Can you get a job or be self-employed in Spain or work remotely? ‘It depends’ is the simple answer. Find out from Skatz whether you can work in Spain with this guide to your options. 

Prefer to watch the video? Click the picture below. Or carry on reading for the article!

The first thing to find out is whether you have the right to work. This depends on your passport. Let’s look at three examples.

Example 1/ EU passport holder.

First of all, if you have an Irish Passport for example, or one from another EU country, that makes you an EU citizen so you automatically have the freedom to work in the EU.

Don’t get confused if you have the old UK passport, which says EU on it. Unfortunately, since Brexit, the UK isn’t in the EU anymore, so despite what the outside of your passport says, you’re not an EU citizen so you’re not automatically entitled to work.

Example 2/ UK passport holder resident in Spain since before the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

This means you moved to Spain when the UK was an EU country, so when Brexit happened you were entitled to work and you retained that right as part of the Withdrawal Agreement.

Example 3/ Non-EU passport holder (including UK since Brexit).

Because you’re a non-EU citizen, you need a visa to move to Spain.

There are various visas you can get, some of which allow you to work. The Non Lucrative Visa isn’t one of them. That’s meant for people who are retiring to Spain or they’re taking a year off from working. Non Lucrative means you can’t work, unless it’s a part time voluntary job. Basically, you can’t be earning money, even if it’s being done remotely for a foreign company. That used to be a possibility, but Spain closed that loophole a couple of years ago.

Here are the visas that allow you to work

The Digital Nomad Visa

This is a new visa that’s just been introduced for remote workers. Most people know it as the Digital Nomad Visa, even though that’s not the official title.

Here’s the link to the video I made all about it that gives you more details, although all of the finer details haven’t been published on the official government bulletin yet.

https://youtube.com/live/c8cZn2XFZ-c

The Working Visa

You need to have organised a working contract with a Spanish company that hasn’t been able to find anyone from the EU to do the job. That’s if you’re applying from outside of Spain. If you apply from inside Spain it means you won’t have to pay the consulate fee, but you’d still need a company to sponsor you, and that can still be difficult, Spain’s got quite high unemployment figures at the moment. It’s possible to move to Spain on the Non Lucrative Visa for a year, then switch to a working visa, which is actually easier, and your prospective employer won’t have to prove that there’s no one in the EU to do the job. That’s a rule they relaxed recently. Here’s the link to a video that has lots of helpful information about it.

https://youtube.com/live/SUw4e18H9KE

The Entrepreneur or Self-Employment visa

These are actually two slightly different visas but they’re both about having your own business.

A really good business plan is the key to the self-employment visa. Here’s the link to a video all about it with a Spanish lawyer who successfully applied for several visas for non-EU citizens. 

https://youtube.com/live/UeSV2iEftp0

The Golden Visa

To get this you need to invest at least half a million in property, or a million or two in investments.

Here’s a video all about eligibility and how to apply.

Article by Skatz