Question
I am considering a move from Los Angeles to Granada. I have a question about employment. Can I work remotely through the internet (consulting, executive coaching) with clients around the world with a non lucrative Spain visa, or do I need to get a business permit if I am just working online and not working for a company in Spain?
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
“No, you can’t be doing any work anywhere on a NLV. You have to be registered as self employed.”
“From what I know you can apply for a business visa from the start but I heard it’s a more complex process than the non lucrative Spain visa, you have to have a business plan and relatively high projected earnings… some people move here with the NLV and then switch to a business visa but I think you can only do that after being here for a year or so… it would be best to get some advice from an immigration lawyer for specifics.”
“Hello, if you are working from Spain you have to pay the taxes in Spain and you need a business visa. Then of course you can use sound tricks like it using Xolo for invoicing and a non-Spanish bank account to avoid any check by hacienda (irs).
But unless you have issues getting the business visa, this is not probably the best way to proceed. For the few non-EU workers in our company, getting the working VISA is not always an easy task.”
“I am from the US and have a non lucrative Spain visa. I work for a company out of London. When I first applied I showed my contract with the UK company as evidence of my funds and that I did not need Spain´s support with funds. But I proved that a company outside Spain was paying me.
Not sure if you are in Spain working independently;I think that´s considered self-employment here and would be a different route (the business visa).”
“My work is online, my clients are in the US, although there is the intent of expanding internationally. I live in the US and want to relocate to Spain, or Portugal. I would think Spain would welcome the income I would bring from the US every month.
I have some friends who have given up on Spain because of the challenge and have ended up in Lisbon or the Algarve and do like it there very much. Lisbon makes it exceedingly easy to move there and work online if you want to, with just the D7, which is super-easy to get.
Unless I’m missing some factor, it would appear that Portugal wants expats more than Spain does because they make it so much easier to go there and work. I hear there could be a digital nomad visa in Spain soon, but it keeps getting delayed.”
“Check out this article: Is it possible to work remotely on a non-lucrative visa in Spain? “
“I am a full time Spanish resident so I am not in your position but if you live in Spain as a tourist and your income is from another country you are technically considered a long term tourist and contrary to what people think Spain likes foreigners who spend their foreign income here but by law they can’t allow privileges so they do something call don’t ask don’t tell. Received and paid your taxes in your country and open a tourist account here so you can spend money that comes from your own account in USA. Just come and enjoy Spain before deciding to spend money getting a more complicated visa. I know many foreigners enjoying Spain that way because by not being residents they are not breaking the law”
