Digital Nomad Visa: Apply From Inside Spain or Through a Consulate?

Both routes need the same core documents — proof of remote work, income, qualifications, criminal records and health cover. The list is in our digital nomad visa guide.

The law lets you apply from Spain if you're there legally — for example, on a visa-free stay (Law 14/2013, article 74 quinquies). Here's the route as we run it:

1. Arrive with your documents ready. Your visa-free days start counting on arrival, so collect, apostille and translate everything at home first. Bring paper originals of every apostilled document: since September 2026 the UGE sometimes asks to see them.
2. File online through a representative. The application goes to the UGE only electronically, signed with a Spanish digital certificate. In practice you can't get that certificate before you have Spanish residence, so a representative with their own certificate files for you under a power of attorney — that's the part we do for our clients (what it costs).
3. Your stay stays legal. Once you've applied, the law extends your legal stay until the decision (article 76), even if your 90 days run out while you wait.
4. Wait for a decision or a request. The legal deadline is 20 days. In our applications a document request usually arrives close to day 20, and you then have 10 working days to answer.
5. After approval: register with Spanish Social Security straight away, book your fingerprint appointment and collect your residence card (TIE).

You apply at the Spanish consulate that covers where you legally live. According to the consulates' own pages:

• London takes applications through the BLS visa centre in London; Washington has required in-person applications by appointment at the BLS centre in Washington, D.C. since 1 September 2026.
• The consulate decides within 10 working days of receiving the file, longer if it asks for an interview or more documents.
• The visa is valid for up to one year. Before it runs out — in the last 60 days — you apply in Spain to switch to the residence permit, which then renews for two years at a time.
• Consulates have their own fees, and some quote a lower income threshold than the UGE. In 2026 the Washington consulate lists €2,442 a month for a single applicant; for applications in Spain we work with €2,850.

What we hear from the market (not from our own filings): consulate applications tend to get more document requests than applications in Spain, although some are approved within about a month.

There's no fast track on either route. On paper the consulate is faster — 10 working days against 20 days — but the consulate clock starts only after your appointment, and the visa is just the first step: you still apply for the residence permit in Spain later.

In Spain, 2026 has been slower than the law suggests. Since spring, some applications have waited two months or more, the order in which files are decided looks random, and family members are often decided about three weeks after the main applicant. If 20 days pass with no decision and no request, you can file for silencio positivo: the law then treats the permit as granted, although it doesn't make the UGE answer faster.

If you're asking about the fastest route from the US: what usually saves the most time is arriving in Spain with a complete file, because a document request near day 20 adds weeks.

These are the requests we see most in UGE applications in 2026:

• Bank statements without the bank's stamp — downloads from online banks often need a stamped or notarised copy.
• An old company certificate — keep your employer's or client's registration certificate under three months old.
• Criminal records — freelancers are now also asked for one from the country where their business is registered.
• Self-employed registration — it must be at least three months old, apostilled and officially translated.
• Apostilles — since September 2026 the UGE questions some apostilles and may ask for originals.

Answer within the 10 working days. A late answer leads to a refusal. If you do get a refusal, an appeal can take up to three months in our experience, and often there's no answer at all — which counts as a rejection.

If you applied in Spain on time, you're not overstaying: your application extends your legal stay until the decision. The 90/180 rule itself, and how to count your days before you apply, is explained in the 90-day rule.

After approval, if you need to travel before you have your residence card, apply for a return authorisation (autorización de regreso).