Changing jobs and clients while on a Digital Nomad Visa in Spain
In 2023, Spain began issuing residencies for digital nomads, many have moved or are planning to move, but since the residency is new, many questions still arise. In this article, we will discuss the issue of changing a contract or employer and possibility of working for a Spanish company.
Can you change the contract or employer during the nomad’s residence?
Yes, you can change the employer or the company to which you provide services at any time, provided that all requirements are met.
- the company must exist for more than 1 year;
- the contract should imply the possibility of working online;
- monthly payment must be above the minimum for a nomad;
- Minimum income for nomads in Spain in 2024:
for 1 person 2,646€
for a family of 2 people 3639€
for a family of 3 people 3970€
for a family of 4 people 4301€
for a family of 5 people 4632€
When changing the contract, the requirement that it must be valid for 3 months at the time of application does not apply.
Can you sign a contract with a Spanish company?
If you have received a nomad residence as a freelancer or with a service contract and have opened a sole proprietorship in Spain, then you can provide online services to Spanish companies in an amount not exceeding 20% of the total volume of services.
If you have received a nomad residence as an employee with an employment contract, then you cannot provide services to Spanish companies.
If you have found a Spanish employer who is ready to hire you in Spain, then there are 2 options:
- At any time during the residence, you can request a residence for a highly qualified specialist if you meet the criteria. You can read about the criteria for a highly qualified specialist in the article.
- After a year of living in Spain under a nomad residence, you can request a residence with the right to work for hire.
Can you sign a contract with a company from another EU country?
Yes, if it is a service contract (not labor), then there are no problems.
With a labor contract, there is a nuance, you need to either provide a certificate of social insurance (A1 form), which is issued rather reluctantly and not in all EU countries. Or the employer company must register in Spain and pay social insurance contributions for the employee (you) in Spain.
As a digital nomad, do you need to notify about a change of contract or employer?
If you received your digital nomad residence as an employee and your employer has changed or you want to open a sole proprietorship in Spain and switch to a service contract, then you must notify the authorities.
If you received a residence as a freelancer or want to switch to employment, you also need to notify.
For those who obtained their residence as a sole proprietor and their company -ies that you provide services to has changed.
As the law reads:
Any modification during the residency that affects the admission conditions must be communicated by the interested party to the Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos within a period of 30 days.
Original: Cualquier modificación durante la residencia que afecte a las condiciones de admisión deberá ser comunicada por el interesado a la Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos en el plazo de 30 días.
However as of May 2024!
If you write an email to la Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos (the ministry responsible for issuing nomad residencies), they respond that
those who have a sole proprietorship do not need to notify about contract changes, as long as they pay social insurance contributions for themselves and maintain the necessary level of income.
When and how to notify about a contract change for a digital nomad in Spain?
Changes must be communicated within 30 days of their occurrence.
The notification process is almost the same as the initial residence application:
You collect a full set of documents:
- new contract;
- confirmation that the company has existed for more than 1 year;
- letter from the company;
- confirmation of work experience;
- form;
- confirmation of payment of the fee;
- scan of all pages of the passport + resident card;
- if there was at least one payment under the contract, then a certificate from the bank;
- a cover letter in free form on the topic that the application is due to a change of employer;
You upload documents using an electronic signature on the same portal where the initial application was made.
The review period is 20 working days.
After that, the Spanish government will send you a new approval of residence with a new validity period (for 3 years from the moment of approval).
After receiving approval, you will need to submit fingerprints to the police and get a new resident card.
What to do if the contract is terminated or fired?
According to the law, you must meet the requirements all the time of residence, that is, have a contract.
A notification of a contract change is given 30 days, if the contract has ended or you have been fired, then during this time you must find a new contract.
What will happen if you do not notify anyone and just continue to live in Spain?
According to the law the residency can be terminated if non-compliance with the requirements is revealed.
Can you change the digital nomad visa residence to another one?
You can not replace it, but request another primary residence:
At any time of legal stay in Spain:
▪you can request a new residence for a highly qualified specialist. You need a contract with a Spanish company + a specialty from the list + work experience from 3 years or specialized education.
▪request a startup residence. Write your business plan or join someone else’s project.
▪arrange an investor’s residence (not yet canceled). Buy real estate for 500,000€ or more.
▪marry a EU citizen and arrange a residence permit based on family reunification.
No later than 30 days before the end of the legal stay in Spain:
▪downgrade to a student estancia. For this, you need to study full-time in Spain.
▪after 1 year of legal residence in Spain, you can change to a residence with the right to work for yourself or for hire. For this, you need either a business plan / operating sole proprietorship or an employment contract with a Spanish company.
