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Visas in Valencia

Visa-free stay
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Overall8/10Easier visas than about 90% of cities

Good to know

Good to Know

  • Your 90 days in Valencia are shared with every other Schengen country you visit — a trip to Paris or Rome in the same 180-day window eats into the same allowance.
  • Keep your own log of entry/exit dates; stamps can be missing or unclear, and even a one-day overstay risks a multi-year entry ban.
  • The Entry/Exit System (EES) and the future ETIAS authorization add extra registration steps for visa-exempt travelers, but they do not change the underlying 90/180-day limit.
  • If you want to work legally or stay longer than 90 days, the visa-free entry described here does not cover that — you'd need Spain's Digital Nomad Visa or another long-stay visa, which is a separate process.
  • The income threshold is recalculated every year against Spain's minimum wage (SMI), so it typically rises annually — budget with some buffer above the stated minimum (many lawyers recommend showing at least €35,000/year rather than the bare minimum).
  • If you're a freelancer/autónomo rather than an employee, you likely won't qualify for the Beckham Law's flat 24% rate — get personalized advice from a Spanish tax advisor (asesor fiscal) before assuming you'll get this benefit.
  • The 6-month Beckham Law application deadline (from Social Security registration) is absolute and non-negotiable — mark this date the moment you register.
  • Spain's Golden Visa real-estate investment route was eliminated in 2025, and as of 2026 it's no longer possible to convert an existing Non-Lucrative Visa into a Digital Nomad Visa from inside Spain — you need to qualify for the DNV on its own terms.
  • Banks and immigration officers are reportedly rejecting digital PDF bank statements in 2026; get statements physically stamped by your bank branch before applying.
  • No more than 20% of your income can come from Spanish clients/companies — going over this limit risks both your visa status and your tax treatment.

Tax Regime

Duration
Applies for the year of arrival plus 5 additional years (6 years total).
Annual Filing
Even under the Beckham Law, an annual tax return (Modelo 100) must still be filed every year; skipping it can cause problems at visa renewal.
Double Taxation
Spain has double taxation treaties with more than 90 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and all EU states, which can prevent being taxed twice on the same income.
Special Regime Name
Special Tax Regime for Displaced Workers / Impatriates (Régimen Especial de Impatriados), commonly called the 'Beckham Law'
Application Deadline
Must file Modelo 149 with the Spanish Tax Agency within 6 months of registering with Spanish Social Security (or starting qualifying employment) — this deadline is strict and cannot be extended; missing it forfeits the benefit for the entire residency period.
When Beckham Law May Not Help
If annual income is below roughly €30,000, standard progressive IRPF rates (which include personal allowances) can sometimes work out cheaper than the flat 24% rate.
Standard Tax Residency Trigger
Spending more than 183 days in a calendar year in Spain generally makes you a Spanish tax resident, taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates up to 47%. Even under 183 days, you can be deemed tax resident if your main economic/professional center of interest is in Spain.

Benefits

  • Flat 24% tax rate on Spanish-sourced employment income up to €600,000/year (income above that taxed at 47%), instead of Spain's standard progressive scale (19-47%).
  • Foreign-sourced income is generally exempt from Spanish tax under this regime (with exceptions, e.g., Spanish rental income or capital gains on Spanish assets).
  • Exemption from Spain's wealth tax on assets held outside Spain.
  • Exemption from filing Modelo 720 (declaration of overseas assets).

Eligibility

  • Must not have been a Spanish tax resident during the 5 years prior to arrival (reduced from 10 years under the Startup Act).
  • Historically limited to employees with a foreign employment contract; freelancers/self-employed (autónomos) are generally excluded from this specific regime, though this point is not applied identically by every advisor and is worth confirming with a Spanish tax lawyer for your exact situation.
  • Move to Spain must be for work purposes; the DNV itself is considered a qualifying relocation reason.

Application Paths

  • From abroad via Spanish consulate
    Result
    Initial visa valid up to 1 year
    Notes
    Apply at the Spanish consulate in your home country; can later convert to a multi-year residence card once in Spain.
  • From within Spain
    Result
    Residence authorization valid up to 3 years (renewable)
    Notes
    Enter Spain visa-free as a tourist (within the 90-day Schengen allowance) and apply directly to the UGE-CE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas) immigration unit before that period expires. As of early 2026, converting from a Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) to the DNV from inside Spain is no longer permitted; you must qualify for the DNV independently.

Visa Free Entry

Duration
Visa-exempt non-EU nationals can stay up to 90 days within any rolling 180-day period across the entire Schengen Area combined (not per country). This is the standard baseline most digital nomads use for short visits to Valencia before needing a different legal basis to stay longer.
Framework
Spain is a full member of the Schengen Area, so entry rules for short stays are set at the EU/Schengen level, not by Spain alone.
Who Qualifies
Citizens of the EU, EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) and Switzerland have the right to enter, live and work in Spain without a visa or time limit, though they must register locally if staying long-term. Citizens of roughly 60+ other non-EU countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea, are visa-exempt for short stays.
Overstay Consequences
Overstaying the 90-day visa-free limit without a residence permit or long-stay visa is treated as illegal presence and can result in a re-entry ban to the Schengen area of up to 3 years.
Passport Requirements
Passport must have been issued within the previous 10 years and remain valid for at least 3 months beyond the planned date of departure from the Schengen area.
How The 180 Day Window Works
The 180-day period is a moving lookback window, not a fixed calendar block. Days used in Spain count against the same 90-day pool as days spent in any other Schengen country (France, Italy, Germany, etc.), and old days only 'roll off' as the 180-day window moves forward.
Process For Visa Exempt Travelers
No visa application is required in advance. Travelers show a valid passport at the border and may be asked to prove purpose of travel, sufficient funds, return/onward tickets, and accommodation. Border officers have discretion to refuse entry even if a traveler is visa-exempt if entry conditions are not otherwise met.
Process For Visa Required Nationals
Travelers from countries not on the visa-exempt list must obtain a Schengen (Type C) visa before traveling, applied for at a Spanish consulate or authorized visa center, generally at least 15 working days (up to 6 months) before travel, with standard processing of about 15 days that can extend to 45 days.

Important Caveats

  • This visa-free/Schengen visa entry does not permit working in Spain; working without the correct permit is illegal even for stays under 90 days.
  • The EU's new Entry/Exit System (EES), which requires biometric registration (fingerprints and photo) for non-EU travelers at Schengen borders, is being rolled out, with sources indicating an April 2026 start date for full implementation.
  • ETIAS, a separate pre-travel authorization (not a visa) for currently visa-exempt travelers, is expected to become mandatory later in 2026, layering an additional online registration step on top of the existing 90/180-day visa-free rule.
  • For nomads wanting to stay in Valencia longer than 90 days, Spain's national long-stay visas (including its dedicated Digital Nomad Visa) are a separate legal pathway outside the scope of the visa-free rule.

Visa Name

Common Name
Spain Digital Nomad Visa (DNV)
Legal Basis
Introduced under Spain's Startup Act (Ley de Startups / Ley 28/2022), effective January 2023
Official Spanish Name
Visado/Autorización de residencia para teletrabajo de carácter internacional

Renewal Path

Sequence
Initial 3-year residence permit (if applied for from within Spain) can be renewed for further periods, allowing a total stay of up to 5 years, after which long-term/permanent residency becomes possible; consulate-issued 1-year visas are generally converted to a multi-year card after arrival.
Social Security
Applicants must register with Spanish Social Security as soon as approved; renewal requires certificates showing ongoing contributions.
Physical Presence
Renewal generally requires evidence of at least 6 months' physical presence in Spain per year (verified via passport stamps, flight records, and empadronamiento/local registration), even though a 2024 Spanish Supreme Court ruling removed a strict fixed minimum-stay rule for the underlying regulation — in practice, immigration offices still expect it at renewal.
Path To Permanence
After 5 continuous years of residence, holders can apply for permanent residency; after 10 years, Spanish citizenship may become possible.
Scrutiny Note
The UGE-CE immigration unit was reorganized with a senior specialist team in early 2026 following a fraud crackdown (fake contracts, unregistered Social Security), leading to stricter document verification for both new applications and renewals.

Visa Ease Tier

high

Who It Applies To

Non-EU/EEA nationals working remotely for companies or clients based outside Spain (employees or freelancers). EU/EEA citizens do not need this visa to work remotely from Spain, as this call covers the national scheme, not an EU-only local scheme.

Documents Required

Documents Required

  • Valid passport
  • Completed application form and proof of visa/administrative fee payment (consular fee around €80; NIE fee around €9.84; residence card fee around €73.26)
  • Proof of remote work relationship: employment certificate (stating contract duration and explicit remote-work authorization) or freelance contracts with foreign clients
  • Proof the employing/contracting company has existed for at least 1 year
  • University degree or proof of 3+ years' professional experience
  • Proof of income meeting the monthly threshold, generally via recent payslips/contracts plus matching bank statements (banks increasingly require physically stamped statements, not digital PDFs)
  • Private health insurance meeting Spanish requirements (no co-pays/deductibles)
  • Clean criminal record certificate (apostilled/legalized) covering the last 5 years
  • Proof of accommodation in Spain
  • For dependents: marriage/birth certificates and proof of relationship, plus additional income documentation

Income Requirements

Basis
Pegged to 200% of Spain's national minimum wage (SMI), which is set annually by government decree, so the threshold changes each year.
Main Applicant Annual
€34,200
Main Applicant Monthly
€2,850
Each Additional Dependent Addition Monthly
€357
First Dependent Spouse Partner Addition Monthly
€1,069
Notes
Some sources cite €2,849 rather than €2,850 due to rounding of the underlying SMI calculation; treat as the same threshold. If income falls short, applicants can sometimes cover the gap with proven savings.

Visa Ease Tier Rationale

Spain offers a well-established Digital Nomad Visa with reasonable income thresholds and beneficial flat-tax treatment, though moderate documentation burden and stricter recent scrutiny keep it from the top tier.

Eligibility Core Conditions

Eligibility Core Conditions

  • Work must be performed remotely using digital/telecom tools for a company or clients based outside Spain.
  • No more than 20% of total professional income may come from Spanish-based clients or companies (freelancers only; this is both a visa condition and affects tax treatment).
  • Must show at least 3 months' prior working relationship with the employer/clients, and (for employees) that the employer has operated for at least one year and explicitly authorizes remote work from Spain.
  • Must hold a university/postgraduate degree relevant to the role, or at least 3 years of professional experience in the field.
  • Clean criminal record covering the last 5 years, and private health insurance with full coverage equivalent to Spain's public system.
  • US W-2 employees have increasingly been approved by showing employer authorization and, where possible, a Certificate of Coverage; many US employees instead register as autónomo (self-employed) upon arrival since the US-Spain social security agreement does not clearly cover this visa category.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026

This section has no cited sources.

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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.