terms of its ability to attract businesspeople, investors, and skilled laborers. This is ideal for a nation because Spain provides all the necessities for locating the most favorable living situations (especially for remote workers). Thanks to the recently introduced digital nomad visa, this is now possible. Non-EU citizens will be able to live and work remotely from Spain if they are granted a digital nomad visa.
A residence permit known as the “digital nomad visa” can be extended for up to five years. In addition, it will make it possible for international remote employees to carry out legal digital nomad jobs within the nation. Last but not least, non-Spaniards who choose to relocate to Spain but wish to continue working for an organization in their native country or who have clients spread across many nations will be able to acquire a residence permit specifically tailored to their needs.
What are the requirements for a Digital Nomad Visa?
There are two major categories of non-nationals qualified to apply for a digital nomad visa, each with somewhat different requirements. Applicants must fall into one of these categories to be considered.
Employers who hire the initial group of workers allow them to continue working from a distance even though they are physically located in another country. In this instance, even if you live and work in Spain, the headquarters of the firm you work for are not located there. Independent contractors who work for various clients worldwide would best describe the second type of employee. The individual employee may also have a wide range of online business ventures as sources of income, but they are not based in Spain.
According to the profiles mentioned earlier, the following criteria must be met to be granted a digital nomad visa:
- A passport that, as of the application date, has at least one year left on its validity.
- If you are not already employed by an organization located outside of Spain, you must be an employee of that organization or have a formal working relationship with it.
- If you are a self – employed, no more than twenty percent of your total income can come from clients in Spain (or companies with a physical presence in Spain).
- Before completing your application as a freelancer, you must show proof that you have worked for your company or have had a freelance arrangement with your clients for at least three months.
- A worker must show documentation of at least a year of service with the same employer.
- You can choose between two ways to prove that you have the education and experience necessary to finish the application. First, before submitting your application, you must have at least three years of relevant professional experience or graduate or post-graduate of a respected, accredited institution, trade school, or business school.
- You must be able to fund the administrative costs entirely.
- An active health insurance policy in Spain must protect you. Sign up for a private health insurance plan that provides comprehensive coverage throughout Spain.
How can you Get a Visa?
The flexibility to apply in two different ways is one of the key benefits of the digital nomad visa. Both of the ensuing application strategies are viable.
While you can enter Spain with a 1-year visa from your home country and later convert it to a 3-year card at the Spanish embassy, you can also apply for a 3-year card directly from Spain with a tourist visa.
Due to the expedited application process, you will learn whether your application was successful in just 20 days. After that, the next step is to go to the police station and register your fingerprints to obtain your official residency card. Another perk of this visa is that the years are considered when you apply for Spanish citizenship.
You may establish both your Spanish nationality and your indefinite residency by the years you have this 3-year card and any subsequent renewals. After five years as a digital nomad or remote worker in Spain, you can apply for permanent residency.
Conclusion
Well done, digital nomads! We have finished our overview of the digital nomad visa in Spain. First, you must clearly understand the visa’s goal, operation, and requirements.
We hope that reading this post has inspired you to begin living as a digital nomad in Spain. Spain offers a variety of options for both professional and personal growth, from the crowded streets of Madrid to the sand beaches of Barcelona. So check it out for yourself instead of accepting our word for it.
As you submit your digital nomad visa application, plan your impending journey. Imagine being able to work from home while exploring the Roman ruins or taking a day off to go trekking in the Pyrenees. There is a tonne of choices.
The Spanish Consulate in your nation should be consulted for the most recent details on visa requirements and the application procedure. Safe travels!