The Digital Nomad Visa suits people who want to live in Spain on remote income without running a local business, while the Startup Visa is for those planning to build an innovative company and raise investment in the country.
In short
- The Lucrativa visa now ends in refusal more often than approval — especially for Russian and CIS citizens.
- The Digital Nomad Visa fits people earning income from outside Spain who don’t run a business inside the country.
- The minimum income for the Digital Nomad Visa is €2,000–3,000 a month, confirmed by a long-term contract.
- The Startup Visa can be filed by a team of up to four people, each with their own family.
- The path to a Spanish passport under the Digital Nomad Visa takes 10 years regardless of the applicant’s activity level.
Why the Lucrativa and student visas aren’t real alternatives
The Lucrativa visa has become nearly impossible to get lately: few applications get approved, processing times are stretched out, and refusal rates are high — especially for applicants from Russia and other CIS countries. The reason lies in how the program is built: its core criterion is having money, and immigration authorities decide at their own discretion how to interpret the origin of those funds and their “legality” from an EU standpoint. An applicant can justify the source of income, but the decision still stays discretionary, and in practice refusals under this program now clearly outnumber approvals.
in practice refusals under this program now clearly outnumber approvals
The student visa isn’t treated as a full relocation path for several reasons. It’s issued for a short term and still has to be extended through either the Digital Nomad Visa or the Startup Visa — so it’s not a standalone route but an intermediate step. On top of that, tuition costs are high, and the visa requires genuine study: attending language courses, university, or school if the visa is to hold up legally. Immigration authorities do track a purely formal approach to studying, and such cases can end badly for the applicant.
The Lucrativa visa now produces more refusals than approvals: the decision on the “legality” of the money rests with the official, not the applicant.
Digital Nomad Visa: who the remote-work program fits
The Digital Nomad Visa is built for people with remote income — freelancers, employees, subcontractors, or sole proprietors working for a business in another country. The program doesn’t require running a business in Spain and has nothing to do with the local labor market.
The program’s purpose is to let people live in Spain and pay Spanish taxes without competing with local businesses or taking jobs on the Spanish market. That’s where the main restriction comes from: no entrepreneurial activity inside the country and no participation in the local labor market — income has to come from abroad.
This format is a perfect fit for employees and freelancers who keep working for a foreign employer or foreign clients. Typical cases are entrepreneurs or developers working for a company in the US or, say, the UAE, who want to live in Spain while doing so.
If the goal is simply to live in the country while keeping foreign-sourced income, without launching or running a business on Spanish soil, the Digital Nomad Visa solves exactly that.
Startup Visa: who the founder program fits
The Startup Visa is built for people who have already launched a product and are actively growing it, or who genuinely plan to launch one — and want to do it while living in Spain. In this case Spain can’t be a formality in the business: the country has to be part of the project’s growth process, whether that means working with users or scaling further. Anyone who wants to run an innovative business, join accelerators, and raise investment fits this program specifically — unlike the Nomad route, which doesn’t require running a business in the country at all.
Spain’s startup ecosystem is well developed: the NISA program is active, and subsidized loans, grants, and accelerators are all available.
What counts as a startup
Spain’s definition of a startup has tightened noticeably over the past few years. It now has to be a genuinely innovative company, and having an already-developed technology is a big plus during review. Recognition and track record are assessed as well: user numbers, participation in industry conferences, awards received. Ideally the startup has a proven track record, not just an idea on paper.
Why it got harder
A few years ago, an application could be strengthened in a couple of nights by writing a business plan — and stood a good chance of approval. Now preparation takes about a month: applicants need to work through ways to strengthen the application and apply to local accelerators to get supporting letters from them. Unlike the Nomad Visa, where the review is formal — documents either meet the criteria or they don’t — Startup Visa reviewers assess how innovative, competitive, and promising the business is. The application has come to resemble a competitive selection process more than a formal document check.
The application has come to resemble a competitive selection process more than a formal document check.
Under the Startup Visa, reviewers don’t just check formal compliance — they judge how innovative, competitive, and promising the business is. It’s a competitive selection process, not a paperwork check.
Documents and minimum income for the Digital Nomad Visa
The program doesn’t involve a subjective assessment of the applicant — there’s a clear document package, and approval depends on whether it’s assembled correctly, not on how convincing the case is. The package runs to roughly 10 documents. Review takes about 20 business days (the timeline can change, so check the current one before applying), after which the residence card application follows right away.
You can apply either from inside Spain or from abroad, but applying from abroad is more complex and requires more supporting documents at the consulate. If you can enter Spain on a valid visa and apply locally, that’s faster than applying twice — once in your home country, then again in Spain.
The key income requirement is proving income of roughly €2,000–3,000 a month (the exact threshold depends on family composition and can change, so confirm the current figure before applying) under a contract signed for several years ahead. In practice, such employment contracts are usually tweaked a bit before filing, because getting a perfect contract with an employer from the outset is almost impossible, especially if it was signed a while ago.
The declared income isn’t a one-time formality. The state expects the applicant to pay monthly taxes on the declared amount: if income later drops below the stated threshold, the applicant no longer meets the program’s requirements.
Digital Nomad Visa threshold requirements
The key figures your application won’t get approved without.
- Minimum income€2,000–3,000/monththreshold depends on family composition
- Review timeabout 20 business daystimeline can change
- Number of documentsabout 10
If you already hold a valid visa to enter Spain, apply locally: it’s faster than filing the package twice — once in your home country, then again on Spanish soil.
Taxes and the main advantage of each program
The Nomad Visa’s main advantage is speed and simplicity: the document package is shorter than most programs require, and preparation costs are minimal. But that ease at the entry hides an expensive program to maintain. When applying, you have to show monthly income of at least €2,000–3,000 — and once approved, the country will expect taxes to be paid on exactly that amount. If income drops and no longer matches the declared level, the residence permit won’t be renewed: failing to meet the requirement is a direct ground for refusal. Rough estimates put the tax burden under the Nomad Visa at up to €10,000–15,000 a year, which makes the program noticeably more expensive than comparable options — including Spain’s own Startup Visa.
Rough estimates put the tax burden under the Nomad Visa at up to €10,000–15,000 a year
The Startup Visa works the opposite way: its main advantage is tax flexibility, not speed of processing. Getting this visa doesn’t commit the applicant to a guaranteed income for the state: the startup can run at a loss, and its owner can earn nothing at all for several years without breaching the visa’s conditions. Once income does appear, the holder can switch to the Backema tax regime and cut taxes, including stopping payments on passive income earned abroad. The price for that flexibility is a harder application: you need an actual startup with real achievements, and preparing a strong application usually takes about a month and a half.
If income falls below the declared threshold, the Digital Nomad Visa won’t be renewed — the program requires consistently paying taxes on exactly the declared amount.
Residence term, renewal, and applying as a team
The Digital Nomad Visa is very likely to grant a 3-year residence permit. Renewing it is fairly simple: the only requirement is to live in the country and pay taxes on the declared income. The path to a Spanish passport under this program takes 10 years — regardless of how actively the applicant builds up activity in the country.
The Startup Visa works differently, both in terms of preparation timelines and who can apply.
The key difference in the Startup Visa’s application setup is the option to apply as a team. While the Golden Visa is always filed for one person plus family, the Startup Visa lets a team of up to four people apply together, each with their own family. That makes the program a good fit for people launching a project with partners, co-founders, or colleagues rather than solo.
Beyond the right to reside, the Startup Visa grants the right to work in the country, run a business, and raise investment, plus access to support from the Spanish government, which is actively developing this program.
Digital Nomad Visa vs Startup Visa
| Criterion | Digital Nomad Visa | Startup Visa |
|---|---|---|
| Who applies | One applicant plus family | Team of up to 4 people, each with their own family |
| Income requirement | Stable income of €2,000–3,000/month under contract | Income not guaranteed; the startup can run at a loss |
| Running a business in Spain | Not allowed | Required — it’s the whole point of the program |
| Tax burden | Up to €10,000–15,000 a year | Flexible; the Backema regime is available |
| Residence permit term | 3 years | Not specified separately in the text |
| Path to citizenship | 10 years | Not specified separately in the text |
Data comes from this article’s sections on the Digital Nomad Visa and the Startup Visa.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a Golden Visa instead of these programs if I have property or capital in Spain
The article mentions the Golden Visa only as a program that’s always filed for one person plus family — unlike the Startup Visa, which allows a team of up to four people with their families to apply together. That’s the only thing that can be said about the Golden Visa based on the available material, without speculating on its conditions.
Does the whole team need to move to Spain at the same time when applying for the Startup Visa
The material only states that the application can be filed by a team of up to four people, each with their own family — it doesn’t cover timing or the order in which each member relocates.
How long does preparing a Startup Visa application take compared to the Digital Nomad Visa
Preparing a strong Startup Visa application takes about a month and a half, while reviewing a completed Digital Nomad Visa package takes about 20 business days after filing. These are different stages: Nomad has a longer review of a ready package, while Startup requires more work preparing the application itself before filing.
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