UPDATED 27 January 2023: Great news for citizens outside the EU hoping to work in Mallorca (or Spain) remotely – the Digital Nomad Visa has come to Spain! Please see this article here.
It’s been recently announced the Spanish Government have confirmed the new Digital Nomad visa which has already been rolled out in many countries across Europe.
The exact details and terms and conditions of the visa are yet to be confirmed.
The latest media reports have provided a little more information about this visa, so see what this means to you if you wish to spend more time living in Mallorca.
Table of Contents
Will I be able to work in Spain with a digital nomad visa?
The proposed digital nomad visa in Spain means that if you are a “third country” citizen, so from outside of the EU, and have citizenship in countries such as the UK, USA & Canada and Australia and are bound by the 3-month tourist visa to visit Spain, you will soon be able to get this new Digital Nomad visa.
This should allow you to work remotely in Spain either for clients or for a company based outside of Spain.
This is great news too for Britons in this post-Brexit era whose right to work in Spain was removed by the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union.
However, this visa will prove to be controversial in terms of not providing workers where they are needed during the Summer months.
Many businesses, particularly in traditionally British-based resorts struggled to find staff to fill temporary jobs in Summer 2022, as tourism levels returned to normal following the global pandemic.
This Digital Nomad Visa will not allow these types of jobs to be filled.
It is also expected that these visas will be granted to workers who are able to generate at least 2,000€ per month, however this is to be confirmed.
What is the proposed tax rate for holders of the Digital Nomad Visa (Mallorca) in Spain?
It has been reported that as an incentive, the tax rate for those arriving to work in Spain on a Digital Nomad will be 15%.
This is in stark contrast to those already working in Spain freelance who currently pay 24% in tax, irrespective of earnings.
This is not likely to go down well with those already working “autonomo” or freelance in Spain already, but it seems the government is keen to attract new talent and these workers to the country.
Will I be able to get residency in Spain with a Digital Nomad Visa?
The Digital Nomad visa in Spain is NOT believed to give you rights to residency and the proposed period of stay allowed by this visa in Spain has been recently reported to be up to five years.
So this will give you a really great opportunity in the case of coming to Mallorca to spend more time on the island than you would normally be able if were arriving as a citizen from outside of the EU or Schengen zone.
Which other European Countries have a Digital Nomad Visa?
As well as Spain, other European countries are already known for their digital nomad programmes including Portugal, Germany, Croatia and Iceland.
So if you are in a position to take advantage of this new visa, you would potentially travel from country to country, and enjoy amazing travel experiences, while working remotely.
Other countries outside of the EU that offer this kind of visa include Dubai, Costa Rica, Thailand and Mexico.
When will the Digital Nomad Visa be confirmed in Spain?
So a decision on the Digital Nomad visa is expected to be made by the Spanish Government in 2023 which means that if you are from a Non-EU country and meet the requirements, you could potentially move to Mallorca.
It’s also been reported in some sources that the Digital Nomad Visa will be hoped to boost populations (at least temporarily) in remote areas of the country.
However, with poor internet and WiFi coverage in many mountain and country villages, these connections would have to be vastly improved before remote workers can commit to living and being able to successfully work from these areas.
This is why it is expected Digital Nomad Visa will allow freedom to work from any region or city in Spain.
What’s more, it’s unsure yet whether there will be an opportunity to extend the visa. But there may well be means to be able to do so.
Either way, this is exciting news.
It will open up Mallorca once again to those of you who are not from the EU or Schengen Zone and wish to spend more time on the island or travelling (and working) around the country.
And as a resident here for nearly 17 years, I can absolutely recommend the benefits of living in Mallorca (Majorca); from being able to go to the beach every weekend in the summer (and live that holiday lifestyle), to going on amazing hikes which are just 20 minutes drive away from where we live.
Plus there are the wonderful benefits of a truly multicultural environment and the ability to learn Spanish and/or Catalan which makes Mallorca a great place to live even if it is for up to five years.
If you want to read more about living here in Mallorca, check out this article here.
You can read more about the Digital Nomad Visa here
Work in Mallorca – Digital Nomad Visa is Coming Soon on Youtube
In this video, I dropped in to see a friend who is a European citizen and working remotely for an American company in Can Pastilla to talk about how she finds life living and working remotely here on the island.
To give you an idea of the lifestyle here in Mallorca, check it out the video.
And don’t forget to subscribe to the Mallorca Under the Sun Youtube channel for further news that could affect your move to Mallorca here.
This post was originally published in February 2022, but has been updated following recent news reports.
Oh, it only I were younger and had a different skill set, I would love this digital nomad style of working. It sounds really exciting and I hope lots of people will be able to have an amazing experience doing this. The tax difference is huge! Hopefully the decision will be made soon! It’s a shame it would not be able to benefit the hospitality/catering trades who need staff.
Start a blogging business, and you’ll be able to do it!