How long UGE takes to decide a DNV application: 20 days and longer

How long the UGE takes to decide a digital nomad visa application: the legal deadline

Maximum time for a decision: twenty days from electronic submission of the application to the authority handling it. This is what article 76 of Ley 14/2013 says. Applications for teletrabajo de carácter internacional (DNV, the digital nomad residence permit) are handled by the Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos (UGE, called UGECE on consulate websites), and the permit is issued by the Dirección General de Migraciones [1].

The article does not contain the word «hábiles». The general rule of Ley 39/2015: unless a law specifies another way of counting, days in time limits are working days, and Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are not counted. A day is non-working if it is a non-working day either in your municipality or where the authority is based [2]. That gives 20 working days, roughly four calendar weeks.

What silencio positivo is and what it gives you

Silencio administrativo positivo: if the time limit expires without a decision, the application is deemed approved by operation of law. For permits under Ley 14/2013 this is stated expressly in article 76 [1]. Under Ley 39/2015, a decision issued later can only confirm such silence [2].

Silence is confirmed by a certificate, issued on request within 15 days [2]. We have not checked how it is accepted when booking a TIE appointment or at a bank.

How to get proof of approval by silence

Approval by silence takes effect on its own once the deadline passes, and you can rely on it before any authority, bank or private person[2]. Offices usually still ask for a document. There are two official ways to get one.

• A request to UGE through the sede. The Ley 14/2013 procedure page says that if no decision has been notified within the set deadline, you can request a decision granting the permit by silence (resolución de la concesión por silencio). It is filed in the sede: Alta de Solicitud, log in with a DNIe or electronic certificate, then “Subsanación”[7].
• A certificado acreditativo del silencio under article 24.4 of Ley 39/2015. The deciding body must issue it on its own within 15 days after the deadline expires. You can ask for it at any time, and then the 15 days run from the day after your request is registered[2].

Before asking, check whether the deadline was paused: a requerimiento moves the end of the 20 days by the length of the pause[2]. In the request, give the filing date and registration number of the application and the dates of all notifications. A decision issued after silence can only confirm the approval (article 24.3)[2]. The mechanism is explained in detail in what silencio positivo means.

What starts the processing deadline and what stops it

The time limit runs from electronic submission, not from the day the file is accepted as complete [1]. The application and all later documents are submitted only electronically through the sede of the Ministry of Inclusion, and you need a digital certificate [3]. The fee of €73.26 is paid before submission, and the receipt is attached to the application [6].

Requerimiento: a request for missing documents or explanations. It can suspend the time limit for the period between notification and your reply or, if you do not reply, for the period allowed for replying. If you do not reply, you will be deemed to have withdrawn the application (desistimiento) [2].

An electronic notification that you have not opened for ten calendar days is deemed rejected (rechazada). This means the notification is treated as delivered and the procedure goes ahead without your reply [2].

How to track your application during the 20 days

In the sede, the Ley 14/2013 procedure lets you do more than apply: you can check the stage of your case, read notifications and send further documents[7]. You log in the same way as when applying, with an electronic certificate[3]. What should happen during this time:

• within 10 days of receiving the application, the authority tells you the maximum decision period and the effect of silence, with the date the body received the application (article 21.4 of Ley 39/2015)[2];
• if documents are missing, a requerimiento arrives with its own reply deadline[2];
• under article 53 of Ley 39/2015 you may ask at any time what stage the case is at, which body handles it and which acts have been issued[2].

UGE takes procedural questions by email at movilidad.internacional@inclusion.gob.es[7]. No reply deadline is set for emails, and an email does not replace your answer to a requerimiento in the sede. All ways to check are collected in how to check the status of a UGE application.

Why the whole process takes longer than 20 days

Twenty days is a ceiling for the authority, not the length of the whole process. It does not include gathering documents, translations and apostilles before submission, pauses caused by a requerimiento, or getting the card after the decision: if the permit is valid for more than six months, you need to apply for a TIE [1].

We have not found official statistics on average UGE processing times. Figures in blogs differ several-fold, so we do not quote them. Article 23 of Ley 39/2015 allows an exceptional, reasoned extension of the time limit, of no more than the original period [2]; we do not know whether the UGE applies it to the DNV.

Digital nomad visa timeline: from preparation to TIE

The law gives no overall figure from start to card. It sets deadlines for individual steps, and it helps to line them up in order. Below is the route for applying from Spain.

The table does not add up to an honest total. By law UGE has up to 20 days to decide, and you have one month to apply for the TIE[1][8]. Preparation, replies to requests, booking appointments and issuing the card itself have no legal limit. About the police appointment: TIE and fingerprints in Barcelona.

Through a consulate there is one step fewer: a visa under Ley 14/2013 itself allows you to live in Spain without a TIE card (article 75.4)[1]. By law the visa decision is made within 10 working days, subject to the Visa Code consultation[1].

How long a digital nomad visa takes through a consulate

Article 75 of Ley 14/2013 sets the time limit for a visa decision at 10 working days, except where consultation under article 22 of the Visa Code is required: in that case the Code’s own time limit applies [1]. The 20-day rule and silencio apply to the UGE permit, not to the visa. Article 75 says nothing about silence on the part of the consulate, and we would not count on approval by silence.

The consulate sends the visa application (code TEL) for prior consultation with the central services through the SIVICO system, and the NIE has to be requested in parallel [5]. The visa is issued for a maximum of one year, the permit obtained from Spain for three years [4]. Comparison of the two routes: from Spain or through a consulate.

What to do if the UGE stays silent for more than 20 days

1. Count the working days from the date of electronic submission, taking into account public holidays in your municipality and where the authority is based [2].
2. Check the sede and your notifications inbox: was there a requerimiento that suspended the time limit [3]? If there was, the time limit is counted taking the pause into account.
3. If there were no requests and the time limit has expired, the law allows you to treat the application as approved. Request a certificate of silencio [2].
4. Do not submit a new application until you have discussed it with a lawyer or gestor: a repeat application may affect the current case.
5. If you receive a refusal, it has its own time limit for appeal: a recurso de alzada under articles 121 and 122 of Ley 39/2015. Check the time limit in the decision and show it to a lawyer straight away [1].

Whether the time limit was suspended in your case depends on the circumstances. ReloVictory is not responsible for how long the authorities take to reply, but can help you put together a DNV application pack so that a requerimiento is less likely: start with a consultation. The general step-by-step procedure: DNV route card. How to reply to a request is covered in a separate article.

If the decision is delayed because of a pause or for another reason, you can file a complaint (queja) through the Quejas y Sugerencias section of the Ministry of Inclusion e-office. The unit concerned must reply within 20 days. A queja is not an appeal and does not stop any deadline, so it does not replace a recurso or your answer to a requerimiento[9].

If you are waiting for a renewal decision, filing the renewal itself extends the permit until the decision, even if you applied within 90 days after it expired[1].

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