Question
As an American, can I live and work remotely in Spain on a tourist “visa”? I am hoping to go to Spain for less than 90 days and continue to work remotely through that period for a US company. I thought that was allowed but have heard some conflicting information.
Would love to hear reassurances from any of you who may have done that already.
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
“It depends on the business/place you are working for, some software / websites are restricted or not allowed in Spain / Europe due to your VPN changing, i’m in school and living in Spain and when I came to Spain I tried to access information for the following year and couldn’t because the webpage was blocked.”
“People do this across Europe all the time. Check the Digital Nomads or Digital Nomads Around the World groups, you’ll find posts of people going in and out of Schengen while working.”
“I think that the question is of where you legally reside and pay taxes. If you are registered as a tax payer elsewhere and live here on a tourist visa it probably is ok (but I’m not giving legal advice). If you are resident here then you have to register legally and we all get to pay tax. You also get benefits like health care what you won’t get as a tourist. But I don’t believe that you will be expected to pay tax on a taxed income. On a tourist visa you have limited time here. So as long as you know the restrictions and comply…
The gov is looking into improving autonomous requirements – which is what you would be if you live here legally as a resident and are self employed.”
“Well it is called a tourist visa, however you are under 3 months and as long as it is only online work for.your overseas company, so no networking, meetings etc then yes it’s fine. If it is to come over and physically work, buying, selling, recruiting etc then you would require a work visa. The fiscal status only kicks in over 183 days. So you wouldn’t be required to submit a return or pay any taxes. Whether you are believed if asked at immigration is another matter.”
“You absolutely CAN work remotely for a non-Spanish company, but it implies certain tax obligations if you stay more than 183 days in Spain. Digital nomad legislation has not yet been passed.”
