Applying for the Spanish Digital Nomad Visa as a remote employee

Requirements and Necessary Documents

1. Existing Employment Relationship

You must demonstrate that you have an employment relationship with a foreign company.

The employment relationship must have existed for at least three months before the application is submitted.

Documents Needed

• Employment contract

• Employer letter authorizing remote work from Spain

• Payslips/ paystubs from the last three months

• Bank statements showing monthly salary payments matching the paystub information.

• Certificate of registration of your employer's company, apostilled and sworn translated (this is used as proof that the company has been active for at least one year)

2. Professional Qualification

You must prove either:

Option A

• CV

• A Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, or equivalent qualification, apostilled and sworn translated into Spanish.

OR

Option B

• CV

• At least three years of professional experience in your field. It is not enough to show your CV, which is a mandatory document anyway. You need to prove this by getting your employment history from the Social Security authority or equivalent in your country of origin, and this document has to be apostilled and sworn translated.

3. Minimum Income Requirement (Gross)

You must demonstrate sufficient income to support yourself in Spain.

The exact threshold changes annually and depends on whether family members are included in your application.

2026 Income Requirements

• Main applicant only: 2,849€ per month or 34,188€ per year

• Main applicant + 1 family member: 3,917€ per month or 47,004€ per year

• Main applicant + 2 family members: 4,274€ per month or 51,288€ per year

• Main applicant + 3 family members: 4,630€ per month or 55,560€ per year

• Main applicant + 4 family members: 4,986€ per month or 59,832€ per year

• Main applicant + 5 family members: 5,342€ per month or 64,104€ per year

4. Social Security Coverage

One of the requirements to apply for the Spanish Digital Nomad Visa, is that you must be actively contributing to a Social Security system and be covered by it in Spainat the time of your application.

Depending on your current setup, there are different ways to meet this requirement:

Setup 1: You're employed in a country with a Social Security agreement with Spain

If this is your case, you will be able to request a certificate of coverage from your home country.

Continue reading to see the list of the countries that have this agreement in place:

• United States

• United Kindom

• Russia

• Chile

• Canada

• Brazil

• South Korea

• Colombia

If you are working in another country, you would have to research and see if the certificate of coverage is now a possibility, since things keep changing over time.

Setup 2: You're employed in a country without such an agreement

In this situation, you have two options:

Set up 2 - Option 1

Ask your employer toregister the company in Spain (just to pay Social Security contributions, no tax registration needed). We could help coordinate this if you decide to go down this route and work with Groovy Relocation.

Set up 2 - Option 2
You can switch to a self-employed setup.

Please note: If you're employed, not eligible for a certificate of coverage and your employer does not want to register their company in Spain to pay your Social Security contributions, your only viable option is to change your set up to self-employed for which you can check our guide for applying for the Digital Nomad Visa as a freelancer. You cannot pay Social Security in Spain as an individual unless you are autónomo (a registered self-employed in Spain), so becoming self employed becomes your only viable option. People often ask us if they can keep working as employees and pay their own Social Security contributions in Spain and no, this is not an option - only the employer can pay for their employees’ Social Security contributions.

As of April 2026, UGE is requesting theirowncertificate of registration as self-employed to people applying as freelancers / external contractors, so take into account that, if you decide to change your set up to self-employed, you will have to wait 3 months from the date of your registration to be able to apply for the DNV. The reason why is that as you know, one of the requirements for the DNV is to have been working under the same set up for at least 3 months at the time of the application. Not meeting even just one of the requirements results in a denial, all of the requirements are equally important.

5. Proof of Employment

You must provide evidence that you are genuinely employed by the company.

Typical documents include:

• Employment contract

• Payslips

• Bank statements showing salary payments

• Employer letter

• Employer’s company registration certificate

The UGE may request additional evidence if necessary.

6. Private Health Insurance in Spain (If Applicable)

If you are moving to Spain under a Certificate of Coverage (such as an A1 Certificate or an equivalent document issued by your country's Social Security authority), private health insurance from a Spanish insurance provider is required for the Digital Nomad Visa application.

Please note that travel insurance is not sufficient.

We usually recommend obtaining a quote through Innoinsurance and often suggest Asisa, as it offers competitive pricing and comprehensive coverage suitable for most applicants.

If you need assistance arranging private health insurance, we would be happy to help.

If your employer is registering in Spain and paying Spanish Social Security contributions on your behalf, you will have access to the Spanish public healthcare system. In this case, private health insurance is notmandatory for the Digital Nomad Visa application. That said, many applicants still choose to take out private health insurance because it typically provides faster access to specialists, shorter waiting times, and access to private hospitals and clinics. The cost will depend on factors such as your age, medical history, and the level of coverage selected.

What Is a Certificate of Coverage for Social Security Contributions?

Employees applying for the Digital Nomad Visa must prove that they will continue contributing to, and being covered by, the Social Security system of their home country while working remotely from Spain OR contributing in Spain directly.

The exact document required depends on the country where your employer is located:

European Union Countries

A valid A1 Certificate is required.

This certificate confirms that you will continue paying Social Security contributions in your home/work country instead of Spain during the period covered by the certificate.

United Kingdom

A valid A1 Certificate is also required.

Following Brexit, the UK and EU signed a Social Security coordination agreement that allows eligible employees to continue contributing to the UK National Insurance system while working in Spain.

Countries with a Bilateral Social Security Agreement with Spain

Several countries have agreements with Spain that allow employees to remain covered by their home country's Social Security system while temporarily working in Spain.

The most common certificates are:

• United States

• United Kingdom

• Canada

• Brazil

• Colombia

• Chile

• Russia

• South Korea

The exact name of the document varies depending on the country and the authority issuing it. It may be called a Certificate of Coverage, Certificate of Continued Coverage, Certificate of Coverage for Social Security Contributions, Certificado de Desplazamiento, or a similar name.

Other Countries

If your country is not listed above, it does not necessarily mean that you cannot apply. Every case should be assessed individually and more countries could be added to the list in the future.

Does Anything Change if I Come With My Partner or Family?

Yes.

The minimum income requirement increases depending on the number of accompanying family members, as shown above.

Only the main applicant's income and savings are taken into account when assessing whether the financial requirements are met.

Your spouse or partner does not need to meet any income requirements.

Your spouse or partner will generally need:

• Criminal record certificate

• Marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate

These documents must be apostilled and sworn translated into Spanish.

For children, birth certificates will be required, and also have to be apostilled and sworn translated into Spanish.

If you are separated and moving to Spain with a child, you may also need authorisation from the parent who will remain outside Spain.

What Documents Need to Be Apostilled?

Any document issued by a foreign public authority (i.e. a non-Spanish official document) must generally be apostilled or legalized before it can be used in a Spanish immigration application.

Whether a document requires an apostille or consular legalization depends on the country that issued the document, not on Spain. The Spanish immigration authorities, including the UGE (Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit, the authority responsible for Digital Nomad Visa applications), needs to see that the document has been properly legalized in order to accept it as valid evidence during the application process.

An apostille is simply a form of legalization used by countries that are members of the Hague Apostille Convention. If the country that issued your document is not part of the Convention, the document will need to go through a consular legalization process instead.

The following documents are commonly used in Digital Nomad Visa applications and all require an apostille or legalization. Please note that this does not mean you will need all of them, as the required documents depend on your individual circumstances. This is just a general list of the most commonly used documents:

• Certificate of registration of your employer’s company

• Certificate of Coverage for Social Security

• Marriage certificate

• Children's birth certificates

• Employment history records

• Bachelor's degree, Master's degree or equivalent qualification

• Criminal record certificate

Bank statements do not need to be apostilled or legalized. However, the UGE frequently requests them to be stamped by the bank and/or notarized.

What Documents Need to Be Sworn Translated into Spanish?

Most documents submitted as part of a Digital Nomad Visa application must be in Spanish, although not all require a sworn translation.

A sworn translation is an official translation completed by a translator accredited by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC).

As a general rule, any document that requires an apostille or legalization will also require a sworn translation into Spanish, so you can refer to the above list.

In addition, employment contracts and employer letters also require a sworn translation even though they do not need to be apostilled.

What About Taxes?

Tax residency and taxation depend on your personal circumstances, length of stay, nationality, and employment structure.

We handle the immigration side of your move but we recommend obtaining personalized tax advice before relocating, specially as employees, because employees moving to Spain under the Digital Nomad Visa are very likely to be able to apply for the special taxed regime known as the “Beckham’s Law”. We have a blog entry about it.

We can recommend trusted tax specialists who are familiar with Digital Nomad Visa cases.

How Does Working With Groovy Relocation Work?

We've been successfully handling Digital Nomad Visa applications since the visa was first introduced in April 2023, achieving an approval rate of approximately 98% across applicants from all over the world.

When you work with Groovy Relocation, we:

✓ Assess your eligibility during a welcome call

✓ Help prepare supporting evidence and provide templates for required documents and letters

✓ Review your documentation

✓ Coordinate sworn translations

✓ Prepare and submit your application

✓ Handle requests from the Spanish authorities

✓ Support you until a final decision is issued

Our Fees

We've been successfully handling Digital Nomad Visa applications since the visa was first introduced in April 2023, achieving an approval rate of approximately 98% across applicants from all over the world, regardless of their nationality.

Our fees are:

• 1374€ for the main applicant

• 600€ for each accompanying family member

These prices include VAT and the administrative application fee (73.26€ per application), which we will pay on your behalf when submitting your application.

Payment Terms

Payment is divided into two installments:

• 50% of our service fee + the application fee (724€) when you start working with us

• Remaining 50%of our service fee (650€) after the application has been submitted

• This two installments apply to the main applicant. If you are applying with accompanying family members, the remaining amount corresponding to their applications will be arranged after our welcome call.

We continue working on your case until a final decision is issued by the Spanish administration.

What Happens After You Sign Up?

As soon as we receive the first payment, you will receive:

✓ Access to your secure document upload folder. You do not need to wait until all your documents are ready before uploading them. We encourage clients to upload documents as they obtain them so we can review everything progressively and identify any issues early in the process.

✓ A personalised checklist of the documents required for your application

✓ Detailed document preparation guidelines

✓ Templates and drafts for client letters, contracts, invoices and other supporting documents where applicable

✓ Direct access to our team by email and WhatsApp throughout the entire process

Still Have Questions?

Every Digital Nomad Visa application is different.

Browse our FAQ section and blog for more information. If you still cannot find the answer you are looking for, feel free to contact us or book a consultation. We're always happy to help!