Documents for Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa
A successful application depends not only on meeting the requirements, but also on proving them with clear, consistent and correctly prepared supporting documents.
The documents must prove the complete professional situation
Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa and international remote worker residence applications are document-based procedures. The authorities evaluate the applicant, the foreign company or client relationship, the remote nature of the activity, financial means and the applicable Social Security and healthcare arrangements.
Personal documentation
Identity, lawful status, criminal record and healthcare documents form part of the personal side of the application.
Employment or professional relationship
Contracts and supporting evidence should clearly establish whether the applicant is an employee or a self-employed professional.
Foreign company
The application should demonstrate that the foreign company or business group has genuine and continuous activity.
Financial consistency
Payslips, invoices and bank evidence should be consistent with the professional relationship on which the application is based.
Documents commonly required for the main applicant
The exact file depends on whether the applicant is an employee, an independent professional or a company owner, but the following documents form the core of many initial applications.
Application form
The UGE currently requires the relevant MIT application form to be correctly completed and signed.
Full passport
A clear copy of the complete valid passport or travel document should be provided, including all pages.
Government fee
Evidence of payment of the applicable administrative fee through Form 790-038 should be included when required.
Employment or professional contract
The contract should support the employment or professional relationship with the foreign company during the required prior period.
Company registration evidence
Official commercial registry documentation or equivalent evidence should establish the foreign company’s real and continuous activity.
Remote work letter
The foreign company should confirm that the work can be performed remotely from Spain and describe the role and working conditions.
CV and professional profile
The applicant’s curriculum vitae should support the professional background and role described in the application.
Degree or professional experience
The file should include the relevant qualification or evidence supporting at least three years of comparable professional experience.
Proof of financial means
Payslips or invoices and corresponding bank documentation should demonstrate the income linked to the declared activity.
Social Security documentation
The supporting documents depend on whether Spanish Social Security will apply or whether coverage remains under an applicable international agreement.
Criminal record certificate
Criminal record documentation may be required from the country or countries where the applicant has resided during the relevant period.
Healthcare coverage
Where Spanish Social Security does not provide the required healthcare entitlement, appropriate public or private health insurance may need to be demonstrated.
Your contract and company documents must tell the same story
One of the most important parts of the application is the consistency between the applicant’s role, the foreign company, the contract and the way in which the work will be performed remotely from Spain.
Prior relationship
The documentation should prove the required prior employment or professional relationship with the foreign company or client.
Company activity
Official documentation should establish that the foreign company or business group has maintained real and continuous activity for at least one year.
Remote work authorization
The employer or foreign company should explain that the activity can be performed remotely and authorize the applicant to work from Spain.
How should income be documented?
The UGE currently asks for documentary evidence connecting the income received with the employment or professional relationship used as the basis of the application.
Payslips or invoices
Payslips or invoices from the three months preceding the application may be used to demonstrate income from the declared activity.
Bank certificate
Bank documentation should show receipt of the income corresponding to the payslips or invoices submitted.
Clearly identifiable payments
Relevant movements should be clearly identifiable so that the authorities can connect each payment with the submitted evidence.
Additional liquid funds
Where professional income is below the required minimum, additional qualifying liquid funds may be relevant according to the current UGE documentation criteria.
Social Security documentation depends on your professional status
Employees and self-employed professionals do not necessarily submit the same Social Security documents. The applicable system should be identified before filing the application.
Employees
Depending on the applicable rules, the foreign employer may need to register with Spanish Social Security and commit to registering the employee before the activity begins in Spain.
Self-employed professionals
Where Spanish Social Security applies, the professional may need to commit to registration under the Spanish self-employed system before beginning the activity.
Translation, apostille and legalization
Documents issued abroad should be checked before filing. Their treatment depends on whether they are public documents, the country in which they were issued and the language of the document.
Translation into Spanish
Public documents not issued in Spanish generally need to be accompanied by an accepted Spanish translation.
The UGE documentation specifically refers to translations by sworn translators or other officially accepted channels depending on the type of document.
Apostille or legalization
Foreign public documents may need to be apostilled or legalized before they can be used in the Spanish immigration procedure.
The exact method depends on the issuing country and the international rules applicable to that document.
Applying with your family requires additional documents
When family members apply together with the main applicant, additional civil-status and personal documents are normally needed to prove the qualifying family relationship and each family member’s eligibility.
Proof of relationship
Marriage, partnership, birth or other civil-status documents may be needed depending on the family relationship.
Personal documents
Each accompanying family member may need their own passport and other personal supporting documentation.
Additional financial means
Including family members increases the financial resources that the main applicant must be able to demonstrate.
Official documentation and legal framework
The international remote worker regime is governed by Law 14/2013. The Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit also publishes practical documentation describing the evidence that applicants may use to support an initial residence application.
The exact documents required depend on the applicant’s circumstances. The Spanish authorities may request additional evidence where the documents submitted are not considered sufficient.
Questions about Digital Nomad Visa documents
Do I need to provide my entire passport?
How do I prove that I have worked with the company for three months?
What should the remote work letter say?
Do foreign documents need to be translated?
Do I need an apostille?
Can immigration request additional documents?
Have your documents reviewed before filing
Lawyer Lino García reviews the applicant’s contracts, company documents, remote work authorization, financial evidence, Social Security documentation and other supporting documents before the application is submitted.