spanish digital nomad visa requirements

 

What are the requirements to apply for a Spanish digital nomad visa?

 

Achieving the dream of becoming a digital nomad in Spain post Brexit is a matter of being organised and ticking requirements off the list. The Spanish consulates in the UK provide an exhaustive Spanish Digital Nomad Visa documents checklist and requirements in their websites to help you prepare your application. THE REQUIREMENTS HAVE BEEN UPDATED IN 2026 DUE TO BAD ACTORS FORGING DOCUMENTS AND PRETENDING TO BE WORKING REMOTELY OR NOT REGISTERING IN RETA IN SPAIN, please ensure you visit the consulate website to double check.

 

Below you will find some of the supporting documentation required for your Spanish Digital Nomad Visa if you are applying from the UK:

 

1. An ACRO police certificate, duly apostilled (legalised) and translated (please email me for a quote). This document is valid for 6 months.

2. A certificate of good standing or of incorporation from Companies House (also needs to be apostilled and translated)

 3. An S1 (that you would need to register online) and A1 certificate or proof or registration with the Spanish Seguridad Social, whichever applies to you. The A1 does not need to be translated for use in the consulates in the UK but word on the street is that the translation has been required in Spain on a number of instances. Please check with the reception institution first.

 4. A university degree (notarisedl, apostilled and translated) or a CV if you do not have a degree.

 5. Proof of residence in the UK in the area covered by the consulate from which you are applying.

6. Proof of financial means (i.e bank statements, which do not need to be legalised nor translated). The consulates may request additional documents on top of your bank statements.

7. A letter from your employer (translated into Spanish) giving you permission to work remotely. 

8. An employment contract or service provider agreement: this document must reflect your starting date, salary and the fact that you can carry out your role 100% remotely (this cannot be left open to interpretation or be ambiguous). It needs to be translated as well.

9. For self-employed individuals, you need to provide a document that proves this status, perhaps an HMRC confirmation document along with the A1. 

This is not a comprehensive list but rather an overview of the core documents that need a Spanish sworn translation for a Spanish Digital Nomad Visa application.

 

If you chose to have the above documents translated, it would cost £250+ to have them all translated. Sadly, there are some low ball offers out there provided by inexperienced/unprofessional sworn translators desperate for work that have lead to disappointments and visa rejections in the past due to poor quality of translations or non compliance with format; remember, buy cheap, buy twice. You can also expect the translator to need around 1 week to translate such a vast amount of documents accurately. A faster turn around should raise eyebrows as well.

 

 You may choose to engage with an specialist solicitor or company in the field of Spanish Digital Nomad Visas. Don't be shy and ask them about their experience and success rate before making any decisions. Public notaries, apostilles services, so called "consular" services are mostly unable to help. The same applies to translators, we only provide you with language services, but a few of us are professional and experienced enough to offer a bit of informal advice.

 

(Disclaimer: this information has been obtained from the consulate's website and customer experiences. This information cannot be deemed legal advice, just a bit of guidance from what I know).