Spain digital nomad visa

Was my income high enough?

The 2026 threshold is €34,188 a year for the main applicant: 200% of the Spanish minimum wage, which Real Decreto 126/2026 set at €17,094 a year. In monthly terms that is roughly €2,849.

Each family member raises the bar. The first adds 75% of the minimum wage, every further one adds 25%. A file that met the single-applicant figure but listed a spouse and a child can be refused on income alone.

The percentages come from the consular requirements, not from the law itself, and the minimum wage is reset every year. An application refused in 2025 is measured against the 2026 wage when you file again.

Which permit should the second filing ask for?

Filed at a Spanish consulate abroad, the visa runs for up to 1 year. Filed inside Spain as a residence authorisation, it runs for up to 3 years and is renewed in 2-year periods.

The in-country route also has a legal clock: the UGE-CE unit must decide within 20 days, and silence past that point counts as approval (Law 14/2013, art. 76). If you are already in Spain lawfully, this is usually the route we file.

Will I become a Spanish tax resident?

Usually yes, and the permit is not what decides it. You are resident for tax if you spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, or if the core of your activities or economic interests is here; a spouse and minor children living in Spain create a presumption of residence.

A resident is taxed on worldwide income on the general scale, where the combined top rate reaches 47%. That is the figure most remote workers underestimate when they plan the move.

Can I use the 24% flat rate instead?

Telework visa holders can opt into the inbound-worker regime (LIRPF art. 93, known as the Beckham Law) if they were not Spanish tax resident in the previous 5 years. Employment income is then taxed at a flat 24% up to €600,000 and 47% above it.

Under the regime only Spanish-source income is taxed; foreign income is left out. It covers the year of arrival and the following 5 tax years, 6 years in total. Savings income still follows its own scale, which tops out at 30%.