Digital Nomad, Non-Lucrative or cuenta propia: which Spanish residency permit fits

No. Reglamento art. 61.1 defines the status as residing in Spain without carrying out employment or professional activity, and it draws no exception for work paid from abroad. This is the most common misreading of the route, and it is why the Non-Lucrative column is on this page at all: if your money comes from working, the route is the Digital Nomad residency permit or the self-employed residency permit (cuenta propia), not this one.

By the published figure the order is: cuenta propia has no stated floor at all, the Non-Lucrative permit asks €2,400 a month, and the Digital Nomad permit asks €2,849 a month.

On its own that ranking misleads. The cuenta propia test is not a salary test — art. 84 lists licences, professional qualifications and proof that the planned investment is sufficient for the project, which is a business-plan judgement rather than a number you can hit with a payslip. And the Non-Lucrative figure is money you must have without working for it — savings or periodic income — which is a harder test than earning the larger number. The full arithmetic behind the Digital Nomad threshold, including family additions, is on the family income page, and the permit selector asks the four questions that separate the routes.

Not automatically. An employee working remotely for a foreign company may qualify under article 93.1.b).1º LIRPF, subject to the other conditions of article 93 and a timely election. The provision explicitly mentions the international-telework visa; holding a permit alone does not establish eligibility.

Ordinary self-employment does not qualify by itself. Separate qualifying entrepreneurial or professional activities are defined in art. 113.2 RIRPF. Non-Lucrative residence itself supplies no qualifying reason for the move under article 93.1.b), although a family member of someone who moves on a qualifying route can be covered by article 93.3. Once eligibility is established, the Beckham calculator compares the tax amounts.

The Digital Nomad route, and not by a small margin. Ley 14/2013 art. 76.1 sets 20 days from electronic filing and makes silence positive: no answer means granted. Days are working days under the general rule in Ley 39/2015 art. 30.2.

Non-Lucrative runs to one month and cuenta propia to three, and in both cases silence means the opposite — the application is deemed refused. What has to be in the file before that clock starts is set out on the requirements and checklist page.

Yes. LO 4/2000 art. 32.2 opens long-term residence after five years of continuous temporary residence, subject to the conditions the Reglamento sets, and it does not care which temporary permit produced them. Non-Lucrative gets there on a 1 + 2 + 2 cadence, cuenta propia on 1 + 4, and the Digital Nomad route on 3 + 2.

In one direction, yes, with conditions. Reglamento art. 191.4 lets someone who has spent at least a year in Spain on a permit that did not allow work move to a work authorisation without a new visa, meeting the requirements of art. 74 for employed work or art. 84 for self-employed work; the new authorisation runs one year and takes effect on registration with Social Security. Separately, art. 74 quinquies.1 of Ley 14/2013 opens the telework authorisation to anyone legally present in Spain. What you cannot do is treat a switch as automatic — each one is a fresh application against a fresh set of requirements.

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.

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.

Yes. You can appeal a refusal (resolución denegatoria) by filing a recurso, generally within 1 month of the notification 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.

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 3–5 weeks later.
• Padrón (empadronamiento): register your address at the local town hall (ayuntamiento). You need the padrón for the TIE, healthcare, schools, and opening a bank account.
• 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.