From the digital nomad visa to permanent residence and Spanish citizenship: the whole route by year

The whole route by year

The digital nomad visa deadlines run as a chain, and each link has its own legal basis. ReloVictory’s table puts them into one route; the details of each stage follow.

Visa, permit and renewal together give exactly five years. If the first permit was issued for a shorter period, or you started with a consular visa, the five years are reached later; they are counted by the dates of the permits, not the date you moved.

Stage 1. Visa and first permit

From abroad the route starts with a visa at a Spanish consulate: it is valid for no more than a year, or for the period of work if that is shorter (article 74 quater). While the visa is valid you can live in Spain and work remotely on it[1].

To stay, you apply to the UGE for a residence permit in the last 60 calendar days of the visa. Those already in Spain legally apply to the UGE directly, without the consulate. The permit is issued for up to three years; if it is longer than six months, a TIE card is issued[1]. The conditions and documents are on the digital nomad visa page, and the two application routes are compared in applying from Spain on a tourist visa.

What matters for the count is the start date of the residence permit: from that date the years of legal residence under articles 31 and 32 of Ley Orgánica 4/2000 run[3].

Stage 2. Renewal for two years

The permit is renewed for two years if the conditions it was granted on still hold: remote work for an employer or clients outside Spain, income, insurance, a clean criminal record (article 74 quinquies.3 and article 76 of Ley 14/2013)[1].

Filing 60 days before expiry extends the old permit until the decision; the law also allows filing within 90 days after expiry (article 76.3). The Dirección General de Migraciones may request reports showing that the conditions are maintained[1]. What to prepare, and what the authority does not publish, is covered in renewing the digital nomad visa.

A permit that expires without a filed renewal breaks the chain: the next step has to start over, and the years before the break may not count as continuous for permanent residence.

Stage 3. Permanent residence after five years

Residencia de larga duración is granted after five years of legal and continuous residence in Spain before the application (article 32 of Ley Orgánica 4/2000, article 176 of the Reglamento). The years on the digital nomad visa count towards it as temporary residence[2][3].

Continuity is checked under the general rules of articles 176 and 183 of the Reglamento: absences are taken into account, and trips beyond the set limits reset the count. The law sets no absence limit of its own for the digital nomad visa, so the permanent-residence rules are the reference; details in how long you can be away from Spain with a residence permit[2].

You can apply within two months before the current permit ends, or earlier if the conditions are already met while the permit is valid. How the five years are counted and which periods qualify is explained in permanent residence in Spain: counting the five years. With permanent residence you can live and work in Spain without being tied to remote work; working for a Spanish employer is possible earlier by changing grounds[2].

Stage 4. Citizenship after ten years

Citizenship by residence (nacionalidad por residencia) is granted after ten years of legal continuous residence immediately before the application (article 22 of the Código Civil). The shortened periods of two years and one year do not apply to citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus or Kazakhstan[4].

Besides the years, you need the Instituto Cervantes exams (DELE A2 and CCSE), documents from your country of origin and an online application to the Ministry of Justice. At the oath the applicant renounces their previous nationality unless their country is on the list in article 24 of the Código Civil; Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan are not on it[4]. The procedure and processing times are in Spanish citizenship by residence, and who qualifies for a shorter period in how many years to citizenship.

If a passport is not the goal, the route can stop at permanent residence: the status is indefinite, the card is replaced every five years, and the previous nationality is kept.

Changing grounds along the way

The chain does not have to consist of the digital nomad visa alone. While its conditions are met, the UGE allows a move to another permit under Ley 14/2013 at any time; a move to the general regime (employment, self-employment) is made under article 191 of the Reglamento without a visa or leaving Spain[2][5].

The years on the new grounds continue the same count for permanent residence and citizenship, provided there is no gap between permits. The options and conditions are in switching from the digital nomad visa to another permit.

How ReloVictory handles the whole route

ReloVictory manages the case at every stage: the permit application from Spain or through a consulate, the renewal after three years, the residence count and the permanent-residence application, preparation for citizenship. The contract and estimate are with ReloVictory; the legal side is handled by the team’s lawyer Francisco Romero (ICAB 33641), and tax and administrative matters by the graduada social. Before each stage we check that the conditions still hold and that continuity is not broken.

Prices are on the cost of Spanish residence page. The first 15 minutes of a consultation are free: we work out which stage you are at and what to file next.

Frequently asked questions

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ReloVictory · Sources reviewed 30.10.2026 · Not a substitute for individual legal advice.