Visas & immigration: Spain

The Golden Visa is gone; the Non-Lucrative and Digital Nomad visas are now the two main non-EU doors, alongside a major 2025 regulatory overhaul.

The Golden Visa is over — confirm this before trusting any older source

Spain’s investor residency program, which granted residency for a €500,000+ real-estate purchase, was formally abolished effective April 3, 2025, under reforms pushed by PM Pedro Sánchez’s government, which cited housing-affordability pressure and cited that roughly 94% of Golden Visas issued were tied to property purchases. Applications submitted before that date continue to be processed under the old rules, and existing holders keep their residency and renewal rights — but no new real-estate-based Golden Visa applications are accepted. Plenty of outdated blog content still advertises it; treat any page promoting a Spanish property-investment visa as stale unless it explicitly flags the April 2025 closure.

Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) — passive income, no work allowed

Aimed at retirees and financially independent people who won’t work in Spain. The 2026 income requirement is 400% of the IPREM (Spain’s public income indicator, updated annually) — roughly €28,800/year for the main applicant, plus €7,200/year for each additional family member (so a couple needs about €36,000, a couple with one child about €43,200). You must show this via savings or passive income (pensions, rental income, investments) — active foreign employment income generally does not count, and you legally cannot work for a Spanish employer on this visa, though a 2022 reform now permits limited remote work for non-Spanish clients. Private health insurance with no co-pays is mandatory for the application. Renewed after 1 year, then 2-year renewals, counting toward the 5-year permanent residency clock.

Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) — Ley de Startups, 2023

Introduced under the 2023 Startups Law for remote workers employed by or contracting with companies outside Spain. The 2026 income threshold is 200% of the SMI (minimum wage) — with SMI at €1,221/month, that’s roughly €2,849/month or €34,188/year for the main applicant, with lower add-on percentages per dependent. Applicants must show at least 3 months’ work history with their employer/clients and that no more than 20% of their income comes from Spanish clients. It’s renewable up to a maximum total stay of 5 years and counts toward permanent residency.

Beckham Law — the DNV’s biggest financial perk

Digital Nomad Visa holders (and some other qualifying relocating employees) can opt into the special impatriate tax regime (Beckham Law): a flat 24% tax rate on Spanish-sourced employment/professional income up to €600,000/year (47% marginal rate applies above that), instead of Spain’s standard progressive scale that reaches 47%. It applies for the year of arrival plus the following 5 years (6 years total) and, crucially, generally exempts foreign-sourced income and assets from Spanish taxation and wealth tax during that window — a major saving for anyone earning well above the visa’s minimum. You must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the prior 5 years to qualify.

EU/EEA and student routes

EU/EEA/Swiss citizens have full free-movement rights: no visa, just register for the NIE and empadronamiento after arrival, and prove either employment, self-employment, sufficient means plus health insurance, or student status if staying past 90 days. Non-EU students need an accepted enrolment offer, proof of funds (roughly the IPREM-linked minimum, adjusted yearly), and health insurance; the student visa now permits up to 30 hours/week of work and offers a path to a 1-year job-search permit after graduation.

The May 2025 Reglamento de Extranjería reform

Spain overhauled its foreigners’ regulation in May 2025, simplifying and shortening several arraigo (settlement-based regularization) pathways for people already living in Spain without status — reducing the required residence period for some categories and easing the move from irregular to regular status via work or family ties. On top of that, an extraordinary regularization window opened for people present in Spain before January 1, 2026, requiring 5+ months of continuous residence plus evidence of work history, family ties, or vulnerability, with applications accepted through June 30, 2026. This doesn’t affect standard visa applicants from abroad, but it’s reshaping the landscape for anyone who arrived informally.