How to prove income for the UGE: which documents are accepted

Which documents prove income for the digital nomad visa?

The list is set out by the ministry itself in its guidance on initial teletrabajadores applications [1].

The law requires sufficient means for the whole period of residence for the applicant and the family (Article 62.3 f) of Ley 14/2013), and links the amounts to the SMI [3]. In the UGE guidance the amounts themselves are given as percentages of the SMI; the figures in euros are in the article DNV income in 2026.

How to prove income as an employee, a freelancer or a company owner

The set of documents depends on what the application is built on: an employment contract, contracts with clients or your own company. The UGE guidance warns separately that an employment relationship cannot be proved with documents for a professional one, and vice versa[1].

A company owner still needs a letter. Permission to work remotely is implied, but the job title, duties, salary in euros and working conditions are stated just as for an employee[1]. If you are not the sole owner but have effective control of the company, the same additional documents apply[1]. More on each case: digital nomad visa for employees, digital nomad visa for freelancers, whether a Russian sole proprietorship works.

If your income is mixed, for example a salary plus side work for a client, build the application on one main contract. The UGE guidance refers to income from the contract on which the application is based[1]. It does not say how a second source is treated.

How to get a bank certificate (certificado bancario) for the UGE

The bank certificate links the contract to real money. The UGE requirements for it are short but strict[1]:

• in the applicant's name: a certificate for a spouse, a parent or anyone else will not do[1];
• stamped or signed by the bank: an app statement without either does not meet this requirement[1];
• covering the three months before the filing date, the same period as the nóminas or facturas[1];
• payments under the contract marked separately from all other transactions[1];
• amounts matching the payslips or invoices, with any difference explained in an explanatory letter[1].

The list does not say who marks the payments, the bank or the applicant. A practical approach is to ask the bank for a certificate of payments received from the company over the three months, and to highlight the same lines in the attached statement, noting which payslip or invoice each one belongs to.

Savings are proved with a separate certificate: recent, from a Spanish or foreign bank, in your name, stamped or signed[1]. A Spanish account is not required to apply, see whether you need a Spanish bank account for residence. A certificate that is not in Spanish is translated by a sworn translator. That is enough for private documents, while public documents from foreign authorities also need an apostille[1]. The UGE list does not say whether a bank certificate counts as a public document. How the translation works: sworn translation roadmap.

What period must nóminas, facturas and the bank certificate cover?

For the three months before the application date: this applies to payslips, invoices and the bank certificate alike [1]. The consulate in Moscow asks for a relationship with the company of at least three months as of the application date [4]. If the documents were gathered in advance and the application is filed later, in our reading the periods shift and the set needs to be updated.

Income can be proven with any evidence, for example a contract, or a contrato mercantil for the self-employed, but the Moscow consulate requires you to show that the money belongs to the applicant, was obtained lawfully and is available to them [5]. So a certificate in a third party’s name or a payment through an intermediary without explanation is risky.

What must match across the documents?

The incoming payments on the bank certificate must match the payslips or invoices [1]. The bank shows the amount that reached the account, while payslips show the gross amount, so a difference is normal, but it needs to be explained. The ministry itself recommends attaching an explanatory letter (escrito explicativo), especially when the documents do not exactly match the list [1]. For the self-employed, a table of “client, contract, invoice, payment” is useful: it makes it easier to show that a payment into the account relates to a specific invoice. What counts as income and where to put it is covered in the article how to calculate the threshold.

Common discrepancies in income documents and how to explain them

The UGE itself recommends attaching an explanatory letter (escrito explicativo) when the documents do not match the list exactly[1]. The table shows mismatches that follow from the requirements themselves, and how to cover them.

If the UGE finds the documents insufficient, it may request additional ones at any time[1]. How to answer such a request is covered in requerimiento for the digital nomad visa. A mismatch on its own does not mean refusal, but without an explanation it will be judged by an officer who only sees the papers.

What to do with income in roubles, tenge, hryvnias or dollars?

The foreign company’s letter must state the pay in euros: that is what the UGE list says [1]. Which exchange rate the authority accepts, and as of which date, is not stated in the published materials. It makes sense to give the rate and date of conversion in the explanatory letter and attach proof. Documents not in Spanish are translated by a sworn translator (traductor jurado) [1]. Public documents from foreign authorities are filed with an apostille or legalisation [1]; whether this rule applies to a certificate from a private bank is not stated directly. On Russian certificates: Russian income certificates for the UGE. The other filing steps are collected in the DNV route card.

Use the same rate in every document: the company letter, the explanatory letter and the payment table. There is no official basis for choosing the rate[1], so we recommend a margin of a few percent over the threshold so that exchange rate swings do not wipe it out.

What if your income falls short of the threshold?

If contract income is below the required amount, the difference can be covered with savings or other liquid income: the bank certificates must cover the difference for the whole term of the permit, be up to date and be in the applicant’s name [1]. At the same time, the UGE answers say that the means must come from income from work [2]. How these two statements fit together, and how the authority calculates the balance for a permit of up to three years, is not explained in the sources. It is better to check the calculation for your situation before filing. If you want your set checked, the first 15 minutes of a consultation at ReloVictory are free: book. Support with filing is described on the page digital nomad residence permit.

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ReloVictory · Sources reviewed 20.10.2026 · Not a substitute for individual legal advice.