Spain digital nomad visa costs and requirements

How much does a Spain digital nomad visa cost?

$326.85 pays the fees and three translated pages for one US citizen filing in Washington, priced on 13 September 2026. The FBI check, its apostille and health insurance sit outside that figure. ^{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

BLS sells extras at the counter. Arrive with your own photo, copies and a completed form, and the $20 service fee is the one BLS charge you need. ³

Who can file in Washington

Washington's consulate takes applications from residents of DC, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina. You prove it with a US driver's license, a state ID or, if you study in person in the district, a university student ID. ²

The route is closed to EU citizens and to anyone EU law covers. Non-US citizens living in the district add proof of legal US residence: a copy of a long-term US visa or a notarized copy of a green card. Holders of US visitor visas apply in their country of residence or origin. ²

Your passport sets the fee. Washington's fees since 1 January 2026 follow reciprocity, and the consulate revises the table quarterly with exchange rates. ²

The NIE comes before everything else. Washington asks for the foreigner identity number before you apply, and its NIE page prices it at $12 in cash or by money order, with Forms 790-012 and EX-15. ^{2, 1} The visa fee is also cash or money order, while BLS takes its service fee by debit card only. Bring both. ^{2, 3}

Family members file their own applications. A spouse or unmarried partner, children, adult children who depend on you financially, and parents or grandparents in your care can each get an accompanying visa, with their own form, photo, passport, NIE, health insurance and visa fee. ² For two US citizens, the NIE, visa and BLS fees come to $444 before translations. ^{1, 2, 3} The family cost checklist prices each extra file.

Can I apply from inside Spain?

The consular visa is one way in. The other starts inside Spain. Picture it: you are in Madrid on a US passport, legally, as a visitor. From there you can apply for the telework residence permit directly to Spain's Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (UGECE), and skip the consular visa. ²

Know your visitor days. Count them with MMT's Schengen day-counting guide before you plan an application from inside Spain. The guide to tourist entry and remote-work permission sets out what a visitor's entry allows.

Work that qualifies

The visa is built for remote work for companies outside Spain, done entirely by computer and telecommunications. ² How you work for those companies sets the rules.

• Employees work only for companies located outside Spain. ²
• Freelancers and contractors can also work for a company in Spain, up to 20% of their total professional activity. ²
• Every employer or client is a company. Work for individuals, international organizations, government agencies, universities, foundations, NGOs and other nonprofits falls outside the visa. ²
• The company has at least 1 year of real, continuing activity, and your relationship with it covers at least the 3 months before you apply. ⁶
• You bring a graduate or postgraduate degree from a university or business school of recognized prestige, or at least 3 years of professional experience. ^{2, 6}

Spain created the route with Law 28/2022 of 21 December 2022, the Startup Law, which added the telework articles to Law 14/2013. ⁶ If your work fits another country's rules better, MMT's remote-work visa comparison sets Spain beside the other routes.

What income do I need to qualify?

One person shows €2,442 a month, exactly twice Spain's 2026 minimum wage. Spain set that wage at €1,221 a month, paid in 14 installments, by royal decree on 18 February 2026, effective from 1 January. ⁷ Washington's checklist sets the amounts at 200%, 75% and 25% of the same monthly base, and prints them as €2,442 for you, €916 for the first family member and €306 for each one after. ²

The threshold is set in euros. At the 11 September 2026 rate, €2,442 is $2,831, and a weaker dollar raises that figure. ^{8, 2} Planning on Washington's rounder $2,900 leaves a cushion at today's rate. ²

What documents prove eligibility?

Washington's checklist is long, and BLS admits only complete files, so gather everything before you book. Official US documents such as the FBI check, the corporations certificate and a degree need an apostille and an official Spanish translation. ²

• A signed national visa application form, with your NIE and your employer's details filled in
• One recent color passport photo on a white background, glued or clipped to the form
• Your passport and a copy of its data page, valid for the whole stay, with blank visa pages
• Proof you live or study in person in the consular district
• The certificate assigning your NIE
• A certificate from the Division of Corporations in the state where the company is registered, showing when it was founded and what it does
• A company certificate: for employees, your seniority, income and explicit permission to work remotely from Spain; for freelancers, the terms of your contracts with companies outside Spain
• Proof of income at the level in the table above
• An FBI background check with its Hague Apostille and Spanish translation
• A signed declaration that your criminal record is clean in the countries where you have lived
• Health insurance from an insurer authorized in Spain, or proof of Spanish public Social Security coverage
• Proof of coverage in Spain's Social Security system, with a signed commitment to meet its obligations
• Your degree, or proof of at least 3 years of relevant experience
• The disclaimer form, and the visa fee in cash or by money order ²

The FBI check, done once

1. 01

   Order the FBI check

   Washington accepts the check issued by the FBI and turns away state and local police checks. ²

2. 02

   Apostille the FBI signature

   The Hague Apostille certifies the signature on the check itself. An apostille on a notary's stamp is refused. ²

3. 03

   Translate it in parallel

   A sworn or certified translator produces the official Spanish translation. The translation and the apostille are independent requirements, so both can run at once. ²

4. 04

   Keep it intact

   Bring the original and a photocopy of the check, the apostille and the translation. Pulling out staples counts as damage. ²

5. 05

   Add other countries

   Spent more than 180 days outside the US and Spain in the last 2 years? Add a background check from each of those countries. Checks from outside the EU need an apostille, or legalization where the country sits outside the Hague Convention. ²

Translation is the line you can shop. Washington points to the American Translators Association and to the Spanish Foreign Ministry's register of sworn translators. ² D&T Translations in the US starts at $19.95 a page. Sworn Translation Spain, run by a sworn translator appointed by Spain's Foreign Ministry, charges €37 a page and advertises FBI check translations for this visa. ^{5, 9}

Spanish Social Security

Spanish Social Security sits on the checklist, and it shapes what you ask your employer for. Washington wants proof of coverage in Spain's system, and the proof depends on how you work. ²

• Employed by a company abroad: proof that the company is registered in Spain's Social Security system. ²
• Self-employed: proof of your registration in RETA, Spain's scheme for the self-employed, or of your request to register. ²
• Both: a declaration from you or the company, in Spanish or translated, committing to meet Spanish Social Security obligations before the work starts. Washington links a recommended model. ²

Registration is online. Without a Spanish digital certificate or Clave login, you can request it through an authorized legal representative in Spain, who uses their own certificate. ² Proven Spanish public Social Security coverage also replaces the private health insurance certificate. ²

Tax is a separate election. Spain's special regime for people who move there for work is an election you make with the Spanish Tax Agency on Modelo 149. ¹⁰ For the US side of the move, start with MMT's guide to the foreign earned income exclusion.

How long does approval take?

The legal decision period is 10 days, counted from the day the consulate forwards your file, which comes after your BLS appointment. An interview or a request for more documents can extend it. ² The weeks before it depend on how quickly you build the file.

1. 01

   Confirm the fit

   A company with at least 1 year of activity, at least 3 months in the working relationship, companies as your clients, and a home in the consular district. ^{6, 2}

2. 02

   Get the NIE

   $12 in cash or by money order, with Forms 790-012 and EX-15, before the visa application. ^{1, 2}

3. 03

   Build the file

   The FBI check with its apostille and translation, the company certificates, proof of income, health insurance and Social Security coverage. ²

4. 04

   File in person at BLS

   By appointment only since 1 September 2026, at 1660 L St NW, Second Floor, Suite 216, Washington, DC. Bring a debit card for the $20 service fee and cash or a money order for the visa fee. ^{2, 3}

5. 05

   Wait for the decision

   10 days from the day the consulate forwards your file. A refusal comes in writing, with its grounds. ²

6. 06

   Collect the visa

   In person or through a representative within 1 month of the approval notice, or pay BLS $45 to courier the passport, insured up to $1,000. ^{2, 4}

7. 07

   Stay on

   The visa runs up to 1 year. To stay longer, apply to the UGECE for the initial residence authorization before the visa expires; it runs up to 3 years. ^{6, 2}

Then the visa does the work. While it is valid, the telework visa on its own is your permission to stay in Spain and work remotely, whether the laptop opens in Barcelona or anywhere else in the country. ²

The Spain travel guide picks up from arrival, with regional routes and practical costs.