Thinking about applying for or remaining on Spain’s digital nomad visa in 2026? The amount you will have earn in order to have your visa approved is likely to increase next year.
Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa (DNV), referred to as visado de teletrabajador de carácter internacional on most official websites, became available for the first time at the beginning of 2023.
According to official figures from Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion and Immigration, at the end of 2024 just under 28,000 non-EU nationals had successfully obtained residency in Spain through the DNV.
READ MORE: Where are Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa holders from?
One of the main requirements for being granted this visa is to earn a certain amount of money per month, either as a remote employee for a company abroad or from being self-employed.
The UGE (Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos), the body in charge of granting the visas, states that you need to prove you have monthly earnings of at least 200 percent of the minimum interprofessional salary (SMI in Spanish), or minimum wage.
In early 2025, Spain’s SMI increased to €1,184 gross across 14 payments (which is common in Spain). This equates to €16,576 per year. Divided across 12 payments for each month of the year, this equals €1,381.33 per month.
A total of 200 percent of this means that currently you have to earn €2,763 per month to be eligible for Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa in 2025.
READ ALSO: Is the income requirement for Spain’s digital nomad visa a gross or net figure?
Because the amount is tied to Spain’s minimum wage, we will only know if the amount you have to show for the DNV will increase when the government confirms that the SMI will rise.
So far, the Spanish government and the workers unions are in talks and are trying to decide what to increase it to in 2026, but as of yet nothing has definitively confirmed.
Spanish Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz and the unions both want it to be increased to 60 percent of the average wage in Spain, as recommended by the European Social Charter.
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The average salary in Spain is around €2,290 gross per month, which is about €32,000 per year. The new minimum wage would have to be around 60 percent of this amount.
This would bring the SMI to €19,200 gross, which would be €1,371 per month spread over 14 payments. Split across 12 payments this would be €1,600 per month.
In this case, 200 percent of €1,600 equals €3,200. So this is the amount you may need to show you are earning per month for the Digital Nomad Visa next year.
As mentioned, the discussions are ongoing and many people have different opinions of what these amounts could be.
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The secretary general of major Spanish trade union UGT Pepe Álvarez believes it should rise “clearly above the cost of living,” which is, well above inflation.
According to his calculations, to get close to 60 percent of the average salary, he’s indicated it must be around €1,300 across 14 payments — €18,200 per year.
To achieve this, an increase of more than €100 would have to be approved by 2026, double this year’s increase.
His calculations state that this would equal a gross salary over 12 payments of €1,516.60 instead of the €1,600 that others have calculated.
So taking 200 percent of €1,516.60 required for the DNV, this would mean you would need to show you have €3,033.20 per month to qualify.
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So whether it will be €3,200 per month next year or €3,033.20, it’s quite a jump from the current requirement of €2,762 per month.
To put this into context for those abroad €3,200 using today’s exchange rate would equal $3,731.18 USD and £2,809.78 GBP.
It remains to be seen what increase the government will approve, but it is likely that the new SMI rate will come into effect from January 1st, 2026.
READ ALSO: What are the downsides to being a digital nomad in Spain?
Previous attempts by Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz to increase the minimum wage have been successful, although she hasn’t always reached her target SMI. In fact, the minimum wage has increased by 61 percent in Spain since 2018, going from €735.90 gross in 2018 (14 payments) to the current €1,184 gross per month in 2025.
This means that anyone applying for or maintaining the Digital Nomad Visa in 2026 will likely have to earn significantly more in order to qualify.
Based on the figures currently suggested by the Labour Ministry and trade union representatives – and only if a new minimum wage hike is approved by the Spanish government close to these proposed SMIs – the income threshold for Spanish digital nomad visa holders may be increase by between €270 and €473 a month.
READ ALSO: How does Spain’s digital nomad visa income requirement compare to others globally?
