What the Digital Nomad residency permit costs in 2026

To file, per person: a €73.26 fee for the residence authorisation. The TIE card is a separate €16.08 fee, paid after approval. The fees are not the main cost: expect roughly €150–500 per adult for sworn translations and legalisation, depending on which country issued your documents and how many pages they run to.

After that the two cases separate, and the difference is larger than the fees:

• Self-employed: no private health insurance policy for the application. You register with RETA once the permit is granted — about €89/month for the first 12 months, then Social Security’s net-income brackets: about €427/month at the Digital Nomad income minimum.
• Employed abroad: a private health insurance policy is part of the application, at €85–100 per person per month, normally paid a year up front.

Our own service price is separate again and is shown on the Digital Nomad guide.

Because the insurance line disappears. If you will join Spanish Social Security after approval, UGE does not ask for separate healthcare documents with the application — you simply do not buy a private health insurance policy.

That is not the same as healthcare being free. Once the permit is granted you register with RETA, and the contribution is the real cost: about €89/month for the first 12 months (€80 plus the MEI surcharge), then Social Security’s net-income brackets: €2,849 of revenue minus 7% is about €2,650 of net income, which means about €427/month.

What that money buys is worth saying plainly: full public healthcare for you and for your family with no co-payments and no waiting periods, paid sick leave, 19 weeks of paid parental leave per parent, and a Spanish pension record.

If you stay employed by a company abroad, you keep the insurance line instead: €85–100 per person per month, usually a year in advance. For a couple that is €2,000–2,400 before anyone has landed.

A child is an applicant like an adult. The residence authorisation is €73.26 and the TIE card €16.08, exactly as for a parent, and the child's own documents — birth certificate, and a police certificate once they are old enough to need one — carry their own translation and legalisation costs.

On our side, work on a child under 18 starts at €400, and on a spouse or a financially dependent child aged 18 or over at €500, on top of the main applicant's package.

Before buying any private health insurance for a child, check whether the child is already covered as a beneficiary through a parent.

Fees for 3 applicants come to €219.78: 3 residence authorisations at €73.26. After approval, 3 TIE cards at €16.08 each. Documents and translations are quoted per person, because each family member brings a different set.

Our family rates are flat and do not change between permits: from €500 for a spouse (or a financially dependent child aged 18 or over) and from €400 for a child under 18, added to the main applicant's package.

The income requirement is a separate calculation, not a cost — use the income calculator for the family threshold.

RETA is a monthly social security contribution, not an application fee and not a tax. It starts once you are registered as self-employed in Spain.

• First 12 months: a reduced contribution for anyone registering for the first time — €80 plus the MEI surcharge, about €89/month in practice (€88.64 per Social Security).
• Afterwards: Social Security’s net-income brackets. Net income is revenue minus expenses and a further 7%. At €2,849 of revenue — the permit minimum — that is about €2,650 and a contribution of about €427/month.

What it buys: public healthcare for you and your family with no co-payments and no waiting periods, paid sick leave, 19 weeks of paid birth leave per parent, and a Spanish pension record. Each benefit has its own qualifying period.

This line applies to applicants who stay employed by a company abroad and will not join Spanish Social Security.

What is accepted: a policy from an insurer authorised in Spain, sin copago — no charge per visit — and sin carencia, meaning no waiting period before you can use it. Waiting periods on ordinary policies run from months to a year for childbirth, surgery and complex diagnostics, which is exactly when a new arrival needs the cover. You can check an insurer on Spain’s register of authorised insurers (DGSFP).

What it costs: €85–100 per person per month, about €1,000–1,200 a year. Infants, older applicants and people with chronic conditions cost more. It is usually paid a year up front; monthly payment is not always offered. Before you move, the policy names the region where you plan to live.

International «digital nomad» policies — Genki is the usual example — do not qualify. They are cheaper, which is why applicants often buy one first and then pay twice.

One piece of good news: the same policy is priced differently in Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante, and regional offers come round. Nobody knows in advance where a client will settle, so there is usually something to be had. Write to us and we will recommend an agent we trust.

Sworn translators set their own fees — Real Decreto 724/2020, article 16 leaves the rate to the translator — and pricing is by words, not by sheets. The figures we work with in 2026:

• a typical certificate or diploma: about €45
• a company registry extract: from €150
• contracts, by volume: about €50 per page

The saving is not in the rate. It is in deciding which documents to translate: a 15-page employment contract usually comes down to the 3 or 4 pages that carry the terms UGE actually reads. That judgement is our work rather than a translator's, and it is worth a 15-minute call before you commission anything.

Two practical points. The bank certificate needs no sworn translation at all. And a sworn translator can certify a complete document electronically with a qualified signature under Orden AUC/213/2025 — a scanned signature is not the same thing.

United States. The FBI Identity History Summary costs $18 and the federal apostille $20 — $38 before fingerprinting and delivery. The FBI's own FAQ describes the electronic request and result, and the State Department sets out which version it will authenticate. Do not notarise the FBI result. Processing by mail is currently about 5 weeks.

United Kingdom. An ACRO police certificate costs £70 including standard post, with extra copies at £7.75 each if requested together, and ACRO asks for up to 30 working days. The FCDO apostille is £45 on paper or £35 electronically — but ACRO certificates are excluded from the e-Apostille, so UK official charges come to £115.

Apostille state fees and private courier services vary; get a written quote for your exact documents. Everything is filed electronically from Spain, so nothing is couriered to us.

UGE's fee guidance for Law 14/2013 permits puts renewal of the authorisation at €78.67 on form 790 código 038, and the renewed TIE card is €19.30 under Orden PJC/617/2025 — €97.97 per applicant in government fees.

The renewal document set is not the initial one, so translation and updated evidence are quoted again rather than repeated from the first application. The renewal guide lists what is actually required, and the renewal deadline checker tells you when the window opens.

Government fees, third-party charges and our own practice figures are different kinds of number, so here is which is which.

Set by the Spanish state:

• €73.26 residence authorisation and €78.67 renewal — tasa 790 código 038, as stated in UGE's fee guidance, which says the fee is the same for every residence authorisation under Law 14/2013
• €16.08 initial TIE and €19.30 renewed TIE — tasa 790 código 012, Orden PJC/617/2025
• RETA contribution bands — Social Security’s «¿Cuánto se debe cotizar?» table and Orden PJC/297/2026; the reduced first-year contribution is granted by Ley 20/2007, article 38 ter and was fixed at €80 for 2023–2025 by Real Decreto-ley 13/2022; the 2026 figure is the one on the TGSS autónomo guide
• €2,849/month income minimum — 200% of the SMI set by Real Decreto 126/2026

Charged by other countries: $18 and $20 by the FBI and the State Department; £70 by ACRO and £45 by the FCDO.

Our own practice figures, as at 2 October 2026: the reduced RETA contribution of about €89/month (€80 plus MEI) we see applied in 2026, private health insurance at €85–100 per person per month, and sworn translation at about €45 for a certificate, from €150 for a company extract and about €50 per page for contracts. These are what we quote clients, not published tariffs — ask for a written quote for your own documents.

We are a consultancy, not a law firm, and no consultancy decides these applications. UGE does — what UGE is and how it handles a file.

A worker authorised to live in Spain while working remotely for companies based outside Spain. The work must be done entirely through computer, telematic and telecommunication systems.

An adult national of a country outside the EU. Citizens of the European Union, and people covered by EU law, cannot use this route.

Yes. You must prove the professional relationship with a commercial contract that has run for at least three months, and the foreign company must authorise you to work from Spain.

Yes. If you work from Spain, you must register with Spanish Social Security. There are two cases:

• Employee: your company must register with Social Security and affiliate you in the General Regime.
• Self-employed: you must register in the self-employed workers' regime (RETA).

Employees can instead keep their home country's coverage — but only if Spain has a social security agreement with that country, and its administration issues a coverage certificate for teleworkers under that agreement. Only some countries with agreements issue these certificates. Which documents your country issues to prove self-employment, and why the certificate route is for employees only, is set out in proof of self-employment by country.

No. In that case you are not a teleworker but a worker transferred between companies (ICT, Intra Company Transfer). That is a separate permit with its own requirements.

• You must be in Spain legally.
• You must have no criminal record in Spain, or in any country you lived in during the 5 years before applying. Provide certificates from your countries of residence for the last 2 years, plus a sworn declaration covering the last 5.
• You must have health cover: public (through Social Security registration) or an equivalent private policy from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain. Travel insurance does not count, nor do policies limited to reimbursement of medical expenses, or with waiting periods or co-payments.
• You must have enough money for yourself and your family members during your period of residence in Spain.

Your work must always be done entirely through computer, telematic and telecommunication systems. Beyond that, two scenarios are possible:

• Employee: you can work only for the company outside Spain that you telework for.
• Freelancer (professional relationship): you can also work for companies in Spain, if you keep the professional relationship your authorisation is based on. The Spanish work must stay a professional relationship (never employment) and must not exceed 20% of your total professional activity.

Up to six months per calendar year. Stay within that limit and you keep meeting the requirements of the authorisation.

Yes. These family members can apply — together with you, or later:

• your spouse or unmarried partner
• your children — minors, or dependent adult children who have not formed their own family unit
• your dependent parents

Yes. Under the fourth additional provision of Law 14/2013, their residence permits allow both living and working in Spain — employed or self-employed.

You must prove enough money for yourself and your family members:

• Main applicant: 200% of the monthly minimum interprofessional wage (SMI)
• First family member: add at least 75% of the SMI
• Each further family member: add another 25% of the SMI

You can prove these amounts with contracts, payslips, company certificates and similar documents.

This is a normal part of the process: UGE issues a requerimiento (subsanación) when something is missing or needs clarifying. Under Ley 39/2015 (art. 68) you must respond within 10 working days of the notification date. On a justified request the deadline can be extended by up to 5 more days. If you do not respond in time, the application counts as withdrawn (desistido) and you have to file again. We handle the response end to end: we work out exactly what UGE is asking for and put together the correct documents on time. How to count the days and what UGE asks for most often: responding to a UGE requerimiento.

Yes. You can appeal a refusal (resolución denegatoria) with a recurso de alzada within 1 month of the day the decision is served on you (how to count the date). In practice it is often more effective to fix the reason for the refusal and reapply. We review the wording of the refusal, assess your chances, and handle either the appeal or a fresh application.

There are two routes:

• From Spain (through UGE): you enter Spain legally and apply online. The residence permit is granted for up to 3 years (or the length of your contract if shorter), with a legal decision deadline of 20 working days.
• Through a consulate: you apply at the Spanish consulate in your place of residence, get a national D visa valid for 1 year, and then arrange your residence permit once you're in Spain.

For most people, the UGE route from Spain is faster and more convenient. We'll help you choose the route that fits your situation. Which permits UGE decides and how long a decision takes in practice: the UGE page.

Once you're approved, complete these steps in Spain:

• TIE (residence card): book a fingerprint appointment (huellas) at the police station — a separate appointment for each family member — then collect the plastic card about 15–20 days later.
• Padrón (empadronamiento): register your address at the local town hall (ayuntamiento). You need the padrón for healthcare, schools, and opening a bank account. For the TIE it depends on the province: in Barcelona, Madrid, and Málaga you don't need it if the address in your application was in the same province where you give your fingerprints and you haven't moved since; otherwise you do.
• Certificado digital / Cl@ve: a digital signature for handling things online — taxes, RETA, appointments with government offices. This is especially important if you're registering as autónomo.

We'll walk you through the right order and recommend trusted providers, so you get through each step without mistakes.

Yes, if you're an employee (not self-employed). UGE needs proof that your home country's social security still covers you while you work remotely from Spain — an ordinary private insurance policy does not replace it. The document depends on where your employer is based:

• A1 certificate — EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK
• Certificate of Coverage — USA, under the US–Spain Totalization Agreement
• Your home country's social security certificate — countries with a bilateral agreement with Spain

In every case the wording must state that you work remotely from Spain. We help you get the right certificate with the correct wording.

As soon as possible — and no later than 45–60 days after your residence permit is approved. This matters: if you're on the self-employment (autónomo) track and do not register with RETA in time, UGE may raise questions at renewal. Register right after approval. If there have been delays, get in touch with us before filing your renewal.