Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question about Spain digital nomad visa
In order to obtain the Spain digital nomad visa, my friend has suggested that we do the following. She will create a Spanish company. I will make contracts between myself and the company for my W2 earnings and that way, I could apply for the DNV. I know it is more complicated than this, but does anyone believe that this will work?
Can I continue teaching project management and work as a consultant through a Spanish company to qualify for the Non-Lucrative Visa in Spain, considering my close-to-retirement age? Any potential issues or suggestions?
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These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
”I thought with DNV your income had to come from outside of Spain. Otherwise, you’d have to apply for autónomo”
”You can’t work for a Spanish company as an employee and qualify for the DNV. If you work as a contractor (autónomo), 20% of your income can come from Spanish companies, but the rest has to be sourced outside of Spain”
”It’s virtually impossible to qualify for the DNV as a W2 worker from the U.S. because of the requirement for a social security certificate of coverage that the SSA won’t give out for remote work. The workaround is to become a contractor. With your skill set, you’re perfectly set up to be a 1099 contractor and do consulting work. The best way to do this is to form an LLC and have a contract between your LLC and yourself. That way you wouldn’t have to collect paperwork for all of your clients. The downside is your LLC has to be in existence for at least a year before you can apply for the Spain digital nomad visa. If you don’t want to wait a year, you could go through the work of collecting the letters and Certificates of Good Standing for each of your clients (or at least the ones that pay you enough to get you over the income threshold). You’d just have to work as a contractor for 3 months before you can apply for the DNV in this case”
”This is consistent with what I have been hearing a lot from other people who got approved”
”It is virtually true, but not impossible, as a W2 employee. If your US Employer is willing to pay into Spanish Social Security, then it is still possible. Otherwise, it is not”
So in conclusion, according to Spainguru Facebook group members, the suggested approach of forming a Spanish company and working as a W2 employee may not work for the Spanish Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) in Spain. It’s generally recommended to work as a contractor (autónomo) with income coming from non-Spanish sources. Forming an LLC and having a contract between the individual and the LLC is a common workaround. Seeking advice from legal and immigration experts is essential for personalized guidance and understanding all visa requirements.
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