Spain offers a 3-year residence permit under its digital nomad programme with minimal requirements: the main criterion is finances, everything else doesn’t matter. The visa is issued to the entire family at once and is almost guaranteed to be approved if you meet the income conditions. Moreover, the status remains valid even if you don’t live in the country—the Spanish immigration service doesn’t revoke the residency permit for non-residence.
Who can get a residence permit and what is needed for it
The main criterion for obtaining a residence permit is financial capability. The applicant’s age, education, and country of origin don’t matter. Citizens of Russia and Belarus are welcome, and financial evidence in rubles is accepted without issue.
Three main conditions are required for submission. First, a valid Schengen tourist visa for any duration from any country that is party to the Schengen Agreement—it doesn’t have to be Spanish. Second, a prepared package of documents. Third, having a plan: you need to present your objective—living in Spain, living in another EU country, or using the residence permit for other purposes.
Processing times are short: from the moment you enter the country to receiving your residence permit card takes approximately 7 weeks. The status is issued to the entire family.
Why the residence permit attracts people not planning to live in Spain
Growing demand for Spanish residence permits among Russian and Belarusian citizens is often explained not by a desire to immigrate, but by specific practical needs.
People are looking for an alternative to a Schengen visa because multi-entry visas have stopped being issued or are being issued with difficulties. With a 3-year residence permit, you can travel freely throughout Europe with your entire family without restrictions.
Another common request is opening foreign bank accounts and unblocking assets stuck in European depositories due to sanctions. After obtaining a residence permit, a person becomes a resident under European law, gains legal status in the jurisdiction, and expands their rights.
Many view the residence permit as a long-term legal status in Europe as a backup option for a sense of security. There are requests related to internet access, the need to visit children in European universities, selling property in Germany, or starting a business in EU countries.
Why Spain doesn’t revoke residency permits for non-residence
Spain differs from most other European countries in that it doesn’t monitor its own residents’ presence on its territory. In other countries, the immigration service requests data from the border service at year-end: if a resident didn’t live in the country, their residency permit is revoked.
In Spain, it has historically developed that the immigration service is not interested in where its residents are located, what they do, or what their plans are. This creates an extensive grey area of people who obtained a residency permit for purposes unrelated to immigration.
However, when renewing the residency permit, the immigration service will ask questions about residence in the country. If you want to extend your status but haven’t lived in Spain, obtaining renewal becomes difficult.
Taxes and resident statuses
Obtaining a residence permit does not automatically make a person a tax resident. In English, the terms can be confusing, but these are different concepts: residency permit status means being an EU resident, while tax residency is determined differently.
Under most jurisdictions, you become a tax resident if you stay on the territory for more than 183 days in a calendar year. There are other rare criteria: for example, if your entire family lives in one country and you live in another, you may be recognized as a tax resident in the country where your family lives.
People who have obtained a residency permit but don’t plan to live in Spain can count on not becoming tax residents in the country and not paying Spanish taxes.
How to get another three years: the family member scheme
After three years, many return when the residency permit is ending or about to end. This time, the other spouse applies for the same digital nomad programme.
If the residency permit was initially issued to the husband, the second time it is obtained for the wife. The Spanish immigration service readily approves such cases without additional requests or problems. As a result, the family can use the residency permit for six years in a row: three years for one family member, then three years for the other.
This scheme only works with adult family members. What will happen after three years with the next application is still unclear; the answer will presumably emerge in a few years.
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