Work & taxes

Employment, study, international remote work and non-lucrative residence have different eligibility rules. Choose the route based on your actual activity.

International telework: consular visa or UGE authorization. Visa up to 1 year / initial UGE authorization up to 3 years

Foreign-company employees, freelancers, local employees and owner-directors are different legal scenarios. Company registration does not automatically authorize personally working for that company.

Tax residence

General grounds are more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, or the main center of activities or economic interests there. Sporadic absences count unless foreign tax residence is proved. A legally non-separated spouse and dependent minor children living there create a rebuttable presumption. The day count is not the only test. A residence permit is not tax residence; this summarizes general domestic rules, not every exception.

Rates & limitations

Under ordinary rules, a Spanish resident is taxed on worldwide income; a nonresident on income considered Spanish-source. Residence is normally assessed for the whole calendar year: moving does not itself split the tax period. An applicable tax treaty can change the result. Article 93 is a separate exception, not the default for every newcomer.

NIE ≠ TIE

NIE is a foreigner's identification number, not residence permission. TIE is a physical status card. A consular telework visa valid for up to one year has an exception: no TIE is required during its validity.

UGE principal-applicant pack

• 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.

Employee versus autónomo

Employees need Spanish social-security arrangements for the foreign employer or an accepted agreement certificate. Self-employed teleworkers register in RETA. Contributions are separate from IRPF and depend on income, not one universal fixed fee.

The special tax regime is not for every freelancer

Eligibility includes no Spanish tax residence in the previous five tax years and a qualifying reason for relocation. An ordinary foreign client alone does not qualify a freelancer. The election generally uses Modelo 149 within six months of the relevant activity start, followed by annual Modelo 151.

• Passport and immigration-status evidence; local identification number if required.
• Address evidence: lease, registration or utility bill as specified by the chosen bank.
• Tax IDs and tax-residence countries; CRS/FATCA self-certification when requested.
• Regular income evidence: employment contract and recent payslips, or freelance agreements, invoices and statements.
• Origin of savings: statement trail, property sale or inheritance records. For crypto, keep purchase, trade and withdrawal history—not just a wallet balance.

Review tax residence, overseas assets and eligibility for special regimes before moving. This is a preparation pack, not an account-opening guarantee.

Before buying a business, separately verify debt, licenses, staff, lease, accounts and your residence basis. A purchase agreement does not replace immigration approval. When networking, check the legal entity and counterpart's track record before transferring funds.