Digital Nomad Visa: Turkey → Spain

The minimum is calculated from Spain’s SMI (minimum wage), so the exact euro amount can change when SMI changes. If your income is in TRY, it helps to: 1) Keep a clear buffer above the minimum, 2) Show stable incoming payments over time, and 3) Provide consistent contracts/invoices/payslips that match your bank statements.

The digital nomad route usually requires either a university degree or proof of professional experience, but “degree recognition” (homologation) is a separate topic that depends on the profession and what you plan to do in Spain. If you’re in a regulated profession, get advice before relying on a one-line rule of thumb.

Yes — that is exactly what this route is for. What you may do on the Spanish side depends on which of the two scenarios applies to you:

• Employment relationship (actividad laboral): in Spain you may work only for the company based outside the national territory for which you telework. There is no 20% allowance here — working for a company located in Spain is not permitted.
• Professional relationship (actividad profesional): you keep the professional relationship with the company you applied with. You may also work for a company located in Spain, as long as that engagement is a professional relationship (never employment) and does not exceed 20% of your total professional activity.

Note that the 20% cap measures your total professional activity, not your income, and it applies only to the self-employed professional route. In every case the work must be performed remotely through computer, telematic and telecommunication means, not from a Spanish office. Most Turkish remote employees simply keep working for their Turkish employer and take on no Spanish-side work at all.

Yes, family members can often be included. You’ll need to show additional economic means on top of the main applicant threshold: +75% of SMI for the first dependent and +25% of SMI for each additional dependent.

You may see references online to “cascade” practices for multiple-entry Schengen visas. Those policies mainly relate to short-stay visas and do not replace a residence permit. For a long-term, predictable setup in Spain, focus on the residence permit requirements and your document package.

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.