Digital Nomad Visa

What is a digital nomad? What are the benefits of obtaining a digital nomad visa? What are the requirements to obtain the digital nomad visa? What is new in the startup law? At Gentile Law, experts in the processing of visas and residency, we tell you everything you need to know to become a digital nomad in the following article.

What is new in the new startup law? 

Spain advances with the regulation of digital nomads and foreigners who work remotely from Spain, granting them benefits that are extremely attractive.

What is new in the new startup law?  On January 1, a new law came into force in Spain, which aims to promote the Startup Ecosystem. This new regulation is known as the Startup Law. What is the main objective of the new startup law? The main objective of this law is to promote and consolidate a favorable framework for the creation of new technology companies, as well as to attract foreign investment and talent.

In order to achieve this goal, new categories will be established in Spanish immigration law, including the digital nomad visa, created for international teleworkers. This visa gives foreigners, without geographical limitations, the opportunity to live and work in the country for three years, attracting great talent to the country.

What is a digital nomad?

What is a digital nomad? What are the benefits of obtaining a digital nomad visa? To take full advantage of the rise of remote jobs, a phenomenon that has been accelerated by the Covid-19 health crisis, Spain seeks to establish a regime that is beneficial for those who work under this modality.

Digital nomads are those whose jobs allow them to work remotely and change their place of residence frequently, which allows them to provide their services from different parts of the world.

What are the benefits of obtaining a digital nomad visa?

• Right to reside and work remotely in Spain.
• Free movement within the Schengen member countries (26 countries).
• Fiscal benefits for digital nomads who apply for this visa, as a new tax regime is planned, offering a reduction in the taxes that these foreign teleworkers would pay. For more information on the tax benefit, we recommend consulting our article on the Startup Law.
• Simultaneous processing for accompanying family members in an agile and flexible manner.
• Possibility to work also for clients in Spain, as long as these earnings do not exceed 20% of the total earnings for the year.

What are the requirements to obtain the digital nomad visa?

Are you a digital nomad? At Gentile Law, specialists in processing visas or residence permits for digital nomads, we list some of the most important requirements to apply for a digital nomad visa. The applicant must demonstrate compliance with the following requirements:

• a) Not being irregularly in Spanish territory.
• b) Not being listed as inadmissible in the territorial space of countries with which Spain has a convention.
• c) Having an employment or professional relationship with a company outside Spain for at least three months.
• d) The employing company must have been in business for more than one year.
• e) If the applicant applies for the visa on the basis of self-employment, it is necessary to prove that he/she has had clients outside Spain for more than one year.
• f) Having medical insurance that is valid for the entire period of stay, with coverage similar to that offered by the Public Health System.
• g) Having sufficient economic resources for themselves and for the family members who accompany them.
• h) Having no criminal record in the countries where the applicant has resided for the last 5 years.

How is the digital nomad visa application process?

Assuming the application will be done in Spain, the administration must respond within 20 working days. If the administration does not reply within the indicated time frame, the visa is considered automatically granded. Once the nomad visa is approved, it will be necessary to request an appointment for fingerprints and after a month the applicant will be able to pick up the Foreigner`s Identity Card (TIE).

The approval of the so-called Startup Law would be a great step towards achieving the goal of making Spain a global reference for financial and technological development, which involves attracting investment and talent.

While Spain has other conditions that facilitate the attraction of talent and investments, the Startup Law will offers, together with the Safe, Sustainable and Connected Mobility Strategy, a stable regulatory framework for digital nomads to settle in the country and develop in a protected labor market.

Are you a digital nomad? What are the steps to follow to become a digital nomad? How to get a digital nomad visa? At Gentile Law, specialists in processing visas for digital nomads, we help you through the whole process to become a digital nomad.

Pablo Lanfranchi 

pablolanfranchi@gentile.law

+34 91 435 45 19