Spanish nomad visa is the visa of the future that is very much in the present. Currently, after the health crisis of Covid-19, we can say that we have managed to normalize and/or legalize many legal aspects that are not regulated so far, among which one of the most relevant would be “work remotely”. A great legal loophole, until now, for many freelancers/employees who found themselves providing their services from a foreign country.
This situation has managed to highlight the opportunity to work remotely from anywhere in the world in different labor sectors, without having a fixed physical office that you will go to every day.
We cover the Spanish nomad visa in this publication.
On September 28, the “Law 18/2022 on the creation and growth of companies” also known as the “Startups Law” came into force, approving Spain as one of the 40 countries that offer visas for digital nomads. We invite you to read the content of the legal regulation here for more information. The main objective of this law, in addition to granting a residence and work permit, is to promote digital entrepreneurship, attract new investors to the country and the growth of businesses through the Internet. But what does it mean to be a digital nomad? A digital nomad is understood to be those individuals who, through digital means, can carry out their work or entrepreneurial activities remotely. Having the advantage of being able to carry out their work from anywhere in the world.
Therefore, the spanish nomad visa allows the person who holds it to work remotely from the country in which they are located. As long as the work to be carried out is independent and remote and that the worker proves that during his stay, he can support himself financially. The spanish digital nomad visa is an apparently recent terminology, however, Spain before being part of the list of countries that offer this type of visa, given the legal vacuum that existed, regulated this situation as a non-lucrative visa, of which we leave you more information at one of our recent posts here.
This allowed the workers to have a residence authorization in the country, but nevertheless, it was not linked to the work permit.
Regarding the requirements to apply for this type of visa, we would highlight the following most relevant:
- Fill in the visa application form (this form is provided by our firm’s experts, you can write to info@rubertpartners.com).
- Pay the corresponding administrative fees.
- Have sufficient economic means that allow the worker to prove that they will be able to support themselves during their stay in Spain.
- It is advisable to prove income during the last 3 months prior to applying for this visa.
- Documentation that proves the condition of being a remote worker who provides his services for a company outside of Spain.
- Document the employment relationship with the foreign company and that has a minimum age of 3 months.
- Have the qualifications required for the job.
- Have authorization to work remotely.
HOW CAN I APPLY FOR THIS TYPE OF VISA?
Those workers interested in residing in Spain and work remotely from there may apply for this type of visa or for a residence, depending on the circumstances of the worker in question. For those who wish to reside in Spain for a period of less than one year, it will be enough to apply for a visa to work remotely, this process can be carried out before the consular offices of Spain. However, if the worker intends to reside for a period greater than one year, he must acquire a residence permit that will be valid for a maximum of three years, renewable for two more years. When the worker intends to reside in Spain for a period of more than one year, the procedure no longer has a place through the corresponding consular office, but is carried out through the Immigration Office of the corresponding province. Once the procedure has been resolved favorably in foreigners, the worker must subsequently apply for his or her residence card (TIE). As always happens with all kinds of novelties and regulations, it has its pros and cons that we will list below:
PROS OF SPANISH NOMAD VISA
- Workers may reside in Spain for up to 3 years.
- This does not mean that after 3 years they must leave the country, since in the case of Spain, for example, they could apply for social roots (residence) once they have completed 3 years of legal and continuous stay.
- The risk of the application being rejected is very low compared to the application for other types of visas.
- The teleworking modality allows both companies and workers to profit from tax benefits. In other words, they will be able to benefit from a special tax regime or what has also been known as the Beckham Law, during the following five years, provided that the worker had not previously resided in Spain.
- It is a great incentive in the country that more “coworkings” are created every day.
- Workers have great mobility and flexibility to carry out their work functions.
CONS OF SPANISH NOMAD VISA
- Startups with more than 5 years of business life cannot apply for this type of visa.
- No more than 20% of revenue can be generated locally.
- It is not enough just to meet the requirement of being a digital company.
We trust that this publication will help you to understand the basics about this new Spanish visa and we remain at your complete disposal for any questions regarding this publication of general application. For more information you can visit all our publications in this link as well as the videos of our director Maria Rubert.