Buying property in Spain no longer automatically grants you residency, as the property-based Golden Visa program officially closed to new applicants in April 2025.

Others Ways to Migrate to Spain

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一、Spain Digital Nomad Visa

Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa, officially known as the International Telework Visa, allows non-EU nationals to live in Spain while working remotely for companies or clients mainly located outside Spain.

1、Who can apply?

The applicant may be:

• An employee of a company established outside Spain
• A freelancer or self-employed professional providing services remotely to overseas clients
• A director or owner of an overseas company, provided a genuine professional relationship and business activity can be demonstrated

The principal requirements include:

• The overseas company must normally have been actively operating for at least one year
• The applicant must have worked for the company or clients for at least three months
• The employment or professional relationship must be expected to continue for at least one further year
• The applicant must have a recognised university or professional qualification, or at least three years of relevant professional experience
• An employed applicant may only work for companies located outside Spain
• A self-employed applicant may work for Spanish clients, but Spanish-source work must not exceed 20% of their total professional activity

2、Financial requirement for 2026

The minimum financial requirement is calculated using Spain’s Minimum Interprofessional Salary, known as the SMI.

Applicant	Minimum monthly income
Main applicant	€2,442
First accompanying family member	Additional €916
Each further family member	Additional €305–€306

For example:

• Main applicant only: approximately €2,442 per month
• Applicant and spouse: approximately €3,358 per month
• Applicant, spouse and one child: approximately €3,663 per month

Income may normally be demonstrated through employment contracts, client contracts, payslips, company letters, invoices and bank statements. Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs guidance

3、Main supporting documents

The required documents normally include:

• Completed national visa application form
• Valid passport
• Proof of lawful residence in the country where the application is submitted
• Spanish Foreigner Identity Number, known as an NIE
• Employment contract or professional service agreements
• Evidence that the overseas company has operated for at least one year
• Employer’s written permission to work remotely from Spain
• Evidence of at least three months’ employment or professional relationship
• Evidence that the work arrangement will continue for at least one year
• Payslips, bank statements and evidence of sufficient income
• University or professional qualifications, or evidence of three years’ relevant experience
• Criminal-record certificates
• Medical insurance or evidence of appropriate Spanish healthcare coverage
• Evidence addressing Spanish Social Security obligations
• Marriage and birth certificates for accompanying family members

Foreign documents may need to be legalised or apostilled and translated into Spanish by an authorised translator.

Social Security arrangements are particularly important. The applicant may need either evidence that an applicable international Social Security agreement covers the remote work or registration with the Spanish Social Security system.

4、Where to apply

The applicant should normally apply through the Spanish Embassy, Consulate or authorised visa application centre responsible for their place of lawful residence.

For example, a person legally residing in the UAE would normally apply through the Spanish consular system responsible for their UAE address, rather than applying in the United Kingdom.

There are two possible application routes:

① Apply from the applicant’s country of lawful residence

The applicant applies for an International Telework Visa through the relevant Spanish consular authority. The visa may be issued for up to one year.

② Family members

The following family members may normally accompany the main applicant:

• Spouse or qualifying partner
• Dependent children
• Dependent parents, where dependency can be established

Eligible accompanying family members are normally granted residence rights and permission to work in Spain.

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二、Permanent residence

Time spent legally residing in Spain under the Digital Nomad route normally counts towards Spanish long-term residence.

An applicant may generally qualify for long-term or permanent residence after five years of legal and continuous residence in Spain.

For the standard five-year calculation:

• No single absence should normally exceed six consecutive months
• Total absences should not normally exceed ten months during the five-year period
• Where absences are for work-related reasons, the permitted total may be up to 18 months, although no single absence should normally exceed six consecutive months

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三、Spanish citizenship

Digital Nomad residence may also count towards citizenship by residence, but obtaining long-term residence does not automatically result in Spanish citizenship.

The standard qualifying period is:

• 10 years for most nationalities, including Chinese, Myanmar and São Tomé and Príncipe nationals
• 5 years for recognised refugees
• 2 years for nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal, and for persons of Sephardic origin
• 1 year in certain special circumstances, including some spouses of Spanish citizens and persons born in Spain

The qualifying residence must be:

• Legal
• Continuous
• Immediately before the citizenship application

Citizenship authorities assess absences more strictly than they do for permanent residence. There is no universally safe statutory absence allowance that applies automatically to every citizenship case. Frequent or lengthy absences may suggest that Spain was not the applicant’s real centre of residence. Applicants planning to naturalise should therefore keep absences limited and maintain strong evidence that Spain remains their principal home.

Additional citizenship requirements normally include:

• Good character
• Sufficient integration into Spanish society
• Passing the CCSE constitutional and cultural knowledge examination
• Passing the DELE A2 Spanish-language examination, unless exempt
• In many cases, declaring renunciation of the applicant’s previous nationality

Whether the applicant can retain their original citizenship depends on both Spanish law and the law of their current country of nationality.

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四、Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV)

is a residence visa for non-EU nationals who want to live in Spain without working.

It is mainly suitable for:

• Retired people receiving pensions
• People living from savings
• People receiving rental income, dividends or investment income
• Financially independent applicants who do not need employment

⚠️Important restriction

The applicant is not permitted to work in Spain.

It is also generally unsuitable for someone intending to continue regular remote employment or operate a business while living in Spain. In that situation, the Digital Nomad Visa is normally more appropriate.

If you are considering applying for the Spain Digital Nomad Visa, contact our team for an initial assessment. We can review your circumstances, identify any potential issues and advise you on the most suitable application route.

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