Visas and residence permits for Spain, including the digital nomad permit

• Employees (general regime). Your employer applies for an initial residence and work authorisation; you then apply for the visa at the consulate within one month of being notified. Some posts require the national employment situation to be assessed first. In Catalonia, the Generalitat's labour department gives citizens and companies information on work authorisations.
• Highly qualified professionals and EU Blue Card (Law 14/2013). For managers and qualified staff, the company files online with the UGE. Check the UGE's current salary and qualification requirements before you sign.
• Seasonal work has its own four-year authorisation allowing up to nine months of work per year.

Law 14/2013 lets non-EU nationals live in Spain while working remotely for companies based outside Spain, using only computers and telecommunications. According to the UGE's FAQ:

• Who: adults from outside the EU. Employees can only work in Spain for their foreign employer. Self-employed applicants may also work for Spanish clients as long as that work is a professional (not employment) relationship and does not exceed 20% of their total professional activity. Freelancers must show a commercial contract with the foreign company of at least three months.
• Income: at least 200% of the monthly minimum wage (SMI) for the main applicant, plus 75% of the SMI for the first family member and 25% for each additional one. With the 2026 SMI of €1,221 a month, 200% is €2,442 a month (our calculation; check the figure the UGE or consulate applies).
• Social security: registration in Spain is compulsory. Employees are registered by their foreign employer (which must register in Spain as a non-resident entity) unless a bilateral social security agreement lets them keep cover from home; self-employed people must join the self-employed scheme (RETA).
• Other requirements: no criminal record in the last five years, public or private health insurance without waiting periods or co-payments, and a qualified profile.
• How: from abroad, apply at the consulate for a telework visa valid for one year; from inside Spain, if you are here lawfully, apply directly to the UGE for a residence authorisation (the UGE grants it for three years). The application fee is €73.26, paid online.
• Family: spouse or partner, children and dependent parents can apply with you and may work in Spain.

Students receive a long-stay visa or stay authorisation for the length of the course. Since May 2025 students may work up to 30 hours a week, as long as the work is compatible with their studies. Graduates at bachelor's level or higher can then apply for a permit to look for work or start a business.

For people who want to live in Spain without working, for example retirees or people with passive income. You need health insurance and means of at least 400% of the IPREM per month for yourself (€2,400 a month in 2026, as the IPREM stays at €600) plus 100% (€600) per dependent family member, for the length of the permit. The first authorisation lasts one year; renewals last two years, and to renew you must have lived in Spain for more than 183 days in the year. The authorisation does not allow you to work, and the UGE says time spent on it cannot be used to claim prior remote work for a telework permit.

• Family reunification: foreign residents can sponsor close relatives (for example a spouse or partner and children) if they have adequate housing and stable income of at least 150% of the IPREM for a two-person household (€900 a month in 2026) plus 50% (€300) per additional member. Reunited spouses, partners and children may work without any further procedure.
• Family of Spanish citizens: since May 2025 there is a specific residence route and visa for relatives of Spanish nationals.
• Family of EU citizens apply for an EU family member residence card instead (see the EU registration certificate guide).

• Job-search visas last 12 months, but they are only issued in limited numbers set by ministerial order, for descendants of Spanish nationals or for specific occupations and areas.
• Arraigo permits regularise people already living in Spain, generally after two years of residence, through social, socio-labour, socio-training, family or "second chance" routes. These are complex; seek advice (for example from your town hall's immigration service or a lawyer).

• File renewals during the two months before your authorisation expires. Applying within three months after expiry is still possible but can lead to a fine.
• Many renewed authorisations under the 2025 regulation last four years; non-lucrative renewals last two.
• After five years of continuous legal residence you can usually apply for long-term residence.
• Spanish nationality by residence generally requires ten years of legal residence (five for refugees and two for nationals of some countries, such as Ibero-American countries), plus the CCSE civics test and, for most applicants, a DELE A2 Spanish exam (see Learning Spanish and Catalan).