Osborne Bull in Las Cabezas de San Juan, Spain

Transfer of Tax Domicile to Spain under the Spanish Beckham Law: Golden Visa for Investors and Pensioners - Residence Permit for Digital Nomads and Remote Workers

Residence Permits under International Mobility

("Autorización de residencia de movilidad internacional")

1. Golden Investor Visa

("Autorización de residencia para inversores")

2. Digital Nomad Visa

("Residencia por teletrabajo de carácter internacional")

Last update: January 2024

Apply for the Spanish investor or digital nomad visa

Description of the Spanish Residency by Investment Program

1. Spanish Golden Investor Visa

The Spanish Residence Permit for Investors ("Autorización de residencia para inversores") offers (i) temporary residence in Spain and, after 5 years (ii) permanent European residence and, after 10 year (iii) Spanish citizenship to non-EU/EEA citizens (here) willing to invest into the Spanish economy (see investment modalities below).

2. Spanish Digital Nomad Visa

In 2022 (here) Spain launched its digital nomad visa ("Residencia por teletrabajo de carácter internacional") benefitting non-EU/EEA citizens (here) (i) who are self-employed or perform remote work in Spain for companies located outside Spain (ii) by the exclusive use of a computer or other forms of telecommunication (iii) who have a university degree in their respective field or relevant work experience of at least 3 year and (iv) who were not tax residents in Spain over the past 5 years.

> Applicants for the Spanish remote work visa must (i) present an employment contract older than 3 months (ii) with a foreign company in existence for at least 1 year and (iii) prove that their work can be performed remotely. In addition, the self-employed or remote worker must be registered with Spanish social security.

> Digital nomads are allowed to earn income from Spanish source if a maximum of 20% of Spanish companies in the total revenue mix is observed at all times.

> The Spanish residence permit for digital nomads is open to family members of the applicant (spouse, unmarried children and parents) who are allowed to live and work in Spain.

3. Spanish Citizenship

The years spent in accordance with a Spanish residence permit under international mobility are factored into the 10-year qualifying period for Spanish nationality.

However, nationals of the 23 Ibero-American countries (here) including Brazil, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, or persons of Sephardic origin can acquire Spanish citizenship after only 2 years of continued legal residence in Spain.

The Spanish passport and the Spanish national identity card give free rights of movement and residence in EU including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It is is valid 5 years for Spanish citizens up to the age of 30 and for 10 years for citizens until 70. Passports of Spanish travellers above the age of 70 has no expiration date.

Dual citizenship in Spain, that is, a second Spanish passport (here) is only permitted for Spaniards by origin, and only if they opt to retain Spanish nationality within 3 years of the acquisition of a second nationality. Foreign nationals acquiring Spanish citizenship must renounce their previous nationality (unless they are citizens of an Ibero-American country).

Typology of Spanish Residence Permits for Investors and Digital Nomads

What Are Key Benefits of Living in Spain?

• Spain's residence programs can be combined with a special Spanish tax regime for non-residents ("Beckham Law") providing significant tax reliefs for the first 6 years of residence (see below)
• The cost of living in Spain is, on average, 20% cheaper than in the UK
• The Spanish residence permit gives visa exemption for the Schengen area (here) for the entire family
• The Spanish residence permit has no language requirements and upper age limits. However, Spanish citizenship requires Spanish intermediary language skills: DELE A2 (here).

What Are the Downsides of the Spanish Investor Visa?

• The Spanish golden visa gives no entitlement to use Spanish healthcare and social services during the first 5 years of stay in Spain (until permanent Spanish residency)
• In 2018, Spain faced criticism by Transparency International, an NGO, in a report entitled "Inside the Murky World of Golden Visas" (here), for having granted the highest number of golden visas in the EU over the previous 10 years
• Under the Spanish golden investor visa and digital nomad program, Spanish citizenship is only possible after 10 years of continuous residence in Spain (a preferential treatment, however, is given to nationals of Ibero-American countries), which is a relatively long waiting period in comparison to other residency by investment (RBI) programs:

Overview of Citizenship Pathways under Popular RBI Programs

• Australian Investor Visa (here): Citizenship in Australia after 5 years of permanent residence
• Gibraltar special Cat 2 tax status (here): British citizenship after 5 years of permanent residence
• Austrian Investor Visa (here): Citizenship in Austria after 6 years of permanent residence
• Greek Investor Visa (here): Citizenship in Greece after 7 years of permanent residence
• Italian Investor Visa (here): Citizenship in Italy after 10 years of permanent residence
• Monaco Investor Visa (here): Citizenship in Monaco after 10 years of permanent residence
• Swiss Investor Visa (here): Citizenship in Switzerland after 12 years of permanent residence

What Are the Physical Presence Requirements for Holders of the Digital Nomad Visa in Spain?

What is tax residence in Spain?

• Individuals are Spanish tax residents if they spend more than 183 days in Spain or if the main centre of their business and professional activities, or economic interests, is in Spain
• There is a presumption that individuals are tax residents in Spain if their spouse and/or dependent minors habitually reside in Spain
• Investors applying for Spanish permanent residency may have absences from Spain of up to 6 continuous months. However, in the 5-year period leading to permanent Spanish residency, cumulative absences must not exceed 10 months (or 1 year if professional reasons are invoked).
  

How much Is Personal Income Tax in Spain?

("Impuesto sobre la renta de la personas físicas" - IRPF)

What Is the Spanish Tax Regime for Impatriates ("Beckham Law")?

Description of the Spanish non-dom taxation regime for new residents

As a rule, Spanish residents pay tax on their worldwide income (at rates as high as 45% for yearly income above €60,000) unless they recently relocated to Spain and can therefore benefit from a favourable tax regime for impatriates ("impatriados") who are treated as Spanish non-residents for tax purposes.

The impatriates tax regime in Spain (also known as "Beckham Law") is a special Spanish taxation rule that enables (i) foreign nationals and expatriates who moved to Spain and (ii) were not Spanish tax resident for the previous 5 years (iii) to pay taxes on salary income at a reduced rate (iv) for a maximum period of 6 years.

Bottom line, active income recipients such as foreign executives, top sportsmen, and digital nomads pay (i) a flat rate of 24% on salary income (up to €600,000) instead of the maximum tax of 47% (which applies to income buckets above €600,000) and passive income recipients such as foreign pensioners, retired entrepreneurs, and jobless high-net-worth individuals pay (ii) no tax on foreign non-salary income and wealth (such as foreign savings income, rental income, the sale of foreign shares and foreign capital gains).

> However, impatriates are treated as full-fledged Spanish residents for worldwide inheritance and gift tax purposes.

Who can benefit from the Spanish regime for tax expatriates?

Whereas traditionally only a move for employment reasons (e.g., top managers and world-class athletes) was a condition for claiming the Beckham Law (as in the case of David Beckham himself who played for Real Madrid between 2003 and 2007), in 2023 Spain extended the eligibility criteria for claiming the impatriate regime to other situations such as:

• The relocation to Spain as a remote worker ("digital nomad")
• The relocation to Spain to exercise the directorship of a Spanish company
• The relocation to Spain to perform business activities qualified as entrepreneurial activities of an innovative nature
• Henceforth, the Beckham law can be extended to the impatriate's family: to children under 25 including spouses and parents (if the couple has no children) provided those relatives (i) fulfil the same admission criteria as the applicant and (ii) don't earn more income than the applicant
• Last but not least, the period of non-residence before moving to Spain was reduced from 10 to 5 fiscal years
  

How much Is Real Estate Tax in Spain?

> Spanish real estate brokerage fees amount to 6% and are typically borne by the seller.

Spanish list of tax havens

> Companies resident in non-cooperative jurisdictions for Spanish tax purposes (formerly "tax havens") owning real estate in Spain are subject to a special yearly offshore tax of 3% calculated on the Spanish property's cadastral value. This Spanish offshore tax accrues on 31 December and is declared and paid in January of the following year.

The Spanish list of tax havens currently includes the following countries and territories:

• American Samoa
• Gibraltar
• Salomon Islands
• Anguilla
• Guam
• Samoa
• Barbados
• Guernsey
• Seychelles
• Bermuda
• Jersey
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Cayman Islands
• Malvinas Islands
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• Dominica
• Man Island
• UK Virgin Islands
• Emirate of Bahrain
• Mariana Islands
• US Virgin Islands
• Fiji
• Palau
• Vanuatu

How much Is Corporate Income Tax in Spain?

> Dividends and interest paid to a non-resident are subject to a 19% withholding tax (unless a lower rate applies under a DTT).

> Under the Spanish participation exemption, only 5% of capital gains are taxed at 25%. This results in an effective capital gains tax of 1.25%. To be eligible for the participation exemption in Spain, a participation of at least 5% must be held for at least one year in either Spanish or foreign subsidiaries, which must, however, not be resident in a tax haven (see list above).

> Net losses can be carried forward indefinitely.

Which Conditions Are Required to Get the Spanish Golden Investor Visa?

Applicants for the golden investor visa in Spain must meet the following conditions:

1) A liquid investment of €2,000,000 in (i) Spanish sovereign debt (that is, government bonds - "deuda pública") or, alternatively, a liquid investment of €1,000,000 in (ii) Spanish equities ("acciones / participaciones sociales") or (iii) a Spanish bank deposit ("depósitos bancarios"), all through a personal account at a bank licenced in Spain.

> The liquid investment must be made (i) 60 days prior to the Spanish visa application (ii) for a holding period of 5 years (iii) without credit (iv) in personal name or (v) via a company (in)directly controlled – and not domiciled in a tax haven as per the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for Spanish tax purposes (see above).

> Spanish 5-year government bonds currently (23Q2) yield ca. 3.00% p.a. The credit rating of Spain is A as per S&P.

OR

2) Acquisition of Spanish real estate worth €500,000 ("bienes inmuebles"). This can be one or several properties, residential, commercial, land, including through co-ownership.

> The Spanish property investment must be made (i) 90 days prior to the Spanish visa application (ii) for a holding period of 5 years and (iii) without a mortgage loan.

> Theoretically, it is possible to progressively buy and sell multiple Spanish real estate properties, thereby capitalizing on the initial investment.

> The €500,000 Spanish real estate investment does not include approximately 13% in VAT, transfer taxes, and notary fees.

Which Documents Are Required to Apply for the Spanish Residence Permits under International Mobility

Documents required for all Spanish visas under the international mobility provisions

Applicants for all international mobility visas in Spain must present the following paperwork, translated into Spanish and duly legalized and apostilled:

• Proof of application for a Spanish NIE number ("Número de Identidad de Extranjero" or Foreign Identity Number) (here), directly in Spain or through a Spanish consulate in the applicant's country of residence (i) via Form EX-15 (here), in person or through the physical presence of a duly authorized representative (in which case an apostilled PoA must be present), in addition to (ii) documentary proof of the need to obtain a NIE (iii) a document proving the applicant's residence in the consular area and (iv) signed Form 790 Code 12 (here). The Spanish NIE is usually issued within 3 weeks.
• Copy of passport of a non-EU/EEA national valid for at least 1 year with at least 2 blank pages (to be left at the Spanish immigration office or foreign consulate during the application procedure and sent back via a pre-paid special delivery envelope with full name and address)
• Recent, passport-size, colour photograph
• Criminal record certificate in original (not older than 6 months) issued by the applicant's country of residence for the previous 2 years, in addition to a declaration confirming the absence of criminal records for the previous 5 years
• Proof of payment of the application fee
• Application form for holders of a Spanish residence permit under international mobility duly signed by the applicant (one form per applicant)
• Public or private health insurance with a Spanish health insurer (here) for all applicants (travel insurance is not accepted). However, medical insurance is not required in case of social security registration.
• Documentary proof (e.g. work contract, bank statements, payslips etc.) that the applicant has sufficient financial means to live in Spain: ca. €32,000 p.a. for the applicant and ca. €10,000 p.a. for each family member
  

Additional documents required for the Spanish digital nomad visa

• Proof of an employment or professional relationship of at least 3 months as of application date with a foreign company or group of companies
• Proof of real and continuous activity for at least 1 year of the foreign company or group of companies with which the worker has an employment or professional relationship
• A letter from the foreign company or group of companies, authorizing the performance of the remote work from Spain, confirming (i) the profile of the position (ii) the salary to be received, in addition to (iii) the terms and other conditions under which the professional activity will be performed remotely from Spain
• Copy of the university or professional degree related to the remote work effectively performed or, if applicable, the minimum experience of the candidate in similar positions
• Proof of registration of the foreign company in the Spanish social security system or, at least, proof that the foreign company applied for registration and commits to register once authorization for remote work was given. In the case of self-employed applicants, a certificate of registration with RETA - Régimen de Trabajadores Autónomos de la Seguridad Social española (here) must be provided.

What Are the Costs of the Spanish Golden or Digital Nomads Visa?

Download factsheet on how to get residence in Spain