Can I Be a Digital Nomad in Spain?

Remote work and the digital nomad lifestyle have taken off in the last few years, and Europe has been one of the most open places to this type of work. But each country is still pretty specific about how it handles it. With that in mind, we put together this short overview of being a digital nomad in Spain.

While still in the works, the next few months should bring a new bill passed in Spain called the Startup Act, which should greatly help digital nomads worldwide. The gist of it is that people will be able to stay in Spain between six and twelve months (though there have been talks of more extended periods as well) without any work visa if the visitors make at least eighty per cent of their income from non-Spanish companies and clients.

This would make moving to Spain for a couple of months as a digital nomad a breeze. In the meantime, there are other visa options you can take to stay in Spain. The Schengen visa allows non-EU citizens to stay for up to 90 days, but only every 180 days, so you can't just renew the visa when it's done. There's also the non-lucrative visa which is excellent if you're fully employed by a foreign company, as it allows you to stay for up to one year.

But if you do commission work or look for projects in Spain, this is not the best option. You can also ask for the self-employment visa, which is only good if you're planning on creating job opportunities in Spain, and then there's the Working holiday visa, but this one in particular. You must be between 18 and 30 years of age, you must be either from Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand or South Korea, and you have to have had a seasonal job. Either way, at least one of these options should help you stay in Spain for a while to enjoy the borderless digital nomad experience.

Unless you're planning on moving to Spain for a few years, the chances are that you will need to get yourself private healthcare insurance. Many of the visas discussed above explicitly require you to have one before entering the country. However, once you do, you can enjoy a high-quality service from the country's many hospitals and healthcare clinics. The second thing you need to think about is finances.

While many banks offer fantastic deals when it comes to domestic transactions and ATM withdrawals, going abroad might mean additional fees that can rack up the cost of living, see if your bank (or another bank in your country) does not offer a package that focuses on staying abroad, alternatively, see if you could get one of the local Spanish banks – the process shouldn't be too complex.

Moving to Spain will also include getting a Spanish number. This might seem like a hassle, but it will save you a ton of money. Your best choice is the pre-paid SIM card. It's a one-time purchase, and there is no monthly plan, nor is there a contract attached to it. You call and send messages or even use mobile data – each action costs you some credit which you can recharge online using your debit card. And that's it. Getting a Spanish phone number couldn't be easier.