We are now into the second half of the year, which means it's time to calculate some statistics and reflect on how things are going.
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So far in 2024, we've submitted 97 applications for the Digital Nomad Visa. This includes 59 main applicants and 38 dependents.
Out of these 97 applications, 88 have been approved so far.
5 clients are still waiting to hear back (having been submitted in the last 10 days) and the UGE have asked for more information for 4 clients, which we are still in the process of preparing. We are confident that all of these 9 remaining applications will be approved.
Considering how busy we’ve been, the number of applications we've submitted actually feels surprisingly low. Most clients work with us for 2 – 3 months to prepare their application, and many families time their move in line with the new school year in September. This means that everyone wants to apply in July - we are only on the 5th and we’ve processed 12 more applications!
Recent changes
Apostilles
As mentioned in the Facebook group many times, apostilles should verify the signature of a government official, not the signature of a notary. This is a very common cause of problems. If such an apostille is submitted and the UGE knows that in the state/province/country it is possible to get an apostille which verifies the government official’s signature, chances are they will reject the application.
In some places, it’s not possible to get an apostille which doesn’t mention a notary. In these cases, it is essential to use an experienced DNV professional for your application who can demonstrate this in the correct way.
Company Owners
As I often say in the Facebook group, we do NOT recommend that you apply for the Digital Nomad Visa as a company owner. Not only is it a terrible decision for tax reasons (which is beyond the scope of this post), the UGE is likely to want to see documents proving that you own the company, along with company or personal accounts which prove that the company is worth enough to sustain your residency in Spain. We have no guidance on what is considered ‘enough’.
It’s much easier to apply as an independent contractor. But, if your company has the same name as you, obviously the UGE aren’t going to believe that you are an independent contractor.
The Commitment to Sign Up as Self-Employed
Be aware that if you apply as self-employed and add a pledge to sign up for RETA (Régimen Especial de Trabajadores Autónomos) once your application is approved, you will be expected to do this as soon as possible. If you try to add dependents or change residencies before this is done, not only will they not allow you to do so, they may even cancel your whole residency.
The 3-year Work Experience Requirement
It’s become more common for the UGE to ask to see old contracts to verify the applicant’s 3 years of relevant work experience. This is something to keep in mind if you have lost the contracts or never had one in the first place.
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On the whole, most applications are going smoothly and the Digital Nomad Visa remains a great, fast-track way to get residency in Spain when compared to other visas.
THANKS
In the past 6 months, our company has grown from just myself, working from home, with Naomi helping me out a few hours a day, to a full office-based team of 7! As I know many DNs are interested in process of opening a Spanish company, one day I will do a post explaining everything. We are always looking for good people so please get in touch if you would like to join us. We would particularly be interested in talking to anyone with tax experience, either in the UK, US or Spain.
I would like to thank our clients for putting their trust in us and for not believing the common misconception that all we do is submit documents. The DNV is a difficult visa, the goalposts are constantly changing and it’s very important to use a specialist who is up-to-date with the constant changes.
A huge thanks to Naomi, Itzel, Amy, Noelia, Ed and Morgan for all of your hard work, I feel extremely lucky to have found such a team. And to Richelle, Pablo and Keith for the behind-the-scenes help.
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