Digital Nomad Pack: Visa, Beckham Law and First Tax Year. One Point of Contact for Everything.

Relocating to Spain as a digital nomad should be straightforward. In practice, those who attempt it on their own encounter a labyrinth of interdependent formalities that no one has designed with them in mind. The digital nomad visa is processed by a Spanish consulate or the UGE-CE with specific documentation: an employment contract or client portfolio with at least one year of history, an apostilled criminal record certificate, private health insurance without co-payment, and proof of minimum income equivalent to 200% of the SMI (Salario Mínimo Interprofesional). A single error in any of these documents can mean weeks of delay or an outright refusal. But the visa is only the first step. Once in Spain, you must obtain the NIE, register with the municipal census (empadronamiento), apply for the TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) and, if you wish to benefit from the Beckham Law, file Modelo 149 within six months of your first registration with the Seguridad Social. That deadline is absolute: missing it means losing the special regime for the entire period of your Spanish residency. And Modelo 149 is handled by tax advisers, not immigration lawyers. The result is that most digital nomads end up hiring an immigration firm for the visa and a separate tax adviser for the tax formalities, incurring double costs, a lack of coordination, and the risk that no one is watching the critical deadline. If you are arriving from Latin America, there are additional considerations: the double taxation treaties between Spain and your previous country of residence determine how your income is treated during the year of the move, and there are decisions about your tax situation in your home country that are best made before you arrive, not afterwards.

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How we work

From first contact to case completion

  1. Eligibility assessment and relocation planning

    We review your specific situation: nationality, type of activity (employee of a foreign company or self-employed with international clients), income level, length of the employment or commercial relationship, and family composition if you have dependants relocating with you. We determine whether you meet the requirements for the digital nomad visa, what documentation you will need, and when the optimal moment is to start the application based on your personal timeline.

  2. File preparation and visa application

    We prepare the complete file: collection and verification of all required documents, management of apostilles and sworn translations where required, drafting of the cover letter and justification of requirements, and submission to the relevant Spanish consulate or the UGE-CE if you are already in Spain. We monitor the file and respond to any additional requests from the authorities.

  3. 'Arrival in Spain: NIE, empadronamiento, TIE and tax registration'

    Once the visa has been granted, we coordinate your arrival formalities: appointment for NIE if required, registration in the municipal census of your municipality of residence, application for the TIE at the foreigners' office, and registration with the Agencia Tributaria as an IRPF contributor. We file Modelo 149 within the six-month window to activate the Beckham Law special regime at the 15% flat rate.

  4. First IRPF return under the Beckham Law

    At the end of your first full tax year in Spain, our tax team prepares and files your IRPF return as a contributor under the special regime for displaced workers. We review all your worldwide income, correctly apply the exemption for income earned abroad under the applicable treaty, optimise all available deductions, and ensure full compliance with the AEAT. If you have income from multiple countries, we coordinate the tax treatment of each source.

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The problem

Relocating to Spain as a digital nomad should be straightforward. In practice, those who attempt it on their own encounter a labyrinth of interdependent formalities that no one has designed with them in mind. The digital nomad visa is processed by a Spanish consulate or the UGE-CE with specific documentation: an employment contract or client portfolio with at least one year of history, an apostilled criminal record certificate, private health insurance without co-payment, and proof of minimum income equivalent to 200% of the SMI (Salario Mínimo Interprofesional). A single error in any of these documents can mean weeks of delay or an outright refusal. But the visa is only the first step. Once in Spain, you must obtain the NIE, register with the municipal census (empadronamiento), apply for the TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) and, if you wish to benefit from the Beckham Law, file Modelo 149 within six months of your first registration with the Seguridad Social. That deadline is absolute: missing it means losing the special regime for the entire period of your Spanish residency. And Modelo 149 is handled by tax advisers, not immigration lawyers. The result is that most digital nomads end up hiring an immigration firm for the visa and a separate tax adviser for the tax formalities, incurring double costs, a lack of coordination, and the risk that no one is watching the critical deadline. If you are arriving from Latin America, there are additional considerations: the double taxation treaties between Spain and your previous country of residence determine how your income is treated during the year of the move, and there are decisions about your tax situation in your home country that are best made before you arrive, not afterwards.

Our solution

BMC's digital nomad pack integrates, under a single team, all the formalities you need to begin your fiscal and legal life in Spain without surprises. Our immigration lawyers prepare and file the digital nomad visa application. Our tax advisers register Modelo 149 within the deadline to activate the Beckham Law. We coordinate the NIE process and accompany you through empadronamiento. And at the end of your first tax year, our tax team prepares your first IRPF return as a contributor under the special regime. One contract, one team, one point of contact who knows your full situation. There is no risk of the immigration lawyer being unaware of the tax deadline, or the tax adviser not knowing the details of your immigration status. For clients from Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru and other countries in the region, we also analyse the taxation of the year of the move in the country of origin and the implications of the applicable double taxation treaty.

Process

How we do it

1

Eligibility assessment and relocation planning

We review your specific situation: nationality, type of activity (employee of a foreign company or self-employed with international clients), income level, length of the employment or commercial relationship, and family composition if you have dependants relocating with you. We determine whether you meet the requirements for the digital nomad visa, what documentation you will need, and when the optimal moment is to start the application based on your personal timeline.

2

File preparation and visa application

We prepare the complete file: collection and verification of all required documents, management of apostilles and sworn translations where required, drafting of the cover letter and justification of requirements, and submission to the relevant Spanish consulate or the UGE-CE if you are already in Spain. We monitor the file and respond to any additional requests from the authorities.

3

'Arrival in Spain: NIE, empadronamiento, TIE and tax registration'

Once the visa has been granted, we coordinate your arrival formalities: appointment for NIE if required, registration in the municipal census of your municipality of residence, application for the TIE at the foreigners' office, and registration with the Agencia Tributaria as an IRPF contributor. We file Modelo 149 within the six-month window to activate the Beckham Law special regime at the 15% flat rate.

4

First IRPF return under the Beckham Law

At the end of your first full tax year in Spain, our tax team prepares and files your IRPF return as a contributor under the special regime for displaced workers. We review all your worldwide income, correctly apply the exemption for income earned abroad under the applicable treaty, optimise all available deductions, and ensure full compliance with the AEAT. If you have income from multiple countries, we coordinate the tax treatment of each source.

15%
Flat IRPF rate under the Beckham Law (vs. up to 47% under the standard regime)
3 years
Initial validity of the digital nomad visa (renewable for a further 2 years)
1 point of contact
One integrated team for visa, Beckham and first-year tax management

I arrived in Madrid from Mexico City with my company already operating remotely but with no idea how to regularise my situation. BMC handled the visa, registered me under Beckham before the deadline expired — which I did not even know existed — and prepared my first return. I pay 15% instead of the 40% I would have paid under the standard regime. It was the best investment of the year.

Rodrigo Valdés Echeverría Digital Marketing Consultant, Self-employed, clients in Mexico, Colombia and the United States

Why you need a single team for the entire process

The digital nomad visa and the Beckham Law are two separate formalities managed by two separate public bodies, but they are chronologically connected in a way that makes managing them with two different providers risky.

The visa is granted by the Delegación or Subdelegación del Gobierno, or by the Spanish consulate abroad. The Beckham Law (formally the special regime applicable to workers, professionals, entrepreneurs and investors displaced to Spanish territory, governed by Article 93 of the IRPF Law) is a tax formality managed by the Agencia Tributaria through Modelo 149. That form must be filed within six months of the first registration with the Seguridad Social española. If you exceed that deadline by a single day, you lose the right to the 15% rate for the entire period of residence.

In practice, what typically happens is that the immigration lawyer handling the visa does not monitor the tax deadline, and the tax adviser who would file Modelo 149 does not find out in time because the client has not yet engaged them. BMC eliminates this risk by integrating both services under the same team, with a single coordinator who manages the full calendar.

What the pack includes, step by step

Phase 1: Before the application

Before submitting any document, we carry out a full eligibility assessment: type of activity (employee of a foreign company or self-employed freelancer), income level and how to evidence it, length of the employment or commercial relationship, family situation if dependants are relocating, and tax situation in the home country. With this information, we design the relocation plan and optimal timeline.

Phase 2: The visa file

File preparation is the most labour-intensive part of the process. Standard documents include: employment contract or portfolio of service agreements with international clients (with at least one year of history), bank statements from the last three months evidencing income, certificate of criminal records from the country of residence for the last five years with Hague apostille, private health insurance with coverage in Spain and no co-payment or excess, and proof of accommodation in Spain. BMC coordinates the obtaining of apostilles, any required sworn translations, and submission to the consulate or the UGE-CE.

Phase 3: Arrival formalities

Once the visa has been granted and you are in Spain, there is a sequence of administrative steps that should be managed in the correct order: registration in the municipal census of your municipality of residence, obtaining the NIE at the national police or foreigners’ office, applying for the TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero), and registering with the Agencia Tributaria as an IRPF contributor. BMC accompanies and coordinates these formalities, managing prior appointments, which in some provinces have waiting lists of several weeks, and ensuring the order is correct so that no deadline is jeopardised.

Phase 4: Modelo 149, the formality you cannot afford to miss

Modelo 149 is the formal application to opt into the Beckham Law special regime. It must be filed electronically with the Agencia Tributaria within six months of the first registration with the Seguridad Social. BMC files this form with all supporting documentation, including evidence that you have not been a tax resident in Spain during the five prior years, and manages any further requests from the AEAT.

The tax advantage of the Beckham Law for digital nomads

The Beckham Law allows workers displaced to Spain to pay IRPF at the flat rate of 15% on the first 600,000 euros of employment or economic activity income. Above that threshold, the rate is 47%. The regime applies during the year of the move and the following five years, a total of up to six years.

To understand the real economic impact: a digital nomad with income of 60,000 euros per year under the standard regime would pay approximately 20,000-22,000 euros in IRPF (effective rate of around 34-37%, depending on the autonomous community). Under Beckham, they would pay 9,000 euros. The annual difference is more than 11,000 euros, and over the six years of the regime the accumulated tax saving can exceed 65,000 euros.

Under the Beckham regime, employment or economic activity income earned abroad is also taxed in Spain at 15% if the contributor is considered a Spanish tax resident. However, capital income (dividends, interest, capital gains) is taxed under the savings tax scale of the IRPF, at rates between 19% and 28%.

Specific considerations for nomads from Latin America

Spain has double taxation treaties in force with Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and the Dominican Republic, among others. These treaties determine how taxing rights are allocated across different types of income during the year of the move and throughout the period of Spanish residency.

Key matters to address before leaving your home country: deregistration from the tax census of the home country (in Mexico, deregistration from the RFC as a resident; in Colombia, the certificate of tax residence; in Argentina, deregistration from AFIP), withholding taxes applied by foreign employers or clients on your income during the transition, and the treatment of passive income (dividends, rental income) that you may continue to receive from sources in your home country.

BMC analyses these issues case by case to ensure that your move to Spain is tax-efficient from day one, with no surprises or effective double taxation during the transition year.

Ongoing tax obligations under the Beckham Law

Opting into the Beckham Law special regime does not eliminate annual tax obligations, it simplifies them. Under this regime, the contributor files Modelo 151 (rather than the standard Modelo 100) to declare employment and economic activity income. Capital income (dividends, interest, capital gains) is taxed under the IRPF savings scale (19-28%) through Modelo 100 or, where applicable, through the integrated Modelo 151.

Additionally, if the contributor holds assets or rights situated outside Spain worth more than 50,000 euros, there may be an obligation to file Modelo 720 (the information return on foreign assets and rights). Although the penalty framework associated with Modelo 720 was partially modified following a ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU, the disclosure obligation remains and non-compliance can give rise to penalties.

If the digital nomad receives income from several international sources, the correct tax treatment of each income stream under the applicable double taxation treaty and the Beckham regime requires an annual analysis that BMC carries out as part of its ongoing tax management service.

Digital nomad visa vs. self-employed (autónomo) in Spain: which option suits you

Many digital nomads from Latin America ask whether it is better to apply for the digital nomad visa or simply register as self-employed (autónomo) in Spain. The answer depends on your specific circumstances.

The digital nomad visa is the right option if you work primarily for employers or clients outside Spain. It allows you to reside legally in Spain without being required to contribute to the Spanish Seguridad Social system as an autónomo (though you may opt to do so voluntarily), and you access the Beckham Law from day one.

Registering as autónomo in Spain may be preferable if you have or expect to have a significant proportion of your activity with Spanish clients (above 20% of the total), if you want to contribute to the Spanish Seguridad Social to build up entitlement to benefits, or if your activity is better categorised as independent self-employment under the immigration rules applicable to your specific case.

In some cases a combination of both is possible: digital nomad visa with simultaneous autónomo registration for the portion of activity with Spanish clients. BMC analyses the optimal configuration for your situation and explains the practical implications of each option before you take any irreversible decision.

Private health insurance: the requirement many people fail to document correctly

Private health insurance is one of the most frequently rejected documentary requirements for the digital nomad visa due to technical defects. The requirements are strict: the insurance must provide coverage in Spain (not merely travel or emergency coverage), must carry no exclusion period for pre-existing conditions, must have no co-payment or excess, and must remain valid throughout the entire duration of the visa applied for.

Standard US employer health insurance policies and typical travel insurance policies do not meet these requirements. The insurers most commonly used by digital nomads in Spain are Cigna Global, AXA International, Sanitas International, Adeslas and ASISA, with policies specifically designed for foreign residents in Spain.

The insurance certificate attached to the visa file must include: the insured party’s name, specific coverage (hospitalisation, general medicine, emergency care), the policy validity period, and confirmation that there are no exclusion periods or co-payments. Any ambiguity in this certificate is grounds for a request for additional documentation and a delay in resolution. BMC reviews the insurance document before submission to ensure it meets the exact requirements of the relevant consulate.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

The pack covers, on an integrated basis: eligibility analysis and planning, complete preparation of the digital nomad visa file (documentation, apostilles, translations), submission of the application to the consulate or the UGE-CE, monitoring and responses to requests, coordination of arrival formalities (NIE, empadronamiento, TIE), filing of Modelo 149 to activate the Beckham Law within the six-month legal deadline, and preparation of the first IRPF return under the special regime. The pack does not include official administrative fees (consular fees, immigration fees) or the cost of apostilles in your home country, which are borne by the client.
Yes, and this is precisely the most advantageous combination available to non-EU digital nomads in Spain. The Ley 28/2022 de Startups, which created the digital nomad visa, also extended the Beckham Law special regime to its holders. This means that a digital nomad who obtains the visa and files Modelo 149 on time can pay tax at the 15% flat rate on the first 600,000 euros of employment or economic activity income during the year of arrival and the following five years. The condition is not having been a tax resident in Spain during the five years prior to the move. The visa combined with the Beckham Law is the most tax-efficient and legally sound package available today for working remotely from Spain.
The digital nomad visa requires proof of income of at least 200% of the Salario Mínimo Interprofesional (SMI) per month, which in 2025 equates to approximately 3,000 euros gross per month from remote activity. If you bring dependants, the threshold increases by 75% of the SMI for each additional adult and 25% for each minor. Income must come from employers or clients based outside Spain. If you are self-employed, you must demonstrate an active client portfolio with at least one year of history in the commercial relationship; if you are employed, your employment contract must allow remote work and your employer must have been in existence for at least one year. Income from Spanish sources may represent no more than 20% of the total.
The total time depends primarily on the consulate where you submit the application and the speed at which you can gather the documentation. In higher-demand consulates (Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Bogota), the visa resolution period is between 20 and 45 working days from the date the file is complete. In lower-demand consulates it may be faster. Once in Spain, the NIE and TIE require a prior appointment, currently with waiting times of 2 to 6 weeks depending on the province, and Modelo 149 for Beckham must be filed before six months have elapsed since your first registration with the Seguridad Social. BMC plans the full calendar from day one to eliminate any risk of missing a deadline.
Yes. The digital nomad visa allows family reunification for a spouse or registered partner, children under 18 (or dependent adult children), and dependent ascendants. Family members apply for their corresponding residence authorisation simultaneously or subsequently. BMC manages family applications in a coordinated manner so that the whole family arrives in Spain with their legal status regularised. As for the Beckham Law, the regime is applied individually to the visa holder; family members are taxed under the standard IRPF rules as ordinary tax residents, unless each of them independently meets the requirements of the special regime.
The year of the move is the most fiscally complex, because you may have tax obligations in two countries simultaneously: in your home country for the months in which you were resident there, and in Spain for the months you spend here as a tax resident (generally from day 183 of presence or from the moment you establish your main economic centre of interest in Spain). The double taxation treaties signed by Spain with Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and other countries in the region set out specific rules for allocating taxing rights over different types of income. BMC analyses your specific situation under the applicable treaty and advises you on the obligations in your home country that you must fulfil before departing, the income that is taxed exclusively in Spain under Beckham, and how to avoid effective double taxation during the transition year.
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Frequently asked questions

Questions about Digital Nomad Pack: Visa + Beckham Law + IRPF in Spain | BMC

The pack covers, on an integrated basis: eligibility analysis and planning, complete preparation of the digital nomad visa file (documentation, apostilles, translations), submission of the application to the consulate or the UGE-CE, monitoring and responses to requests, coordination of arrival formalities (NIE, empadronamiento, TIE), filing of Modelo 149 to activate the Beckham Law within the six-month legal deadline, and preparation of the first IRPF return under the special regime. The pack does not include official administrative fees (consular fees, immigration fees) or the cost of apostilles in your home country, which are borne by the client.
Yes, and this is precisely the most advantageous combination available to non-EU digital nomads in Spain. The Ley 28/2022 de Startups, which created the digital nomad visa, also extended the Beckham Law special regime to its holders. This means that a digital nomad who obtains the visa and files Modelo 149 on time can pay tax at the 15% flat rate on the first 600,000 euros of employment or economic activity income during the year of arrival and the following five years. The condition is not having been a tax resident in Spain during the five years prior to the move. The visa combined with the Beckham Law is the most tax-efficient and legally sound package available today for working remotely from Spain.
The digital nomad visa requires proof of income of at least 200% of the Salario Mínimo Interprofesional (SMI) per month, which in 2025 equates to approximately 3,000 euros gross per month from remote activity. If you bring dependants, the threshold increases by 75% of the SMI for each additional adult and 25% for each minor. Income must come from employers or clients based outside Spain. If you are self-employed, you must demonstrate an active client portfolio with at least one year of history in the commercial relationship; if you are employed, your employment contract must allow remote work and your employer must have been in existence for at least one year. Income from Spanish sources may represent no more than 20% of the total.
The total time depends primarily on the consulate where you submit the application and the speed at which you can gather the documentation. In higher-demand consulates (Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Bogota), the visa resolution period is between 20 and 45 working days from the date the file is complete. In lower-demand consulates it may be faster. Once in Spain, the NIE and TIE require a prior appointment, currently with waiting times of 2 to 6 weeks depending on the province, and Modelo 149 for Beckham must be filed before six months have elapsed since your first registration with the Seguridad Social. BMC plans the full calendar from day one to eliminate any risk of missing a deadline.
Yes. The digital nomad visa allows family reunification for a spouse or registered partner, children under 18 (or dependent adult children), and dependent ascendants. Family members apply for their corresponding residence authorisation simultaneously or subsequently. BMC manages family applications in a coordinated manner so that the whole family arrives in Spain with their legal status regularised. As for the Beckham Law, the regime is applied individually to the visa holder; family members are taxed under the standard IRPF rules as ordinary tax residents, unless each of them independently meets the requirements of the special regime.
The year of the move is the most fiscally complex, because you may have tax obligations in two countries simultaneously: in your home country for the months in which you were resident there, and in Spain for the months you spend here as a tax resident (generally from day 183 of presence or from the moment you establish your main economic centre of interest in Spain). The double taxation treaties signed by Spain with Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and other countries in the region set out specific rules for allocating taxing rights over different types of income. BMC analyses your specific situation under the applicable treaty and advises you on the obligations in your home country that you must fulfil before departing, the income that is taxed exclusively in Spain under Beckham, and how to avoid effective double taxation during the transition year.
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