DNV application: from Spain or a consulate

DNV route card: 10 steps

1. Check whether the DNV fits you

   The law allows you to work only for companies outside Spain. A freelancer may have a Spanish client, but for no more than 20% of their activity.

   • The work is done entirely remotely for a foreign company or clients
   • I have a degree or three years of experience in the profession
   • The relationship with the company or clients has lasted at least three months, and the company has been operating for at least a year

   Where: Ley 14/2013, articles 74 bis and 74 ter, on the BOE websiteTime: before gathering documentsCost: free

   When to get help: if you currently hold no lucrativa or have done some work in Spain, changing the basis follows separate rules.

2. Choose your path: UGE from Spain or a consulate

   Those in Spain lawfully, for example on a Schengen stay, apply from Spain. Everyone else goes to the consulate where they live.

   • I know where I will physically be on the day I apply
   • Applying from Spain, counted my days of legal stay: they must not run out before the decision
   • Applying through a consulate, found the consulate for my district and how to book

   Where: Ministry of Inclusion sede (UGE) or a Spanish consulateTime: a permit for up to 3 years versus a visa for up to 1 year (articles 74 quater and 74 quinquies)Cost: see step 6

   When to get help: your Schengen stay is running out, your entries are questionable, or the consulate will not accept you for your district. Review: from Spain or through a consulate.

3. Work out the income for the whole family

   The threshold is gross per month, proven by payments into your account for the three months before you apply.

   • For yourself: €2,849 a month (€34,188 a year)
   • Plus €1,068 for the first family member and €356 for each additional one
   • Bank statements and payslips or invoices for three months match in amounts

   Where: calculation under article 62 of Ley 14/2013 and UGE guidanceTime: the three months before the filing dateCost: free

   When to get help: if your income is mixed, irregular or comes from several companies.

4. Sort out social security

   An employee needs the foreign company to register in the Spanish system or a certificate of applicable legislation; a freelancer needs an alta in RETA after approval.

   • Chose the option for my way of working and discussed it with the company
   • If I am not in the Spanish system, arranged health insurance with no co-payments or waiting periods
   • I understand that after the alta, contributions are paid every month without a break

   Where: Seguridad Social, the company’s countryTime: before you applyCost: contributions and the policy are paid separately

   When to get help: if the company’s country has no agreement with Spain. We do not sell insurance; the criteria are set out in the article UGE criteria.

5. Gather the documents on the UGE list

   Public documents need an apostille and a sworn translator’s translation. It is advisable to add a cover letter to the set.

   • Full passport and the MI-T application form
   • Contract, a letter from the company allowing you to work from Spain, and a certificate showing the company has been operating for at least a year
   • Degree or proof of three years’ experience, CV
   • Criminal record certificates for the last two years and a declaration covering five years
   • Bank certificate in your name and social security cover as in step 4

   Where: the country that issued the documents, sworn translatorTiming: the receiving authority sets how recent the certificates must beCost: apostilles and translations are extra

   When to get help: if your documents come from different countries, your profession is regulated, or you own the company you work with.

6. Get your digital certificate and pay the fee

   Applications to the UGE are electronic only, so you need a digital certificate. The fee is paid with modelo 790, código 038.

   • Got an FNMT certificate and checked I can log in to the sede
   • Downloaded form 790 code 038, paid it and kept the receipt with the NRC
   • If a representative files for me, I gave them written authority

   Where: sede.fnmt.gob.es, sede of the Ministry of InclusionTiming: the fee is paid before you applyCost: DNV €73.26; check the renewal amount on the ministry’s page

   When to get help: never hand your certificate or passwords to intermediaries; a proxy is better. More: certificado digital and representatives.

7. Apply

   From inside Spain you apply to the UGE, and the application extends your current stay until a decision is made. At a consulate you apply for a visa: by law it is decided within 10 working days (article 75.5 Ley 14/2013), but in practice it can take longer because consulates consult the central services (SIVICO).

   • Submitted the file and kept the dated confirmation
   • Noted the expediente number and made a copy of the whole file
   • For a visa, booked the appointment myself and brought the documents on the consulate’s list

   Where: UGE sede; Spanish consulateTiming: UGE, 20 days from electronic filing; under the general rule of Ley 39/2015 these are working daysCost: the fee in step 6; at a consulate, its own rates

   When to get help: if the consulate asks for documents not on its list or the visa is taking too long. Articles: applying on a tourist visa and the consulate in Moscow.

8. Answer the requerimiento and wait for the decision

   A requerimiento is a request for missing documents, not a refusal. You answer it in a single package.

   • I check the sede regularly: an unread notification counts as rejected after 10 calendar days
   • Answered the request within 10 working days, with a cover note
   • If refused, noted the notification date and the deadline for a recurso de alzada: one month

   Where: sede, Carpeta CiudadanaTiming: 10 days to respondCost: free

   When to get help: any question on the substance, for example whether the company is genuine, and any refusal. Articles: UGE requerimiento, refusal and recurso.

9. Get your TIE and sort out the first 30 days

   If the permit is valid for more than six months, you apply for the card in person. After approval, alta in the Seguridad Social is mandatory.

   • Booked huellas and submitted form EX-17 with the 790-012 receipt
   • Completed the alta; a passport is accepted for it during the first six months
   • Put the modelo 149 deadline for the Beckham regime in my calendar, if I qualify

   Where: Oficina de Extranjería or comisaría, Seguridad Social, Tax AgencyTiming: TIE within a monthCost: TIE €16.08 for the first card

   When to get help: taxes, the Beckham regime and counting the modelo 149 deadline. This is work for a tax and administrative specialist, and mistakes here are expensive.

10. Renewal and moving from a visa to a permit

    The visa lasts up to a year. In its last 60 calendar days you apply for the permit, which is issued for up to 3 years.

    • Set a reminder 60 days before the visa ends
    • I file the permit renewal electronically; it is for 2 years
    • I report changes in my conditions (employer, income) to the UGE within 30 days (Ley 14/2013, additional provision 7, paragraph 2)

    Where: UGE sedeTiming: you can also file the renewal up to 90 days after expiry, but a fine is possibleCost: check the renewal amount on the ministry’s page

    When to get help: a new employer, a drop in income, long absences. Article: DNV renewal.