Spain’s digital nomad visa one year on: How are remote workers and locals getting along?

A year after Spain launched a special digital nomad visa to encourage foreign business talent to move to the country, it has met with muted success.

Some 300 foreign nationals were granted the visa up until 31 December 2023, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said, but it did not disclose their nationalities.

The relatively small number may relate to the problems encountered by some applicants keen to make a new life under the Iberian sun.

Some said it was hard to fulfil all the visa’s demands like proving they pay social security in their own country. Others complained of the endless paperwork involved in the process.

Euronews Travel spoke to visa experts, applicants and locals to find out more.

Visa experts who help digital nomads to conquer this bureaucracy told Euronews Travel that it was not as easy as it seems to secure this ticket to work in Spain.

“The digital nomad visa can be complex if you are unfamiliar with the requirements,” says Maria José Muñoz Gomez, owner of immigration consultancy Help At Hand Spain. “It’s certainly quite an intensive process to get everything lined up.”

The visa, which is aimed at all citizens from outside the European Economic Area, was designed to offer tax incentives to lure talented foreign workers who, it is hoped, will stay in Spain long term.

To get a visa, a person must prove they have paid social security and have been working in their own country.

“For all applicants, getting the right paperwork to prove your professional relationships with a registered company is vital,” says Maria.

You’ll also need to understand the social security system and how you will be taxed once you are approved, which requires coordination with the tax authority in your own country, she explains.

“It is possible to