stanhope12

Hi,

I have just joined this website to hopefully get some advice from people that may have been in a similar situation to us and might be able to advise us.

Myself, my husband and our 2 young children, ages 9 and 10, are looking at the possibility of relocating to Spain. My husband works for the civil service and is able to work remotely, so we are looking at the Digital Nomad Visa as the best way for us to relocate.

Our two children, both have disabilities and are currently home schooled. We claim DLA in the UK for them both and I receive Carers Allowance for being their full time carer.
We are aware of the income requirements for the Digital Nomad Visa and we unfortunately fall short of this, although my husband earns £37k (which is a pretty high wage)

I am aware that we should be able to still receive our DLA and Carers Allowance benefits from the UK if we reside in Spain, however I am wondering if we are able to use the monetary value of these benefits towards our income? This should then take us over the requirements for the visa.

In the UK, we are often able to include these benefits as an income for things we can apply for using our income. So, I am wondering if anyone has any experience of this in Spain?

We are looking at all options, from whether or not to sell our property here and buy in Spain or whether we should keep our property here in the UK to rent out and then rent somewhere in Spain. We do not want to be on the coast and would like to be reasonably remote, with not many neighbours nearby, as we would like to live rural.

Anyway, I know that this is a new visa and that our situation probably isn't one that is common, so we may not find any advice, but if I don't ask I wont know, lol.

Thanks in advance for any replies....

Notdunroamin

From what I've read about it I don't believe the Digital Nomad visa will be appropriate for the circumstances you describe, there's much more to it than just remote working.

Clearly you need to fully research that as eyerything else stems from it.

Barriej

Its not in law yet (or is on its way through) Stuff takes ages here in Spain, something you need to prepare for..
If you want some reading.
Here is the BOA.. Ive not gone through it as, well its not for me..
​​​​​​https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.ph...E-A-2022-21739

Here is a summery of what a company who sorts visa's etc out (take some of this with a kilo of salt) most of these places dont always tell the whole story.
​​​​​​https://balcellsgroup.com/digital-no...UaAjzvEALw_wcB

But one of the known conditions is that you and your family MUST have private healthcare and you mention disabled children. Im sorry but this may be your biggest stumbling block.
Will you be able to actually get private healthcare that covers everything (very few will cover existing conditions) .
Before you waste time and money I would suggest you find the answer to this question first..
The nomad visa gets you nothing from Spain and Im not sure if you can even get the Convenio after the first year, like other visa types do (the convenio is a way of paying into Spains NHS and then covers all conditions)

The income level for four of you would be €53,323 I doubt benefits from another country could be included as they could be removed at any time.. The Uk gov could decide tomorrow to no longer give pension upgrades, S1 or benefits to people who were no longer resident within the Uk (you just dont know, given whats been going on lately).
The other thing with this, you wont be paying Spanish NI so you will have to keep up paying your Uk stamp (sorry Im old and thats what we called it) And you wont accrue pension benefits in Spain either..

Also please think about the kids. Are you wanting to move because YOU no longer like the UK? What kind of future will they have? If you live remotely they wont interact with other Spanish, will not learn the language or how to integrate.

Last point but its not really legal to home school here. And if you do get permission I think the kids have to follow the Spanish system (dont take that as gospel as I dont have school age kids)
But someone else will tell you Im sure..

Johnboyuk

Have you considered Portugal? Their visa requirments are less stringent than Spain's.

https://www.portuguese-nationality.c...-visa-portugal

philat98

Hunt with his austerity 2 might well have plans to cut benefits to expats. There is no reason to treat folks living in Spain differently from those in Australia.

Ronnyone

I don't think this will work as others have suggested. First the visa is short term - one year then a possibility to extend to 3- after this you cannot continue so would have to return to UK. It does not give you residency rights unfortunately. Secondly home schooling is not generally possible in Spain and where it does exist it has to be under the supervision of the Spanish education department. Plus the visa is not official yet and these things can take a long time to be formalised

UKMS

On top of the other aspects mentioned, although your husband works remotely you will have to provide proof that the Civil Service give permission for him to work in Spain.

Barriej

Agreed, My sister works in the accounts dept of a multi national soft drinks company.
She now works fully from home as they closed the offices down over Covid and have decided that they can all work remote.
She had to sign a new contract which stipulated that she could not work from any other country due to Uk financial regulations (even though she doesn't handle money, just moves it from one box to another on a spreadsheet).

I would also assume depending on the job, working out of the country for the Civil Service could constitute a security risk.

Moses2013

Good points and people sometimes assume that work from home means you can work from anywhere. It's often the case that companies allow you to work from anywhere, but you still have to spend 183 days in the UK. Would surprise me if the Civil Service allow this and they wouldn't be setting a good example if the majority of staff are not even in the country. Then you might as well move all services to Bangalore.

Ronnyone

You also need to be working in a job that is considered to be technical in the sense that it is very much linked with the IT industry and viewed as not requiring any face to face meetings- it is not for people who carry out business online such as sellers or teachers etc. It has to be classified as a degree level entry job.

UKMS

I would be interested to know where this is stipulated ?

It very much is for people who carry out business online thats the idea of it

The job doesnt have to be degree level ..... you can be a freelancer ..... the requirement for the visa is a degree or 3 years professional experience

spainrico

This will help and I think explain that unfortunately you probably do not qualify....

https://www.pellicerheredia.com/en/d...mad-visa-spain

Ronnyone

I was watching a news report during the summer when it was proposed and the minister was saying it was designed to encourage the tech industry into spain- it certainly is aimed at that area.

Cuál es el objetivo principal de la visa nómada digital?

La nueva visa tiene dos objetivos principales:

1. El primero es atraer nuevo talento a España, especialmente en el sector digital y tecnológico. No en vano el visado forma parte de un paquete de nuevas medidas diseñado para facilitar el papeleo para nuevas empresas, nuevos negocios y emprendedores. https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/consejo...aordinario.asp

UKMS

Interesting ..... The link is dead but I can see what is written above ....... I get the general idea but if you read the criteria for the visa its not that prescriptive and I have no doubt there will be a lot of very creative visa applications

Moses2013

No official information on government website but according to EU policy news:

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The digital nomad visa will be open to applicants from outside the European Economic Area who work remotely for non-Spanish companies. Both self-employed freelancers and remote employees will be eligible, as long as less than 20% of their income is from Spanish businesses.

The applicant will also need to prove that they have worked for their company or with their clients for more than three months and that they have at least three year’s experience in their field or relevant qualifications like a university degree or professional certificate.

There are also minimum income requirements for any applicants. They will need to prove that they can be financially self-sufficient by providing bank statements, invoices, or contracts. The income threshold is 200% of Spain’s national minimum wage – currently €2,334 per month.

Applicants cannot already be living in Spain illegally and can’t have a criminal record in their country of residence or in Spain.

If approved, the digital nomad visa would be valid for 12 months, unless the employment contract is shorter. After that time, they can be renewed for up to five years. Spouses and dependents will also be able to join the applicant if their income is high enough.