تیم One Way Ticket
The Startup Law, Ley 28/2022, came into force in January 2023 and gave Spain its most popular immigration route of recent years — the digital nomad visa (visado de teletrabajo). The formula is simple: remote work for a foreign company plus documented income equals a three-year residence permit with the whole family included. As a bonus comes the Beckham tax regime: a flat 24% instead of a progressive scale reaching 47%.
Who qualifies for the digital nomad visa
- •Remote work for a company or clients outside Spain
- •A relationship with the employer or clients of at least 3 months, with the company itself operating for at least 1 year
- •No more than 20% of income from Spanish companies
- •A university degree or at least 3 years of documented professional experience
- •A clean criminal record certificate and private health insurance
- •Social security coverage: an A1 certificate for employees from treaty countries, or autónomo registration for freelancers
Income: how much you need to earn in 2025
The threshold is pegged to the minimum wage (SMI) at 200%. In 2025 the SMI rose to €1,184 per month across 14 payments, so the main applicant must show around €2,763 per month — roughly €33,150 per year. Income is documented with a contract, invoices, bank statements and recent payslips.
- •Main applicant: 200% of SMI — about €2,763/month
- •Spouse or partner: +75% of SMI — about €1,036/month
- •Each child: +25% of SMI — about €345/month
- •A family of three: roughly €4,145/month of documented income in total
Where to apply: the consulate or the UGE
There are two routes. The first is a visa at the consulate in your country of residence: issued for 1 year, later converted into a residence permit. The second is applying from inside Spain while legally present (for example, on visa-free entry for eligible passports or a Schengen visa): the application goes online to the Unidad de Grandes Empresas (UGE-CE), a decision is due within 20 working days, and administrative silence counts as approval (silencio positivo). The in-country route grants a three-year card outright, renewable for another 2 years. After 5 years — permanent residency.
💡 Applying from inside Spain is almost always the better deal: instead of a one-year visa you get a three-year permit straight away, the paperwork is filed electronically, and the family can be included in the same application.
Taxes: the Beckham regime — a flat 24%
The special impatriate regime (régimen especial de impatriados, Article 93 of the income tax law) was once devised for footballer David Beckham, and the Startup Law extended it to remote employees. The essence: employment income up to €600,000 a year is taxed at a flat 24% (47% above that), for the year of arrival plus the five following years. The election is filed on Modelo 149 within 6 months of registering with Spanish social security — miss the window and the regime is lost for good.
- •A flat 24% on employment income up to €600,000 a year — versus a progressive scale reaching 47%
- •Most foreign income (dividends, interest, capital gains outside Spain) escapes Spanish tax
- •No Modelo 720 declaration of foreign assets required
- •Wealth tax applies to Spanish assets only
- •The annual return is filed on a dedicated form, Modelo 151
Who the Beckham regime is not for
The main restriction: autónomo freelancers generally do not qualify — you need an employment contract with a foreign employer working with you remotely, or entrepreneur status with an innovative project. The second condition is not having been a Spanish tax resident in the previous 5 years. Contractors billing through their own sole proprietorship are often better off under the ordinary regime with deductions — run the numbers before the move, not after.
«The nomad visa answers the question "how do I live in Spain legally," and the Beckham regime answers "what will it cost me." The winners solve both problems at once.»