Dec 12. After teasing it for months, Spain is looking set to finally write into law its long-awaited Startup Act in early 2023, opening a new migration route for foreign workers who might fancy a move to the country, including digital nomads. While it doesn’t carry this particular name, the new regulation is, in effect, an equivalent to a Digital Nomad Visa (DNV).
This year, several countries in Europe began opening up to nomads, including the tourist hotspots of Greece, Italy, Croatia and Albania, who all have the advantage of being located in the continent’s sunny south, and a pleasant, temperate climate year-round. Spain, on the other hand, had been the only missing piece on this wider Mediterranean puzzle.
Luckily for nomads enamored with the Iberian nation, they will soon be able to stay longer than 3 months, as long as some requirements are met:
- First and foremost, European citizens are not eligible: they can already live and work from Spain requirement-free*
- Applicants cannot be employed by a company based in Spain
- Self-employed nomads can only have 20% of their income originating from Spanish sources
- Nomads cannot have been residents in Spain in the past five years
- They must have had a stable source of income for at least one year ahead of submitting their application
- They must present a clean criminal record
- Applicants who have been refused entry to Spain and the wider Schengen Area are not eligible to apply
- Health insurance is mandatory throughout the entirety of their stay in Spanish territory
- Proof of accommodation in Spain is required (short-term rentals are generally accepted)
Source: Travel off Path
