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The remote work letter for Spain's digital nomad visa
24/07/2026 
Reading time: 6 min The remote work letter for Spain’s digital nomad visa
The Digital Nomad Visa is built for people who earn remotely from a company or clients based outside Spain. To grant it, immigration needs proof that your work can genuinely be done from anywhere, that your employer or client is fine with you being physically based in Spain, and that the working relationship is real — it has to have existed for at least three months before you apply. The document that ties all of this together is the remote work letter, signed by your employer or client. It's a short letter, but it's the piece applicants most often get wrong — and one of several documents covered in our Spain digital nomad visa guide.
- You're employedLetter from your employer, on company letterheadSigned by someone authorized (HR or a manager) and stamped, if the company uses a stamp.
- You're a freelancer or contractorLetter from your main clientThe one whose income you're using as your primary source.
- You have several clientsOne letter from each client you apply on behalf ofEach confirms remote services and no objection to you relocating.
- The relationship is brand newWait until it's at least 3 months oldThe permit requires a working relationship of at least three months with a company outside Spain that has itself been active for at least a year.
- Point 7 is missingThe letter won't do its jobThe explicit permission to work remotely from Spain is the single most important line.
What the letter has to prove
The Digital Nomad Visa exists for one specific profile: someone earning remotely from a company or clients outside Spain. Before immigration approves anything, they want to see four things clearly established:
- Your job can genuinely be done remotely.
- Your employer or client agrees that you'll be physically based in Spain.
- The working relationship is real and has existed for at least three months before you apply (article 74 ter of Ley 14/2013).
- What you earn — the pay has to meet the income requirement for the visa.
The remote work letter is the document that carries this proof, and it has to be signed by your employer or client. It isn't a formality — it's the evidence that your case fits the Spain digital nomad residence permit.
Who writes the letter
Who signs it depends on how you earn. The logic is the same in every case: whoever pays you confirms that you provide your services remotely and has no problem with you relocating to Spain.
The letter comes from your employer, on company letterhead, signed by someone authorized to do so — HR or a manager — and stamped, if the company uses a stamp. It's usually written in English and then translated into Spanish.
The letter comes from your main client — the one whose income you're using as your primary source. Same reasoning: they confirm you provide services remotely and have no issue with you moving to Spain.
If several clients make up the income you're relying on, you'll need a separate letter from each client you're relying on. One combined letter doesn't cover it. The other rules for freelancers applying for the visa — the 20% cap on Spanish clients and autónomo registration — are covered separately.
What actually needs to be in the letter
The UGE (the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit that processes applications filed in Spain) asks for a letter from the foreign company authorising you to work from Spain and stating the role profile, the main duties, an express statement that the work can be done by telematic means, the pay in euros, and the other conditions of the remote work. In practice, that means the letter should spell out:
- Your full name, exactly as it appears on your passport.
- The company or client's name and its legal status.
- Your role, or the services you provide.
- The start date of the working relationship.
- The contract term — ongoing, or with a specific end date.
- Your pay, stated in euros (you can add the original currency alongside).
- A direct statement of permission: the employer or client explicitly states they have no objection to you carrying out your duties remotely from Spain, using digital means, without being physically present at the company's registered address.
Point 7 is the most important one. The first six items describe your situation; point 7 is the actual authorization the visa is built around. If it's vague or missing, the letter doesn't do what it's supposed to.
When you need a sworn translator, and when you don't
This is where people usually get confused. For applications filed in Spain, the UGE's document list says that anything not in Spanish needs a sworn (jurado) translation by a translator authorised by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Public documents — a criminal record certificate, a company registry certificate — also need an apostille or legalisation. For private documents, including the remote work letter, a sworn translation is enough. The CV is the exception: a simple translation will do. Consulates publish their own lists, so check yours if you apply from abroad.
Three mistakes we see most often
Many follow-up requests at this stage have nothing to do with someone not qualifying for the visa. They come down to a letter that was thrown together from a generic template and never adapted to the applicant's actual situation. These are the three that come up again and again — alongside the other common rejection reasons:
- The letter is too vague. You need to clearly specify the salary, the duration of the contract, your duties, and the authorization to work from Spain. A letter that gestures at all of this without stating it plainly invites questions.
- The dates don't match. The contract states one start date, the letter states another. That mismatch can trigger a request for additional documents, and the decision clock stops until you reply.
- There's no signature or company details. A letter sent from a personal email address, without letterhead and without the signatory's name, simply doesn't look convincing to a reviewer.
How we help
We advise you at every stage of collecting your documents, including the ones that come from employers and clients. With the Pro and Concierge packages, you can also delegate certain tasks — chasing the letter, arranging translations, checking everything matches — to our relocation specialists. If you want to know whether your case is ready and what your timeline looks like, start with a free consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Official sources
- UGE — Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos — remote workers (international teleworkers) procedure.
- UGE — documents for applicants (PDF): what the company letter must state, and the translation rules.
- Ley 14/2013 — articles 74 bis and 74 ter: the teleworker permit and the three-month relationship rule (BOE).
- Ley 28/2022 — law on the promotion of the startup ecosystem, which created the Digital Nomad Visa (BOE).
