Renewing a Digital Nomad Residence Authorisation in Spain

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First, which permit do you hold?
When can you file the renewal?
How you file
How long UGE has, and what silence means
What UGE will want to see
Which bank statements?
Family members
After five years
Sources
Who can do this for you

First, which permit do you hold?

People say "digital nomad visa" for two different documents, and the renewal route depends on which one you have.

The visa (issued by a consulate): valid for a maximum of one year. It is not renewed. Instead, within 60 calendar days before the visa expires, you can apply in Spain for the residence authorisation, provided the conditions still hold.
The residence authorisation for international teleworkers: valid for a maximum of three years, unless you asked for a shorter period. This is the permit that renews, for periods of two years.

If you hold the one-year visa, you are not renewing yet: you are making the first residence application. The 60-day window applies to that step only.

When can you file the renewal?

The law says holders "podrán solicitar su renovación" for two-year periods as long as the conditions behind the right are maintained. We found no opening date for the renewal in the law or on the UGE pages. The 60-day figure you will see repeated online belongs to the visa-to-authorisation step, not to the renewal.

What the law does say is what filing does. In Ley 14/2013, art. 76.3: "La presentación de la solicitud de renovación prorrogará la validez de la autorización hasta la resolución del procedimiento." So you stay covered while the renewal is pending.

The same article extends validity if you file in the 90 days after the old authorisation ended, but it adds that this is "sin perjuicio de la incoación, en su caso, del correspondiente expediente sancionador". In plain terms: filing late can still keep you in the procedure, and it can also cost you a penalty file. Do not plan around the grace period. File before the expiry date printed on your card.

How you file

Applications for these permits are handled by the Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos (UGE), online only. The law says renewals are processed "utilizando medios electrónicos".
You file through the Ministry of Inclusion's electronic office, which has a "solicitar la renovación" option. You need an electronic certificate or similar digital ID to sign in, or you can authorise a representative.
The fee is paid beforehand with modelo 790 código 038, punto 7 (it lists "autorización de residencia renovada", for the holder and for dependent family members). You attach the payment reference (NRC) to the application.
If the permit lasts more than six months, the law says you must also apply for the foreigner identity card (TIE). See the order of padron, health card and TIE.

How long UGE has, and what silence means

The maximum time to resolve is 20 days from electronic filing, and the law says that if there is no decision in that time "la autorización se entenderá estimada por silencio administrativo". The electronic office says that if no resolution is notified in time, you can ask for a resolution by silence, through the electronic office as a "Subsanación". Real processing times can be longer than 20 days, which is why a filed renewal that extends your validity matters.

What UGE will want to see

The test in the law is that you "mantengan las condiciones que generaron el derecho". A separate rule requires you to keep those conditions for as long as the authorisation lasts, and the authorities may check them. If a check shows they are not met, the authorisation can be ended, with a hearing first.

UGE publishes a document list for initial applications. We did not find an official renewal checklist. The safest reading is that the same evidence is the basis for a renewal, so keep it current. The conditions it covers:

Remote work continues. Employees may work only for companies outside Spain. Self-employed professionals may also work for a Spanish company, up to 20% of total professional activity.
Income. The holder must show monthly income of 200% of the minimum wage (salario mínimo interprofesional, SMI) in force. For a holder plus one family member, at least 75% of the SMI is required (the UGE document states this alongside the holder figure, so ask a gestor how UGE combines them for your household), plus 25% of the SMI for each further member. UGE says these are gross amounts before tax and social security. For 2026 the SMI is set at 1,221 euros per month by Real Decreto 126/2026. We do not print a final euro threshold here because the UGE FAQ shows the SMI next to the 200% figure in a way that is easy to misread.
Health cover. Public cover through Social Security, or private insurance with an insurer authorised in Spain. UGE does not accept travel insurance, reimbursement-only policies, or policies with co-payments or waiting periods.
Social Security. UGE states registration is mandatory. Employees go into the General Regime, self-employed holders into RETA. Not registering can lead to the authorisation being terminated, and the holder and dependants can be barred from residing and working in Spain.
Changes during the permit. You must tell UGE within 30 days about any change that affects the conditions (for example, a new employer or client).

What we could not confirm: that renewal specifically requires tax or Social Security "paid up" certificates, or a new criminal record certificate. The law (art. 62) lists no-criminal-record, health cover and sufficient means as general requirements, and UGE's initial-application list requires a criminal record certificate unless it was already supplied for an earlier permit of more than six months. Ask your gestor what UGE is asking for in current renewals.

Which bank statements?

For income, UGE asks for payslips or invoices for the three months before the application, plus a bank certificate in the holder's name, stamped or signed by the bank, showing the matching payments, with those movements marked. It does not say the bank must be Spanish. Where income falls short and you rely on savings, UGE says the certificates can come from Spanish or foreign financial institutions.

UGE does not say whether a statement from an online money-transfer account will be accepted as a bank certificate. Treat that as unconfirmed and use a certificate stamped by a bank where you can. That is practical advice, not an official rule.

Family members

A spouse or partner, children, and dependent parents can hold their own authorisations under the same law. The renewal law covers holders of any authorisation in this section. The electronic office lists the renewal fee for the holder and for dependent family members and says that, for renewals, the applicant is the foreigner whose permit is renewed (or the parents or guardian of a minor). Family members can work in Spain without restriction, according to UGE.

We did not find an official page on whether family renewals must be filed on the same day as the holder's. Ask your gestor, and keep every dependant's expiry date in view, because the household income thresholds above apply to the family as a whole.

After five years

Long-term EU residence (residencia de larga duración-UE) requires five years of legal, continuous residence in Spain before the application, with limits on absences, plus sufficient regular means and health insurance. We have not confirmed how UGE-route residence is counted in practice, so ask a lawyer before relying on it.

Nationality by residence under art. 22 of the Civil Code normally needs ten years of residence, shorter for some groups, and the residence must be legal, continuous and immediately before the application. It also requires good civic conduct and integration. For tax, see digital nomad tax residency, and for self-employment becoming autónomo after the visa.

Sources

Who can do this for you

A gestor can prepare and file the renewal through the electronic office and check your documents against what UGE is asking. If your situation is unusual (a change of client, income below the threshold, a family member with a separate problem, a missed date), a lawyer is the better first call.

This page is general information, not legal advice. It was checked against the sources above on the date shown. Immigration rules and UGE practice change. Confirm the current position with UGE or a qualified adviser before relying on any of it.