What Is an International Remote Worker?
An international remote worker is an employee who provides their services from Spain for an employer domiciled abroad, using remote means. This is not a new phenomenon, but Spain’s Law 28/2022 gave it an explicit place within the special impatriate tax regime (Beckham Law), making it a figure with significant fiscal and employment law consequences.
For the purposes of the Beckham regime, the international remote worker does not work for a Spanish company: they maintain their employment contract with a foreign employer and carry out their activity from Spanish territory. This is precisely the specific qualifying ground provided in Article 93 of the LIRPF for this type of impatriate.
The International Remote Worker Route into the Beckham Regime
Article 93 of the LIRPF, as amended by the Startup Act, recognises as a qualifying ground for the special regime the status of an employed worker who performs their activity remotely, exclusively or predominantly, from Spain, under an employment relationship with a company or entity not resident in Spain.
The essential requirements are:
- Not having been a Spanish tax resident during the five years prior to relocation.
- Holding a valid employment contract with a foreign employer at the time of application.
- Providing services by remote means from Spain on a habitual basis.
- Submitting Form Modelo 149 to the AEAT within six months of registration with Spanish Social Security.
Once accepted into the regime, the remote worker pays a flat rate of 24% on Spanish-source employment income up to EUR 600,000 per year (47% above that threshold), rather than the progressive general IRPF scale.
EU Citizens: No Visa Required
For European Union citizens, access is particularly straightforward. The free movement rights guaranteed by EU treaties allow them to establish their residence in Spain without a visa or prior authorisation. They only need to register with the Central Foreigners’ Registry (NIE) if their stay exceeds three months.
Third-country nationals, by contrast, must obtain an appropriate residence authorisation — for example, the international mobility authorisation regulated in the same Startup Act — before applying for the Beckham regime under this route.
Social Security: Where Does the Remote Worker Contribute?
The favourable tax treatment of the Beckham regime does not alter the social security rules. EU Regulation 883/2004 establishes the lex loci laboris principle: the worker contributes in the Member State where they physically perform their activity. A person who works from Spain contributes to the Spanish social security system, regardless of where their employer is domiciled.
This creates a practical obligation for the foreign employer: it must register as a non-established employer with Spain’s Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social (TGSS), assume employer social security contributions under Spanish rules, or arrange for the employment relationship to be managed through an employer of record acting as the legal employer in Spain.
A frequent point of confusion is the comparison with frontier workers. An international remote worker who lives and works from Spain cannot keep their contributions in their home country by invoking the frontier worker rules — unlike a frontier worker who physically commutes each day, their activity is carried out from Spain. Since July 2023, the EU Framework Agreement on cross-border telework (Article 16, Reg. 883/2004) does create a limited exception: a habitual cross-border teleworker who performs less than 50% of their working time from their country of residence may request to remain in the employer’s home-country system. But this exception is designed for genuinely cross-border situations and does not apply to someone who has relocated to Spain and works wholly or predominantly (more than 50% of their time) from here. For that person, Spain is the competent State and that determination is not a matter of choice.
The Permanent Establishment Risk
The foreign company employing a remote worker from Spain must assess whether that presence creates a permanent establishment in Spain. If the employee has broad authority to conclude contracts on behalf of the company, or if they manage substantial operations from Spain, a dependent agent PE may arise with serious tax consequences for the company.
A well-designed structure — with a prior review of functions, powers and contractual arrangements — eliminates this risk before the relocation.
International Remote Worker vs Digital Nomad
Although international remote worker and digital nomad are often used interchangeably, they refer to distinct legal frameworks:
| Aspect | Int’l Remote Worker (Beckham) | Digital Nomad (mobility authorisation) |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Art. 93 LIRPF | Ley 14/2013 / Ley 28/2022 |
| Purpose | Special tax regime | Residence and work authorisation |
| EU nationals | No visa; direct access to regime | No authorisation needed |
| Taxation | 24% flat rate (IRNR) | General IRPF or Beckham if requirements met |
| Social security | Spanish system | Spanish system |
How BMC Can Help
Advising an international remote worker and their foreign employer involves coordinating three dimensions simultaneously: tax (Beckham regime application), employment (social security obligations, international remote work contract) and corporate (permanent establishment risk). Our international remote work and Beckham Law teams work together to provide an integrated response from the moment the relocation is planned.