Spain is set to join the Digital Nomad club

Foreign nationals working for non-Spanish companies will be allowed to live and work in Spain without needing to apply for a full work visa.

The visa will permit non-residents to stay between six and 12 months without the right to residency with the potential for two further extensions according to The Independent.

The initiative follows in the footsteps of similar digital nomad visas introduced in Barbados and Dubai since the start of the pandemic. Their goal is to capture a new cohort of footloose remote workers no longer tethered to offices.

For British residents that have had their wings clipped since Brexit and can only stay in the EU for 90 out of every 180-day period, the Spanish government’s proposal is likely to be a welcome one.

Applicants will need to meet some requirements including the need to make 80% of their income from companies based outside of Spain.

Submitted as part of the government’s Startup Act, it is likely to be spring before it gains parliamentary approval.

Keen to attract more digital nomads, Spain has its own National Network of Towns Welcoming Remote Workers (Nacional de Pueblos Acogedores para el Teletrabajo) which includes parts of Andalucía, the Basque Country and the Canary Islands.

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