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Bringing your family on the digital nomad visa

Spouse, children and dependent parents can all be included. Healthcare and school then run on separate tracks, and parents are the exception on healthcare.

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On this page
  1. Who counts as family
  2. Together or later
  3. The income test grows with the household
  4. Can your spouse work?
  5. If the holder loses the permit
  6. Public healthcare for the family
  7. Digital certificates
  8. Getting the children into school
  9. Sources
  10. Who can do this for you

Who counts as family

Article 62.4 of Ley 14/2013 covers the spouse or person with an analogous relationship (a partner), children who are minors, and children who are adults but economically dependent and have not formed their own family unit, plus dependent ascendants (parents, in the law's words "los ascendientes a cargo"). The UGE, the unit that processes these applications, repeats the same list in its FAQ.

The law does not define "a cargo" in the text we read. For a parent, expect to be asked to prove that you support them. What proof your case needs is a question for the adviser who files it.

Family members must also meet the general requirements of article 62.3, which include health insurance, enough money, and no criminal record, so each one has their own paperwork.

Together or later

Either works. The law says they may apply "conjunta y simultánea o sucesivamente" (together and at the same time, or one after the other). If the family applications are filed at the same time as the holder's, they are decided at the same time.

The income test grows with the household

The UGE FAQ sets the money test as percentages of the minimum wage (SMI, salario mínimo interprofesional), earned from work. The holder needs 200% of the SMI per month. For a household of two (holder plus one family member) the FAQ asks for at least 75% of the SMI, and 25% of the SMI for each additional person.

The FAQ does not spell out how the 75% and 25% combine with the holder's own 200%, and the SMI changes every year. We print no euro figure here. Ask the adviser filing for you to work the number out for your household on the date you file.

Can your spouse work?

Yes. The UGE FAQ answers the question directly: family members can work in Spain, both as employees and self-employed, without restriction. Note that this comes from the UGE's own FAQ, so check the wording on your family member's resolution before they start.

If the holder loses the permit

Family permits depend on the holder's. The one case the UGE FAQ spells out: a holder working as an autónomo who does not register in Social Security after approval can have the authorisation extinguished, and then both the holder and the dependent family lose the right to live and work in Spain. More generally, holders must keep the conditions that gave them the permit and tell the UGE of changes within 30 days (Ley 14/2013, additional provision 7). See autónomo after the digital nomad visa.

Public healthcare for the family

Once you are registered in Social Security, the INSS recognises your own right to public healthcare without you applying. Your family are then added as beneficiarios using the INSS healthcare request (form 6-071), which you file as the holder. You can file it online with a digital certificate or Cl@ve, or at a Social Security office with a prior appointment.

The INSS form lets you add:

  • your spouse or pareja de hecho (registered partner);
  • children, grandchildren and siblings under 26, or older with a recognised disability of 65% or more;
  • minors in your guardianship or fostering.

Parents are not on that list. The common belief that you can add your parents to your Spanish healthcare is not supported by the official form. A parent who comes on the visa needs a cover route of their own. We could not verify an official route, so ask your adviser before you file the parent's application.

What the INSS asks for:

  • ID for everyone: the TIE, or the passport if the TIE is not yet issued, plus proof of legal residence for each foreign beneficiary.
  • Proof of the relationship: libro de familia or marriage certificate for a spouse, birth certificate for a child. For a child, the form also asks for the other parent's name and ID number.
  • Income is declared for beneficiaries other than a spouse or partner.

The INSS has 30 days to decide. If it says nothing in that time you may treat the request as refused and file a prior claim, so keep the registration receipt. For foreign certificates, ask whether a translation or legalisation is wanted before you file.

Recognition comes from the INSS. The card itself comes from your region. Each person then asks for their own regional health card, as set out in the padrón, TIE and health card order.

Digital certificates

Each adult needs their own, because the certificate is personal. For children, the FNMT says certificates can only be requested by people over 18 or by emancipated minors (for foreigners the age of majority is set between 18 and 21 depending on the country). A child will not have one, so a parent acts for them where a procedure allows it.

Getting the children into school

Schooling is compulsory and free from age 6 to 16 (ten years of basic education, LOE art. 4). The law gives foreign children under 16 the right and the duty to basic education, and those under 18 the right to post-compulsory study (LO 4/2000, art. 9).

Admission is run by each region, with one ordinary application window each year. Arriving mid-year is normal and the law covers it: arriving pupils are placed according to their age, knowledge and school history (LOE art. 78). For a late arrival, the process is usually called escolarización sobrevenida or the extraordinary period. Examples we could read:

  • Comunidad de Madrid: the area education offices handle an extraordinary period for requests caused by "la incorporación al sistema educativo de la Comunidad de Madrid".
  • Alicante (Comunitat Valenciana): the city's school office takes late-arrival enrolments by appointment and asks for the family padrón, the children's health card or private health insurance, the birth certificate translated by an official translator, and the parents' and children's ID or passport.

That is why the order matters: padrón and health cover come before school, and the list above is one city's, so ask your own education office what it wants.

Do you need to homologate foreign schooling? Not to enter primary or the first four years of ESO. The Ministry's country tables say that to join the Spanish system up to 4º ESO (included) no homologation or convalidation step applies, and Madrid's own rules for late arrivals say the same. The step appears when a teenager finishes 4º ESO and wants to go on to Bachillerato: the tables then show homologation of the ESO title. The tables are country by country, so find your own.

One more rule to know: when you renew, LO 4/2000 (art. 9.4) says resident foreigners with school-age children must show their schooling with a report from the regional authority. Ask your adviser whether that applies to your digital nomad renewal. Keep the school records either way.

Sources

Who can do this for you

A lawyer or gestor files the family applications and works out the income figure for your household. An educational services adviser can help match schools, languages and the admission office for your area.

This page is general information, not legal advice. It was checked against the sources above on the date shown. The income percentages, the INSS form and each region's admission rules change, and families differ. Confirm with the authority or an adviser before relying on any of it.

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