My friends back home will kill me if they read this. I’m not even back from one trip yet and already planning another one and writing about digital Nomad Visas 😏

I don’t consider myself a digital nomad. I guess to be qualified as a nomad you need to be location independent, and I’m not. Even though I travelled a lot before the pandemic and plan to start travelling a lot again as things get (hopefully) back to normal, I have a place I call home and I like to go back there. I love to travel and explore, and I do this while working, but I like to go back and sleep in my own bed and cook in my own kitchen. So, not a nomad.

When I started working at Automattic I thought about terminating my renting contract and travelling the world for a year. But soon I realized I needed to have a place to go back to.

But from time to time I still flirt with the possibility of spending more than 3 months abroad. I would have to figure out what to do with my house. I’m not very fond of the idea of turning it into an Airbnb or renting it at all, so that kind of complicates things a bit. Living abroad while paying a mortgage is not super sustainable, but who knows 🤷‍♀️

My point is, I’m always reading about digital nomad visa options around the world. The most recent one I read about was Spain, which stirred something inside of my head. I absolutely love Spain (despite the weather. Yes, I’m a polar bear) and it would be amazing to spend some time living there.

They are planning to launch a new visa for digital nomads trying to take advantage of the remote work explosion worldwide.

Under the recently introduced Startup Act in the Spanish Parliament, people working remotely for foreign companies will be permitted to live in the country without needing a full work visa. 

They are still working on the details and requirements for the visa, but so far what has been established is that people who are employed by non-Spanish companies or have an income with less than 20% earned from Spanish companies will be able to apply.

This is a perfect opportunity for freelancers and people who are employed full-time by non-Spanish companies like me!

It’s expected to last for 1 year after the approval with the possibility to be extended to 2 more years.

I’m really excited to see how this will work once everything is sorted out. Maybe I will start planning for a mid-term stay