How many digital nomad residence permits has Spain granted? Official figures
Spain granted 28,324 digital nomad (international teleworker) residence authorizations in 2025, up from 19,500 in 2024 and 9,386 in 2023, according to the Permanent Immigration Observatory (OPI) of the Ministry of Inclusion. On 30 June 2026, 68,070 people held a valid one. The figures include family members and renewals but not consular visas. Spain publishes no official figures on applications, refusals or actual processing times. Spain Visa Submit files ready applications with UGE-CE for €80 per applicant.
Official sources: OPI — Autorizaciones concedidas, Ley 14/2013 · OPI — Personas con autorización en vigor, Ley 14/2013 · OPI — Autorizaciones de residencia por país de nacionalidad · BOE — Ley 14/2013, art. 76 · Sede electrónica
Verified:
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Authorizations granted per year
OPI, published on 7 July 2026, counts 9,386 authorizations in 2023, 19,500 in 2024 and 28,324 in 2025 under the “Teletrabajador internacional” route. In 2025, 14,912 went to main applicants and 13,412 to family members, and 25,866 were initial authorizations. The rest were renewals and changes of status. In 2025 the digital nomad route was the largest route under Law 14/2013, with 35.6% of the 79,650 authorizations granted under that law.
People holding a valid permit
OPI, published on 30 September 2026: 9,192 people held a valid digital nomad authorization on 31 December 2023, 27,657 on 31 December 2024, 53,496 on 31 December 2025, 61,960 on 31 March 2026 and 68,070 on 30 June 2026. Of the 68,070, 36,798 were main applicants and 31,272 family members. These are people on a given date, net of permits that ended. They are not the number granted in 2026: OPI publishes grants once a year.
Where they live and where they come from
In 2025, Barcelona province had the most grants (9,840), followed by Madrid (5,402), Valencia (3,492) and Málaga (3,283). For this route OPI gives nationality only by region: in 2025, 13,851 grants went to nationals of European countries outside the EU and EFTA, a group that includes Russia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, 4,226 to Central and South America and 3,905 to North America. There is no official per-country figure for digital nomads.
Nationality across all Law 14/2013 routes
OPI’s general residence tables give countries only for all Law 14/2013 routes combined (the category “Ley 14/2013 y otras figuras similares”), not for digital nomads alone. Authorizations granted in 2025 by nationality: Russia 13,442, United States 6,766, Colombia 6,024, United Kingdom 5,317, China 4,284, Mexico 3,624, Brazil 3,098, Iran 2,710, Argentina 2,141, Ukraine 1,705 and Belarus 1,174. On 30 June 2026, 48,236 Russian nationals held a valid authorization in this category.
What Spain does not publish
There are no official figures for applications, refusals, approval rates or average processing time for this route. The only official time figure is the legal maximum: 20 business days from electronic filing, after which the application is deemed approved (Law 14/2013, article 76.1). Consular digital nomad visas are not in these counts, and OPI’s visa tables do not show them as a separate category.
Reading the figures correctly
OPI counts authorizations granted, not people: one person can receive an initial authorization and later a renewal. The counts include family members. OPI revises its data, so older figures such as 9,568 for 2023 or 27,875 holders at the end of 2024 have been replaced by 9,386 and 27,657 in the current releases. This page shows the figures published by the verification date.
Frequently asked questions
How many digital nomad permits did Spain grant in 2025?
28,324 digital nomad residence authorizations in 2025, including 13,412 for family members, according to OPI. Consular visas are not included.
How many people hold a Spanish digital nomad permit?
68,070 people on 30 June 2026, including family members (OPI, published on 30 September 2026).
What is the approval rate for Spain’s digital nomad permit?
Spain does not publish one. Official statistics cover authorizations granted and people holding them, not applications or refusals.
How long does UGE actually take?
There is no official statistic on actual processing times. The law sets a maximum of 20 business days from electronic filing (Law 14/2013, article 76.1).
Where can I download the official data?
OPI publishes the yearly grants and quarterly holder figures as infographics with downloadable CSV files on inclusion.gob.es.