Country Comparison · Updated June 2026
Spain Digital Nomad Visa: income requirements
Spain's Digital Nomad Visa sets its 2026 financial bar at €2,849 per month of provable remote income – application fee €80, initial term 36 months. Can combine with the Beckham regime: 24% flat tax on Spanish employment income
Context for the threshold: €2,849/month is 1.3× the actual cost of living single in Spain ($2,400/month) – the visa demands you earn comfortably above what life there costs, which is precisely the arbitrage. Income must typically be evidenced over the trailing 3–6 months via contracts, invoices, payslips, and stamped bank statements.
Country comparison tool · 2026
Take-home on your salary
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| Metric | A | B |
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2026 estimates. Net pay combines income tax + employee social charges (US column modeled in a no-income-tax state); special expat regimes can improve the destination figure.
Key insights
Key insights
- 2026 threshold: €2,849/month · fee €80 · 36 months initial.
- Threshold = 1.3× actual living costs ($2,400/mo) – the arbitrage is built in.
- Trailing 3–6 months of evidence; offer letters don't count.
- Can combine with the Beckham regime: 24% flat tax on Spanish employment income
- Pair with Beckham Law (Special Inbound Regime) for the tax structure.
| Country | Visa | Income required / month | Application fee | Initial term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇩🇪 Germany | Freelance visa (Freiberufler) | €750 | €100 | 12 months |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | Digital Nomad Visa | €2,849 | €80 | 36 months |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | D8 Digital Nomad Visa | €3,680 | €90 | 24 months |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | Digital Nomad Visa | €2,700 | €116 | 12 months |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | Digital Nomad Visa | €3,500 | €75 | 12 months |
| 🇨🇿 Czechia | Digital Nomad Programme | €2,500 | €100 | 12 months |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | White Card | €3,000 | €110 | 12 months |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | Digital Nomad Residence Permit | €2,540 | €80 | 12 months |
| 🇲🇹 Malta | Nomad Residence Permit | €3,500 | €300 | 12 months |
| 🇪🇪 Estonia | Digital Nomad Visa | €4,500 | €100 | 12 months |
| 🇲🇪 Montenegro | Digital Nomad Visa | €1,400 | €60 | 24 months |
| 🇮🇸 Iceland | Long-term Remote Work Visa | €6,600 | €90 | 6 months |
| 🇨🇾 Cyprus | Digital Nomad Visa | €3,500 | €70 | 12 months |
| 🇬🇪 Georgia | Remotely from Georgia | €1,850 | Free | 12 months |
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | Temporary Resident Visa | €2,400 | €50 | 12 months |
| 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | Digital Nomad Visa (Rentista) | €2,750 | €100 | 12 months |
| 🇹🇼 Taiwan | Employment Gold Card | €5,200 | €250 | 36 months |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) | Savings-based | €270 | 60 months |
Qualifying income: what counts and what doesn't
Counts: remote employment for non-local employers (contract + payslips), freelance income from foreign clients (invoices + statements), and owner income from foreign companies (with substance documentation). Doesn't count, typically: passive investment income alone, local-source income (defeats the visa's purpose), crypto gains without exchange documentation, and projected/offer-letter income without history.
Evidence standards run national: Spain wants social-security coverage proof (or certificate of coverage) alongside income – the detail that surprises US applicants most. Build the trailing-6-month paper trail before applying, not during.
After approval: taxes, renewals, and the path beyond
Can combine with the Beckham regime: 24% flat tax on Spanish employment income Spain's Beckham Law (Special Inbound Regime) is the structure to evaluate alongside: 24% flat tax on spanish-source employment income up to €600,000 for 6 years.
Renewal economics: initial 36 months, renewals extend to 3-year residence permits with a 5-year permanent-residency track; budget the fee and document refresh each cycle. US citizens: the visa changes nothing about IRS filings – FEIE/FTC mechanics run in parallel.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What income do I need for Spain's digital nomad visa in 2026?
€2,849 per month (≈ $3,105), evidenced over the trailing 3–6 months, plus compliant health insurance and a clean criminal record. Fee: €80.
Does freelance income qualify?
Yes – foreign-client freelance income with invoices, contracts, and bank statements showing receipt. Pure passive/investment income generally fails; mixed files lead with the active-income evidence.
Will I pay taxes in Spain?
Can combine with the Beckham regime: 24% flat tax on Spanish employment income
Can my family come?
Yes – dependents add ≈75% of the base for a spouse + 25% per child to the threshold, plus their own insurance and fees.
What does the whole application cost?
Government fee €80 + documentation orbit (apostilles, translations, FBI-check class items: $400–$900) + first-year compliant insurance ($600–$2,000) + optional legal handling (€1,000–€2,500). See the relocation visa-cost pages for the full breakdown.
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