Spain to Launch Digital Nomad Visa – Easing Terms for Remote Workers

Spain introduces a “digital nomad” visa scheme with tax breaks for non-EU citizens including Britons. The EU nation plans to attract more remote workers, allowing them to stay for up to five years.

The newly planned visa will be available for workers employed in companies outside Spain. And, if they are working with Spanish firms, their earnings from those companies shouldn’t be more than 20% of the total.

Since the law hasn’t been passed yet, more details will be available later. But the visa is expected to be a residence permit with an initial validity of 1 year. After this, the visa can be extended for another five years based on the circumstances of the applicant. Close relatives of the applicant like spouse and kids can also join.

Conditions for Spain Digital Nomad Visa

To obtain the Digital Nomad visa in Spain, an applicant should fulfil certain conditions like:

Must not be from the EEA (European Economic Area)
Can show proof of working remotely for a minimum of one year
Must produce the contract of employment with a firm outside Spain
If working as a freelancer, must demonstrate that a company outside Spain has regularly employed the applicant
Must show proof of a self-sufficient income
Should have an address in Spain

Besides, the need for undergoing a criminal record check isn’t clarified yet.

Income and Tax Related Conditions of Digital Nomad Visa

The standard base rate of income tax in Spain is 25%. But for digital nomad visa holders, it will be dropped to 15% for the first four years.

By launching a digital nomad visa, Spain will join 15 other EU countries doing the same already with respective conditions.

For instance, every EU nation has a minimum monthly income requirement for granting the digital nomad visa. It’s €2,300 in Croatia, €3,500 in Estonia, €7,100 in Iceland, and the lowest one is €700 in Portugal. Spain is expected to set €2,000 as the minimum for this.

Greece recently introduced its digital nomad law and offered 1-3 years of residency in October 2021. The minimum monthly income for this country is €3,500.

In addition to the minimum income, some countries also require applicants to have a cash balance. For instance, you need €5,500 in the bank to apply for a digital nomad visa in the Czech Republic. Some countries also require you to have health insurance.

Digital Nomad Visa and Entrepreneurship

Among the EU countries offering digital nomad visas, Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia are the most popular. However, startups prefer Barcelona for its less dependency on tourism and aspiration to become a tech hub.

Co-founder of Glovo, a food delivery company in Barcelona, Sacha Michaud said that attracting talent is easy. He mentioned Barcelona as a cosmopolitan that’s densely populated and small. Glovo employs international staff, which is why English is its lingua franca like other startups in Barcelona.

In Spain, the focus of Start-Up law is to simplify the journey of entrepreneurs through Spanish bureaucracy. Currently, setting up a company in Spain takes 20-30 days which is much longer than one day in the UK or the Netherlands. Due to this, the World Bank’s 2020 report on ease of doing business has Spain at the 30th rank.

What Would Attract Nomads to Spain?

Almost all of Spain is covered with an excellent cover of the 4G network. This will tempt digital nomads to live in low-rent, rural areas and work remotely. At 148Mbps, Spain has one of Europe’s fastest internet speeds that’s almost double the 75Mbps in the UK.

This will also bring relief to digital nomads facing the issue of rents pushed up in Barcelona and Madrid. Since people working in the UK and US companies get paid more and can afford higher rents, the rents go up.

Spain to Launch Digital Nomad Visa – Easing Terms for Remote Workers