Documents, work and moving with family
This answer collection was reviewed: . Sources are linked with each answer.
Spain: can a teleworker take a local job?
For employees, this route is for remote work for a foreign company. Self-employed professionals may serve Spanish clients within 20% of their professional activity. It is not general permission to take a Spanish salaried job. Relevant qualifications or at least three years of professional experience are required.
Is health insurance enough for a teleworker in Spain?
No: healthcare coverage and social-security contributions are separate. Employees need Spanish registration or an eligible coverage certificate under an international agreement. Self-employed applicants register in RETA. Travel insurance does not replace the required healthcare coverage.
Which Spanish visa documents should I prepare before leaving?
For a consular application, prepare a passport, form, photograph, employment evidence and criminal-record certificates. Family applications also need marriage or birth certificates and, where applicable, dependency evidence. Foreign documents may need an apostille or legalisation and an official Spanish translation. The linked checklist is for San Francisco: confirm certificate periods and issuing countries with your own consulate.
Who can accompany a teleworker to Spain?
A spouse or partner, minor children, qualifying financially dependent adult children and dependent parents may apply together or later. An issued family residence authorisation permits employment and self-employment. Family relationship alone does not grant those rights without the required authorisation.
Country sources and recorded review dates · Methodology and limitations
International telework: consular visa or UGE authorization
Employment, study, international remote work and non-lucrative residence have different eligibility rules. Choose the route based on your actual activity.
200% SMI +75% first dependent +25% each further dependent
Documents for this route
- MIT application, full passport copy, 790-038 fee receipt and representative authority if applicable.
- Foreign employer/client relationship of at least 3 months, permission to work from Spain, and registry evidence of at least 1 year of company activity.
- Three months of payslips/invoices and bank evidence matching the payments.
- Qualification or 3 years of comparable experience, plus translated CV.
- UGE: police certificates for residence countries over 2 years plus a 5-year declaration. Consular coverage periods may differ.
- Social-security arrangements and eligible health cover; family members need apostilled/legalized civil-status records and sworn Spanish translations.
What to do before departure
Order police certificates from the required countries. Check whether validity is measured from issue, entry or filing. Prepare birth, marriage and name-change records; check apostille or consular legalization, treaty exemptions and translation requirements. An apostille and a translation are different procedures.
Leave a tailored power of attorney with a trusted person: specify banks, property, document collection and representation. Confirm each institution will accept it, any substitution authority and expiry. Do not hand over banking passwords.
Full pre-departure checklistPartner, children & pets
Account for regional teaching languages, catchment rules and address evidence. International schooling has a different budget from public schooling.
Check each family member's residence, work and study rights separately. Children may need custody documents, the other parent's consent specifically to residence, school records and vaccination history. Pet preparation depends on departure, transit, airline and destination veterinary rules.