LumenHow long does Spain take to decide a digital nomad residence permit?
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Spain must decide a residence permit for international teleworkers (the digital nomad permit) within 20 working days of the electronic application. If it doesn't answer in time, the permit counts as granted by administrative silence. If you apply for the visa at a consulate instead, the legal deadline is 10 working days.
Key facts
| What | The law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides the residence permit | The Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (UGE-CE) handles it online; the Directorate-General for Migration grants it | Ley 14/2013, art. 76.1 |
| Deadline for the residence permit | 20 days from the electronic application, counted as working days (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays don’t count) | Ley 14/2013, art. 76.1; Ley 39/2015, art. 30.2 |
| No answer by the deadline | The permit counts as granted (positive administrative silence) | Ley 14/2013, art. 76.1; Ley 39/2015, art. 24.1 |
| Deadline for the visa (applying from abroad) | 10 working days, longer only when the Schengen prior consultation applies | Ley 14/2013, art. 75.5 |
| While you wait | Applying for the permit extends your current residence or stay until the decision | Ley 14/2013, art. 76.1 |
| How long it lasts | Visa: up to 1 year. Residence permit: up to 3 years, then renewals of 2 years | Ley 14/2013, arts. 74 quater.1, 74 quinquies.2–3 |
| If refused | You can appeal (recurso de alzada) | Ley 14/2013, art. 76.1 |
Two routes, two deadlines
From abroad, with a visa. You apply at a Spanish consulate for the visa for international telework. The consulate must decide in 10 working days. The visa lasts up to one year and is enough to live and work remotely in Spain. In the 60 calendar days before it expires, you can apply for the residence permit to stay on.
In Spain, with the residence permit. If you are already in Spain legally, you apply online to the UGE-CE for the residence permit for international telework. The deadline is 20 working days from the electronic application. The permit is valid across Spain for up to three years and can be renewed for two years at a time.
What “positive silence” means for you
If the 20 working days pass without a decision, the law treats the permit as granted. Ley 39/2015 says the end of the deadline without a notified decision lets the applicant treat the application as approved, unless a law says otherwise; for this permit, Ley 14/2013 says so explicitly. The administration still has to issue a written decision.
Related questions
- Who can apply: remote work for companies outside Spain; as a freelancer, up to 20% of your work may be for Spanish clients (Ley 14/2013, art. 74 bis.1).
- What you must prove: a degree or postgraduate degree from a university or business school of recognised prestige, or vocational training, or at least three years of professional experience (art. 74 bis.2); a company active for at least one year, and at least three months of work with it before applying (art. 74 ter).
Sources
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