Currently living in Mauritius doing remote work, but thinking Portugal might be a good next destination for us as our kids grow older. Applying for that seems like hard work from here, as we need to apply through Mozambique and we’re aware it takes some time. We are thinking a shorter term Spanish Digital Nomad visa followed by a Portuguese one might get us to Europe a bit quicker . Anyone have any experience of applying for the Spanish DNV? I know it’s pretty new, but keen to get some opinions on what the process might be like and how long it might take.
I know you posted this several months ago already when the visa was still getting some legal ground after being approved in Dec 2022. I got my approval for a 3-year residence yesterday and here’s what I can share that may be useful:
You can apply as an employee or independent contractor, the with a minimum income of 2200 EUR/month for the first applicant and then you can adjust it for family, the rules are somewhere online on how it increases
I applied as a contractor with a part-time consultancy agreement. Regardless of the contract you’ll need to make sure the contract clearly allows for the job to be performed remotely. In my case I needed an authorization letter from my hiring company indicating they didn’t have an issue
For Spain the visa is largely about visitor spending in the country, bringing talent and paying taxes. I had to state in a letter that I would pay social security right after I got my approval. First year is only about 80 EUR/month but then it raises to ~400 EUR or more depending on your income.
You’ll have to prove you provided a qualified job, for this I needed a letter explaining my role and functions and why they hired me. It can be a little like what you see in job postings where the officials can attest this job actually requires professional education/experience. You can apply without an undergraduate title but you have to prove experience, in my case I showed my college diploma which is straightforward
You’ll need private health insurance, I hired Sanitas at about 120 EUR (I’m 33), but even for people over 60 it doesn’t go above 260 (a friend’s mother has this for example).
It’s best to apply from within Spain, enter on tourist visa or schengen agreement and make sure you’re stamp is clear and you can prove you’re legally in Spain. This gives you a 3 year visa whereas applying from the consulate gives you 1 year and then you have to renew
Processing time is about 1 calendar month
Regarding steps this is what I would recommend:
Get all papers you’ll need before leaving for Spain, many need apostille. It’s a reasonable list but it’ll be a couple of weeks of work for most people
From outside Spain you can get the health insurance online
Get a line once in Spain and open a bank account using Nickel and your passport, this is the only option I found that is easy to pay for your health insurance and rent before you get you id card
Enter Spain as a tourist and apply immediately upon entering. In the meantime find a home (you’ll need it for finish the process)
Once you get the approval and you have a home you get you approval then register your residence and go to the police to get fingerprinted
You should estimate that you will not be able to leave Spain or the EU for about 4 months because you shouldn’t get any stamps on your passport between the initial entry to apply and when you have your ID on hand. Processing times for IDs vary greatly.
Finally I would most definitely engage a lawyer to guide you, some english speaking agencies overcharge you. I think for 800-1300 EUR you can get nice service. I was quoted in many cases 1800+VAT and it’s not worth it at that price, find a more reasonable alternative. Balcell’s group in Barcelona seems good, they were my second option. I chose another option I wouldn’t recommend exactly (it worked though just not smooth communication). A friend highly recommended Raquel Moreno from BeGlobal Attorneys, he swears by her effectiveness!
. Anyone have any experience of applying for the Spanish DNV? I know it’s pretty new, but keen to get some opinions on what the process might be like and how long it might take.