International remote worker
🌐 International remote worker · Ley 14/2013

Renewing your Digital Nomad
residence in Spain

Renewal isn't a formality. The UGE (Spain's immigration unit for large companies and strategic sectors) checks again that the conditions under which your permit was granted are still in place. Here's what that review looks at, and what's worth preparing ahead of time.

3 → 2 years: initial permit → renewal term
3 independent tax-residency tests
≤ 2 annual returns can realistically exist by then
What the UGE checks

One rule, five practical questions

The official instruction the UGE works from is short: renewal checks whether the conditions that justified granting the permit are still met. In practice, that breaks down into:

Work abroad. Whether you're still working for a company or clients registered outside Spain.
Income level. Whether your income source is still at the level the law requires.
Health insurance. Whether your policy is still active, with no copays or deductibles.
Criminal record. No criminal record over the required period.
Tax obligations. Whether you're meeting your obligations to the Spanish tax authority — this is usually where the most confusion comes from. Covered below.
Tax residency

Why "183 days" isn't the whole picture

A lot of people have heard: "under 183 days a year and you're not a resident, so no taxes to pay." That's a dangerous oversimplification. The law works differently.

Art. 9.1 Ley 35/2006, Spain's personal income-tax law (IRPF)

Tax residency kicks in if you meet any one of two independent tests (plus a family presumption) — not necessarily all of them.

A
Physical presence
More than 183 days in Spain during the calendar year.
B
Center of economic interests
Your activity and income are based in Spain — regardless of day count.
+
Presumption: family in Spain
If your spouse and dependent minor children habitually live in Spain, you are presumed resident too, unless you prove otherwise.

The Digital Nomad permit, implies that your professional activity is carried out from Spain — which, in practice, usually lines up with test B. You don't need to physically spend 183 days in the country for your center of economic interests to count as relocated: it's enough that the activity is in fact carried out from Spain. If the permit was granted for the whole family, the family presumption also applies.

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In plain terms: falling short of 183 days of physical presence doesn't exempt you from tax-resident status on its own, if test B is met or the family presumption applies. For most holders of this permit — especially those who relocated with family — tax residency effectively starts from the moment the permit is approved and the activity begins.
Tax returns

Why renewal only ever involves two returns, not three

This isn't an arbitrary requirement from a case officer — it's a direct consequence of the filing calendar for the annual return, Modelo 100.

The Modelo 100 calendar

The return is filed once a year — in the April–June campaign of the year following the one it covers.

Activity
year 1
Activity
year 2
Year 3 —
renewal happens here
Return filed ✓ Return filed ✓ Campaign hasn't opened yet

The permit is granted for 3 years and renewed for 2. By the time you apply for renewal, you can have, at most, two annual returns already on file — for the first and second full years. A return for the current, still-unfinished period can't exist yet at this stage: its filing campaign hasn't opened.

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If you have fewer than two annual returns on file, it's worth submitting quarterly returns (Modelo 130) for the current period as supporting evidence — self-employed applicants already file these throughout the year, and they can help cover the gap.
Preparation

What's worth gathering ahead of time

Proof of activity — an active professional or employment relationship with a foreign company or clients.
Income documentation for the current period.
An active health insurance policy.
A criminal record certificate for the required period.
Annual returns (Modelo 100) for the full past reporting periods — usually no more than two by the time you renew.
Where possible — confirm ahead of time that you have no outstanding debts with the tax authority or social security.

If you receive a requerimiento

Getting a requerimiento (a formal request for more information) doesn't mean you've been denied — it's a standard part of the process, used when the authority is missing a document or a clarification. What matters is not missing the response deadline and, where possible, not leaving the missing paperwork until the last minute.

Do you have pending tax filings or contributions from previous years?

Before renewing is a good time to fix gaps in tax filings or self-employment registration — see how this affects your renewal.

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About “six months” and “183 days”: Law 14/2013 and the UGE 2023 instruction contain no specific check “at the sixth month”. Six months in this law means something else: if the permit is valid for more than six months, you must apply for the TIE card (art. 76.2). The rule of “more than 183 days of real residence in the calendar year” belongs to the renewal of the non-lucrative permit (art. 64.2.f of Royal Decree 1155/2024), and we found no such requirement for teleworking under Law 14/2013. The UGE decides within twenty days, and if it stays silent the permit is treated as granted (art. 76.1). Sources: Law 14/2013, arts. 76.1, 76.2, 76.3, 74 quinquies.3, additional provision 7; Royal Decree 1155/2024, art. 64.2.f.

Check what your specific case needs

A few questions, and you'll see the document list for your situation: employed, self-employed, or with family.

Check what I need for my renewal
Free · no registration
A different type of authorisation? The filing window and a table by authorisation type: Renewing residence and student stay in Spain.