Posted: Sat Nov 5, 2022 4:06pm
Hi littlepete,
An article in yesterday's edition of "The Local" suggests Spain's getting closer to completing the legislation required to roll-out the Digital Nomad Visa:
"Many remote workers have been waiting with bated breath to find out when they may be able to come and work in Spain by taking advantage of the country’s new startups law. After a 16-month-long legislative road, Spain’s much anticipated "Ley de Startup" was finally approved in the Spanish Parliament on Thursday November 3rd, 2022. Simply put, the law aims to attract international investors, digital nomads and new companies to Spain with visa incentives, tax breaks, fewer bureaucratic hoops and other benefits.
"The last step before it comes into force is for it to be ratified by the Senate. Given the support the bill has already received from most political parties, this looks very likely to go ahead without issues in the coming weeks. The Spanish government’s aim is for the startups law to come into effect on January 1st, 2023.
"MPs belonging to Spain’s right-wing popular party were outliers by not voting in favour of a law which received widespread support across the country’s political spectrum during Thursday’s parliamentary session. They argued that the law could have been more far reaching, but there are also reports that some MPs mistakenly voted against the legislation. What seems clear is that, after so many amendments and a long wait for the legislation to finally come to fruition, it seems unlikely that any politician will want to put a spoke in the wheel of a bill that’s been described as “pioneering” and necessary. As a member of centre-right party Ciudadanos put it, the law is “a bit late”.
"The startups bill also includes a clause which says that the new fiscal measures will apply in the June 2024 annual tax declaration which deals with tax from 2023, a point which again suggests that Spanish authorities will do their best to ensure the startups law is up and running on January 1st of next year."
There's also some specific information about the Digital Nomad aspect of the bill:
"What Spain considers a digital nomad to be: The law defines a digital nomad as “people whose jobs allow them to work remotely and change residence regularly”.
"Digital nomad tax breaks: Digital nomads who obtain income in Spain but do not stay here for more than 183 days will be eligible to pay non-resident income tax (IRNR) rather than regular income tax (IRPF). IRNR is generally 25 percent in Spain but this will be reduced to 15 percent for digital nomads.
"New digital nomad visa: The ‘startup law’ establishes a visa for international teleworking that allows entry and residence in Spain for a maximum of one year for non-EU citizens. Once it has expired, they can extend it by requesting a residence authorisation as a remote worker for a further two years and then extend it again, up to five years."
Credit: The Local
4 November 2022
Watch this space!
Kind regards,
Kim