Great news for digital nomads interested in living and working in Spain! The Spanish government has just announced a new digital nomads visa that can be used from 2025 for remote workers. The law has passed through the senate and is expected to come fully into law in January 2025.
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What Is the Spanish Startups Law (Ley de Startups)?
The startup’s law (known also as Ley de Startups) is a new law that should come fully into effect from January 2023, enabling you as a remote worker to live in Spain and with much less bureaucracy than in the past, and with reduced taxation.
The visa will enable you to stay in Spain for up to 5 years (as well as your spouse) and the key benefit of the visa is a reduced non-resident tax rate of 15%, as opposed to the standard 25%.
You will also have the option, after 5 years, to apply for permanent residency.
Summary of What to Expect
- You will need to earn 2000 Euros per month or more
- At least 80% of your income will need to be from outside of Spain
- You will pay 15% tax (rather than the standard 25%)
Requirements
In order to qualify for the visa you will need to prove that:
- you have been working remotely as a nomad for at least one year previously
- your work can be done online remotely
- you have no criminal record
- you have (or will take out) private health insurance to cover you in Spain
- you work for a company/client outside of Spain (to show that 80% or more of your income is from outside of Spain)
Why Has This Visa Been Introduced?
The intention of the Spanish government appears to be that they wish to attract skilled and talented individuals to Spain.
The Spanish secretary for Digitalisation, Carme Artigas, has stated that she wants to see Spain become a major technological hub, attracting skilled remote workers to Spain.
This new law will be particularly popular with British remote workers who can only stay in EU countries for up to 90 days at a time, since Brexit.
The new law though will likely attract skilled digital nomads from around the world.
Further Information
There is a growing digital nomad and remote workers community across Spain and some of the most popular locations, coliving spaces, and coworking hubs include:
- Sun & Co in Javea, Spain
- A very strong remote working network in the Canary Islands including in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and Fuerteventura
- Palma de Mallorca coliving & coworking
- or you might fancy living and working from Barcelona, Valencia, or Madrid.
Spain Travel Resources
I have been traveling for many years and have come to use a lot of travel sites and resources for booking my trips. They represent the companies that I often use and have served me well and they are the first ones I use when booking new trips.
- Booking.com – they tend to provide very competitive prices and the reviews are easy to view, and they normally have something available wherever in the world I am going to. They also now provide airport transfers, local attractions, and flights.
- Safety Wing Travel Insurance – Safety Wing has become one of the leaders in travel insurance, especially for remote workers and digital nomads as they provide cover that includes for long-term stays.
- Get Your Guide – is the site on which I normally book tours (I love to visit the local sports stadia, aquarium, royal palace, and some cultural attractions). With get Your Guide they have excellent customer support and have a wide range of tours.
- Lisbon Digital Nomads Guide – Co-working, Coliving and Remote Working in Portugal - July 10, 2024
- What Is Co-Working and the Benefits for Digital Nomads - January 6, 2024
- Uruguay Digital Nomads & Remote Working Guide - June 15, 2023
