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Remote Relocation - What to think about when moving to Spain

Want to work in Spain? Remote workers can work from anywhere, whether that means home, a co-working space, a coffee shop, the beach, the mountains, or even an entirely different country. The choice is yours..

John Lexington
John Lexington ~ 6 min read
Want to work in Spain? Remote workers can work from anywhere, whether that means home, a co-working space, a coffee shop, the beach, the mountains, or even an entirely different country. The choice is yours..

Working remotely is more than just working from home.

Remote workers can work from anywhere, whether that means home, a co-working space, a coffee shop, the beach, the mountains, or even an entirely different country. The choice is yours.

While a person’s job doesn’t have to change when crossing international borders, there is still some paperwork involved to do it legally. Whether you have already bought your dream home in Spain, or if you are still figuring out how to finance your home abroad, there are a number of things to think about to stay compliant when you move from one country to Spain.

Visa & Immigration

Visa Options

Depending on your employee’s situation, we may be able to sponsor their visa application. Talk with our team today.

If Remote visa sponsorship isn’t the best route for your employee, below are other possible visas they could apply for. We can also help with the visa application process.

These visa options should not be considered legal advice and are subject to change. The estimated time will vary per case.

Other visa options

  • Intra-Company Transfer (Entrepreneurs’ Law) Application in Country This is the process for temporary residence authorisation for intra-company transfers (ICT), according to the Entrepreneurs’ Law. Note that this route may only be used if the applicant does not qualify for the Intra-Company Transfer Permit (EU Directive 2014/66), e.g. is a service provider or will be in Spain for more than three years. This process describes application procedures for obtaining residence authorisation from within Spain.

Time until employee can start work: 1 to 4 months

  • Highly Qualified Employees (Entrepreneurs’ Law) Application in Country This is the process for temporary residence authorization for highly qualified employees (local hires and self-employed applicants) according to the Entrepreneurs’ Law. This process describes application procedures for obtaining temporary residence authorisation from within Spain, holding a visitor status within the country; however note that this is also possible with a different legal immigration status (resident/student). It is also possible to obtain temporary residence authorization from outside Spain and then enter with a long-term type D visa.

Time until employee can start work: 1 to 5 months

  • Intra-Company Transfer (Entrepreneurs’ Law) This is the process for temporary residence authorisation for intra-company transfers (ICT), according to the Entrepreneurs’ Law. Note that this route may only be used if the applicant does not qualify for the Intra Company Transfer Permit (EU Directive 2014/66) - e.g. is a service provider or will be in Spain for more than three years. This process describes application procedures when the applicant is residing outside Spain; however note that it is possible to obtain residence authorisation from within Spain, as long as the applicant holds a legal immigration status (visitor/resident) within the country. Currently, the authorities are experiencing ongoing delays in processing of residence authorisations, which is currently taking up to two months, rather than the usual 20 working days. Time until employee can start work: 2 to 5 months

  • Highly Qualified Employees (Entrepreneurs’ Law) This is the process for temporary residence authorisation for Highly Qualified employees (local hires and self-employed applicants) according to the Entrepreneurs’ Law. Note that it is possible to obtain residence authorisation from within Spain, as long as the applicant holds a legal immigration status (visitor/resident) within Spain.

Time until employee can start work: 2 to 8 months

  • Van der Elst Visa (Assignment from Within the EEA) A type of visa or work permit available to non-EEA/EFTA citizens employed by and working for a company in an EU/EEA/EFTA country, that allows them to work for that company in another EEA/EFTA member state, subject to meeting certain eligibility conditions.

Time until employee can start work: 2 to 6 months

  • Local Hire Work Permit (Smaller Companies) to Madrid This immigration process is for non-EU nationals employed in Madrid. This route should be followed when the company/employee assigned to Madrid does not meet the criteria for the Unidad de Grandes Empresas (UGE) routes, and so the work permit has to be processed through the local immigration office (Delegación del Gobierno).

Time until employee can start work: 4 to 10 months

  • Intra-Company Transfer Permit (EU Directive 2014/66) This process is the temporary residence authorisation for intra-company transfers (ICT) according to Directive 2014/66/EU. It is only applicable to assignees sent to Spain for over 90 days from outside the EU and has a maximum total duration of stay of three years. It is important to note that if an applicant meets the qualifying criteria for this process, they may not apply under an alternative route (i.e. may not use the Intra-Company Transfer Entrepreneur’s Law route). This process describes application procedures when the applicant is residing outside Spain; however note that it is possible to obtain residence authorisation from within Spain, as long as the applicant holds a legal immigration status (visitor/resident) within Spain.

Time until employee can start work: 2 to 5 months

  • Intra-Company Transfer Permit (EU Directive 2014/66) Application in Country This process is the temporary residence authorisation for intra-company transfers (ICT), according to Directive 2014/66/EU. It is only applicable to assignees sent to Spain for over 90 days from outside the EU and has a maximum total duration of stay of three years. It is important to note that if an applicant meets the qualifying criteria for this process, they may not apply under an alternative route (i.e. may not use the Intra-Company Transfer Entrepreneurs’ Law route). This process describes application procedures for obtaining residence authorization from within Spain.

Time until employee can start work: 1 to 4 months

Net Migration

In 2020, Spain experienced a net migration of +498,800.

Best Destinations for Remote Work

According to Remote.com’s Best Destinations for Remote Work report, the following made the top 100 list:

  • Madrid
  • Barcelona
  • Valencia
  • Granada

Tax Treaties

Spain has a tax treaty with Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, States of the former USSR (except Russia), Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and Vietnam.