Spain Digital Nomad Visa requirements, explained

The requirements at a glance

The Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) was created by Spain's Startups Law for remote workers — employees of companies based outside Spain, and freelancers whose clients are abroad. The rules are detailed but logical once you group them. Below, each requirement is broken out so you know exactly where you stand before spending money on paperwork.

1. The financial requirement

The headline test is income. A single applicant shows €2,850 per month, and the requirement rises with each dependent you bring:

What counts as income

• Salary from a non-Spanish employer on a stable contract.
• Freelance or autónomo income, primarily from clients outside Spain.
• Documented, recurring earnings — not one-off payments.

Savings strengthen an application, but they do not replace demonstrable, ongoing income.

2. Work history and qualifications

Two things have to line up: your relationship with whoever pays you, and your own professional background.

• At least three months with your current employer or clients before you apply.
• The employer or client business has been trading for more than a year.
• You hold a degree relevant to your work, or at least three years of relevant professional experience.

3. Authorisation to work remotely

Your employer — or each client, if you freelance — confirms in writing that your role can be carried out remotely and that you are permitted to do it from Spain. For employees this is a letter stating your position, length of service, salary in euros, and explicit authorisation to work remotely. Freelancers provide equivalent confirmation from their clients, including the contracted or invoiced amounts.

4. Clean criminal record

You must show you have no relevant criminal history:

• A criminal-record certificate from every country you have lived in over the last five years.
• A signed declaration confirming you have no criminal record.

Foreign certificates need an apostille and a sworn translation, and they have a limited validity window — so don't request them too early.

5. Health cover

Your route to cover depends on your employment type:

• Employees: only a handful of countries hold a bilateral social-security agreement with Spain, so in most cases you take out private health insurance with full cover in Spain. Arranging that is included in my service fee.
• Freelancers: you register as autónomo and pay into Spanish social security, which also satisfies the health-cover requirement.

Where you apply changes what you get

One detail catches many people out: the route you choose affects the permission you receive.

Neither route is universally better — it comes down to where you are, your timing, and how soon you want longer-term residency. Settle the route before you start gathering documents.

The documents, in short

Most applications come down to the same core set:

• Passport and application forms.
• Proof of income (contracts, recent payslips or invoices, matching bank statements).
• Employer or client letters authorising remote work.
• Evidence the employer/client business has traded for over a year.
• Degree or proof of experience — apostilled and translated.
• Criminal-record certificate and declaration.
• Proof of health cover (certificate of coverage, private insurance, or autónomo registration).