Skip to content

Spain getting in on the digital nomad action

The Spanish Congress of Deputies recently approved the new Startup Law, which should pass into law in January 2023, which means we only know some of the details. Part of the proposed law creates a new Digital Nomad visa alongside the existing Non-Lucrative Visa.

Carme Artigas, the Spanish Secretary of State for digitalisation and artificial intelligence, said she hoped the digital nomad visa would entice talented Britons to make their home in Spain.

“Many British people who are here or who have second homes here can work here (with the visa) for their (UK) companies. But also, we want to attract many talented Britons,” she said in an interview.

“Perhaps one of the greatest wastes of Brexit was for Europe to lose a part of its (British) talent.”

To qualify for the Digital Nomad Visa, you will have to have a foreign employer, not derive more than 20% of your income from Spain and not previously lived in Spain.

We are unsure of the minimum income level as we have seen reports of €2-3,000 per month and the Spanish national minimum wage. We bet the government will set the minimum at the €2-3,000 range rather than the lower one.

In common with most Digital Nomad visas we have seen elsewhere, the visa will be for an initial year with the possibility of extensions and probable scope to lead to a residence visa and, potentially, a Spanish passport. Still, we will have to wait for the law for a definitive answer.

This can be excellent news for Brits who still have their limited company. You will need to draw the minimum income as a salary when we know that figure. The Startup law also allows Corporation Tax in Spain to come down from Foreigners, one of the groups that will benefit the most from these measures. The rate will be 15% instead of 24% for up to four years.

There will be the opportunity to enjoy the IRNR (non-resident income tax). Previously you had to show you had not lived in Spain for ten years, but the law will reduce this time to 5 years, and the benefits will run for ten years. The great advantage is that you will pay tax on more favourable terms than the Spaniards. For example, you will pay only 15% tax on income up to €60,000 instead of 24%.