Spain's Digital Nomad Visa: 2026 Requirements

Who the digital nomad visa is for

The digital nomad visa is for people who earn their living remotely from companies outside Spain. Created by the startup law, Ley 28/2022, it covers two profiles: employees of a foreign company with written permission to work from Spain, and self-employed professionals whose clients are mostly outside Spain. The work must be doable entirely online. Employees may work only for their foreign employer, while the self-employed may take Spanish clients for up to 20% of their total activity. Since the golden visa ended in 2025, the DNV is the route for buyers who still work, and the non-lucrative visa is the route for those who do not. How they compare sits in our guide to residency and property in Spain.

The 2026 income requirement: €2,849 a month

The financial test is set at 200% of Spain's minimum wage, the SMI, so it moves every year. Real Decreto 126/2026 set the 2026 SMI at €1,221 a month paid in 14 instalments, €17,094 a year. The immigration authorities annualise that and divide by 12, giving €1,424.50 a month, and the DNV requires double it: €2,849 a month, €34,188 a year, gross. The first family member adds 75% of the monthly figure, roughly €1,068, and each further member adds 25%, roughly €356. Income is evidenced with the contract, payslips or invoices, and bank statements.

Spain's 2026 minimum wage is €1,221 a month in 14 instalments, €17,094 a year; the digital nomad visa requires 200% of it, €2,849 a month gross for a single applicantSource: Boletín Oficial del Estado, Real Decreto 126/2026 · February 2026 · View market data →

The eligibility tests beyond income

Income is only one test. Whichever route you take, the application must also evidence:

• At least 3 months with the employer or clients before applying, expected to continue for at least a year.
• A company with real activity for at least 1 year, proven with a commercial registry certificate.
• A degree from a recognised university or business school, or at least 3 years of professional experience. Either is enough.
• Social security coverage: the foreign employer registers with Spanish social security, or a certificate of coverage under a social security agreement applies, or the self-employed register as autónomos in the RETA regime.
• Health insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain, full coverage, no co-payments, unless Spanish social security covers you.
• Criminal record certificates from the countries you lived in over the past 2 years, apostilled and translated, plus a declaration covering 5 years.

The digital nomad visa requires a 3-month prior relationship with the employer or clients, a company trading for at least 1 year, a degree or 3 years of professional experience, and social security coverage; self-employed applicants may work for Spanish companies up to 20% of their activitySource: Plataforma One, Government of Spain, digital nomad visa application requirements · September 2026 · View market data →

Two ways to apply: the consulate or from inside Spain

The DNV is unusual in giving applicants a choice. You can apply at the Spanish consulate covering your place of residence, which issues a visa valid for a maximum of 1 year, convertible into a residence permit before it expires. Or you can enter Spain legally, on a standard 90-day Schengen entry for example, and apply directly to the UGE, the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit. That route grants a residence permit of up to 3 years from the start, decided within 20 working days, and an application not answered in time is approved by positive administrative silence. Renewals add 2 years at a time, and after 5 years of continuous residence you qualify for long-term residence, which drops the income test.

Foreigners legally in Spain can apply for the telework residence permit directly, valid for a maximum of 3 years, while the consulate visa has a maximum validity of 1 yearSource: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, telework visa requirements, Consulate General of Spain in Washington · September 2026 · View market data →

Tax: the 183-day rule and the 24% Beckham option

Live in Spain more than 183 days in a calendar year and you become a Spanish tax resident, taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates. For DNV holders who are employees there is an alternative: the impatriate regime under article 93 of the income tax law, known as the Beckham regime, extended to international teleworkers by the same Ley 28/2022. It taxes employment income at a flat 24% up to €600,000 a year, for the year of arrival plus the five following years, provided you were not a Spanish tax resident in the previous 5 years.

The catch is who qualifies. The tax authority has confirmed that the teleworker route into the Beckham regime requires an employment relationship, so self-employed DNV holders, who have clients rather than an employer, pay ordinary progressive rates. Freelancers should price that difference in before moving, not after.

The special regime under article 93, amended by Ley 28/2022 with effect from 1 January 2023, covers employees working remotely by exclusively telematic means, expressly including holders of the international teleworking visa of Ley 14/2013, with a 24% withholding rate on employment income up to €600,000Source: Agencia Tributaria, special regime for inpatriates, article 93 Personal Income Tax Law · September 2026 · View market data →

What a remote income buys on the Costa del Sol

The visa tests income, not property, and remote workers tend to buy where the connections are: along the train line between Málaga airport and Fuengirola. Across our live Costa del Sol inventory of 7,859 resale listings in September 2026, the median asking price is €659,000 and the median apartment asks €490,000. Fuengirola, the largest market on the train line with 449 listings, has a €549,000 median, and Benalmádena, one stop closer to the airport with 214 listings, sits at €618,748. Estepona, further west and the coast's deepest market with 865 listings, asks €615,000. Asking prices for every town are on our live price pages, and the train-line market is on our Fuengirola listings.

Median asking prices, September 2026: €659,000 across 7,859 active Costa del Sol resale listings, €490,000 for apartments, €549,000 in Fuengirola, €618,748 in Benalmádena and €615,000 in EsteponaSource: Hometailor market data · September 2026 · View market data →

Whether the permit comes first or the home does, the wider picture sits in our residency and property guide, and what daily life actually costs is answered with real numbers in our cost of living guide.