Residency options
Spain residency
The Golden Visa closed in April 2025. Two routes remain, the Digital Nomad Visa and the Non-Lucrative Visa, built for opposite situations. Here's which one is yours.
15–45 days
a realistic DNV decision at a consulate; the NLV runs longer, two to four months
€2,400 / mo
the lowest that qualifies, NLV, from savings, pension, dividends or rent
24%
flat tax on employment income under the Beckham Law, if you qualify, mainly salaried arrivals
183 days / yr
past this you are a Spanish tax resident; renewing the NLV also asks for it, the DNV does not
10 years
to citizenship. Permanent residency at five
Two routes remain. They target different people.
The Golden Visa closed on April 3, 2025, with no investment-based replacement. Both remaining routes ask for income, not capital, and applying under the wrong one is a common, costly mistake.
Path
You need
Permit in
You're here
Fits you if
1
Path
Digital Nomad VisaRemote work, foreign incomeYou need
€2,442 a month from foreign employers or clientsemployees must work for a company outside Spain; freelancers may bill up to 20% to Spanish clients; +€916 for the first dependent, €305 for each one afterPermit in
15–45 daysYou're here
183 days = tax residentFits you if
You work remotely for an employer or clients abroad, and, if salaried, want the Beckham option.2
Path
Non-Lucrative VisaFinancially independent, no workYou need
€28,800 a year in sufficient meanssavings, pension, dividends or rent; no work of any kind, including remote; +€7,200/yr per dependentPermit in
2–4 monthsYou're here
Living in SpainFits you if
You can show sufficient means, savings, pension, dividends or rent, and you'll live here full-time.The Beckham Law is a tax regime, not a residency route: a flat 24% on employment income up to €600,000 (47% above), with savings and investment income taxed separately at about 19–30%. You elect it within six months of registering with Spanish Social Security or starting the qualifying activity, not from arrival, and it works mainly for salaried arrivals, self-employed DNV holders generally don't qualify. It pairs with the DNV, not the NLV. A separate Startup/Entrepreneur visa also exists for founders; its requirements vary and it's a different track.
Spain fits you if…
- 1You earn €2,442+ a month from an employer or clients outside Spain, employees can’t bill Spanish companies at all, freelancers no more than 20%.
- 2Or you can show sufficient means, savings, pension, dividends, rent, at €28,800+ a year, with no work of any kind.
- 3You're ready to make Spain your base: the NLV expects real presence, its no-work rule is enforced harder than before, and past 183 days a year you're a Spanish tax resident either way.
- 4You can wait for the long game, permanent residency at five years, citizenship eligibility at ten.
The detail, when you want it.
DNV or NLV: which one
The DNV is for people still working, remote employees working for a company outside Spain and freelancers who keep at least 80% of their billings outside Spain, €2,442 a month, and a university degree or three or more years of relevant experience. The NLV is for people who won't work at all: sufficient means of €28,800 a year, from savings, pensions, dividends or rent, with salaried, freelance, remote and business-management work all prohibited.
The DNV can pair with the Beckham Law's flat 24%. The NLV cannot, its holders are taxed at standard progressive rates on worldwide income.
The Beckham Law, and its strict window
A flat 24% on employment income up to €600,000 (47% above that), for up to six years, instead of progressive rates; savings and investment income is taxed separately, at roughly 19–30%. You must elect it within six months of registering with Spanish Social Security or starting the qualifying activity, not from your arrival date, and you cannot apply retroactively. Missing that deadline is the most common reason applications fail.
It favours employment relationships over independent-contractor structures, so many self-employed DNV holders will not qualify. Get qualified Spanish tax advice before the move, not after.
Spanish-client limits: employees vs freelancers
The rule people quote as "80/20" is really a freelancer rule. If you are self-employed, no more than 20% of your income can come from Spanish clients, at least 80% must come from outside Spain, and it is checked, not a technicality.
Employees are held to a stricter line: you must work for an employer located outside Spain, and you cannot bill Spanish companies at all. If more than 20% of a freelancer's income is Spanish-sourced, or an employee has a Spanish employer, restructure before applying or look at a different route.
Do you have to live in Spain to keep the DNV?
Two different rules get conflated here. The 183-day line is primarily a tax rule: spend more than 183 days in a calendar year and you become a Spanish tax resident, taxed on worldwide income. That is separate from what it takes to renew the visa.
The day count for renewal belongs to the other visa. RD 1155/2024 asks Non-Lucrative holders to have spent more than 183 days a year in Spain before they renew. The DNV has no such test: under Law 14/2013 a renewal only asks that the conditions you qualified on still hold, the remote work and the income. Treat 183 days as the tax threshold to plan around, not a DNV renewal rule.
How the process runs, and what it costs
The DNV is fast: roughly 15–45 days at a consulate abroad, or about 20 business days through the UGE-CE if you file from inside Spain, usually under a month. The NLV is the slower one, two to four months, and five to six at high-volume consulates or with document gaps. Filed at a consulate abroad the DNV gives an initial one-year permit; filed from inside Spain, a three-year permit. The NLV runs one year, then two, then two.
Budget €3,000–€7,000+ for an individual: legal and advisory fees €1,500–€4,000, private health insurance €1,200–€2,400 a year, translation and apostille €300–€800, government fees €80–€150.
Tax, citizenship, and US citizens
Permanent residency comes at five years of legal residency; citizenship eligibility at ten. The NLV does not compress that timeline.
US citizens are taxed on worldwide income regardless of where they live, Spanish residency does not change US federal obligations, and the Beckham Law is a discount on Spanish rates, not a globally competitive flat rate.
Official sources
- Organic Law 1/2025: golden visa routes repealedBOE, Spain’s Official Gazette (in Spanish)
- Law 14/2013: the international teleworker (digital nomad) visaBOE, Spain’s Official Gazette (in Spanish)
- Digital nomad visa: income thresholdsUnit for Large Companies (UGE), Spanish Ministry of Inclusion
- Telework (digital nomad) visaConsulate General of Spain in Washington
- Royal Decree 1155/2024: immigration regulation, permit renewalsBOE, Spain’s Official Gazette (in Spanish)
- Non-lucrative residence visaConsulate General of Spain in Washington
- Beckham regime: deadline to opt inSpanish Tax Agency (in Spanish)
- Income Tax Law: tax residence and the Beckham regimeBOE, Spain’s Official Gazette (in Spanish)
- Organic Law 4/2000, art. 32: long-term residenceBOE, Spain’s Official Gazette (in Spanish)
- Civil Code, art. 22: residence for nationalityBOE, Spain’s Official Gazette (in Spanish)
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