Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa: Income, Spanish Clients and Renewal Checks

The financial threshold is linked to SMI, Spain's statutory minimum wage. Real Decreto 126/2026 sets it at €1,221 in fourteen payments, or €17,094 a year.

For a principal applicant, the rule is 200% of SMI. Annualising that wage and dividing by twelve gives €2,849 a month, or €34,188 a year. This is the calculation used here for budgeting; confirm the evidence and assessment for your filing route with UGE or the responsible consulate.

Family additions are 75% of SMI for the first dependent and 25% of SMI for each additional one, rather than percentages of the principal applicant's doubled amount. On the same calculation, those additions are approximately €1,068 and €356 monthly respectively.

The initial route requires a relevant degree or vocational qualification, or at least three years of professional experience. Normally the foreign business must have operated for at least one year, with an employment or professional relationship lasting at least three months before applying. Use the official checklist for exceptions and the evidence for your particular relationship.

For criminal-record evidence, the guidance requests certificates for countries of residence during the previous two years, plus a declaration covering the previous five. Check the other eligibility conditions, document translations and legalisation requirements for your route.

The employer's evidence must authorise remote work from Spain and describe the role. Company owners with effective control have additional evidence requirements in the official initial-application checklist.

Social Security and Healthcare

Checked 22 October: the official guidance permits public or qualifying private healthcare coverage. It does not require every applicant to buy a private policy. The initial-application checklist says separate health-cover documents are not needed where the applicant will affiliate to Spanish Social Security after approval.

The FAQ distinguishes employees, whose foreign employer generally needs Spanish registration to affiliate them, from self-employed applicants required to register in RETA. A qualifying international coordination certificate can be relevant for employees, but should not be assumed to cover every country or remote-work arrangement.

If private cover is needed, the official guidance excludes travel cover, reimbursement-only policies, copayments and waiting periods. Establish your route before purchasing a policy.

Practitioners have reported increased fraud and documentation checks. Those accounts do not establish a universal 2026 rule change or a new requirement for every applicant.

The official FAQ already asks whether the actual duties can be performed remotely. Describe the work accurately and obtain the required employer or client evidence; a job title alone does not establish eligibility.

Article 74 bis of Ley 14/2013 distinguishes the two cases. An employee's work under this route is for the company outside Spain. A self-employed professional may undertake Spanish-client activity up to 20% of total professional activity, while maintaining the qualifying foreign relationship.

That allowance concerns professional activity, rather than permission for employment by a Spanish company. It is separate from the requirement that the work can be carried out remotely.

Your renewal date and route depend on the visa or residence authorisation actually granted. Check its expiry and the official procedure; the year the telework route launched does not determine your deadline.

Keep your continuing work, income, Social Security and applicable tax records organised. The earlier recommendations for a Spanish bank account, a fixed three-to-six-month renewal statement period and a general six-month absence limit were not verified as universal requirements and have been removed. Use the current official checklist and respond to any request addressed to your file. If travelling while renewal is pending, confirm the re-entry documents required before leaving Spain.

Start with UGE's official telework page, selecting visa, initial authorisation or renewal as appropriate. The initial checklist contains income and banking evidence requirements; optional preparation should be kept separate from those requirements.

The public electronic application entry was accessible on 22 October. Authentication and completed submission were not tested. A consular visa application follows the responsible consulate's route.

In Madrid, a later police fingerprint appointment for a TIE is separate from UGE's residence decision. Our appointment guide explains how to identify the responsible service.