The figure of the Spanish Digital Nomad in Malaga comes to stage the current scenario of international labour mobility that we are living in these times. And Malaga has just been chosen as the best city in the world to work remotely for its quality of life, according to the ‘Executive Nomad Index‘ ranking, headed by Dubai.

Information and communication technologies have evolved over the years, to the point of allowing teleworking in a very efficient way, a circumstance accelerated by the pandemic, as we already know, to finally lead to the figure that today is known as the Digital Nomad.

Characteristics of the Spanish Digital Nomad Visa and Residence Authorisation in Spain

The Digital Nomad represents a new lifestyle and work style, which allows workers to satisfy their personal interests and companies to retain talent even if their workers move to other countries. In Spain, Law 28/2022, of 21 December, on the promotion of the ecosystem of emerging companies, is the one that has laid the legal foundations for the Spanish Digital Nomad, and his or her residence permit in Spain.

In this sense, the Spanish Digital Nomad Visa allows you to enter and reside in Spain for one year, during which time you will have to apply for your spanish Digital Nomad residence permit, which will allow you to reside in Spain for three years, renewable for two years, thereby gaining access to a permanent residence permit if you wish. It should be noted that the initial spanish Digital Nomad residence permit can be applied for while legally in Spain, avoiding applying for a visa from your place of residence abroad.

It is noted, therefore, that the spanish Digital Nomad Residence Authorisation would allow you as a nomadic worker from a third country to settle in Malaga, for example, and become “sedentary” in this city, as you could reside permanently, after 5 years of residence in Spain, here for the rest of your days if you wished. And you wouldn’t be the first, as to date there are many workers and managers in the technology sector who have expatriated to Malaga, which has become an important technology city worldwide, with multinationals such as Google, Ericsson, Oracle, Dekra and many others installed in this city blessed by the climate, nature, food, people and, ultimately, the quality of life in general, since being able to live and work from anywhere in the world is now a reality, especially in companies in the technology sector. Being able to do so from Malaga is a great opportunity.

The Spain Digital Nomad is a worker per se, and the company he/she works for must be located outside Spain, although the Digital Nomad as a freelancer can work up to 20% of his/her income for clients located in Spain.

What are the Social Security obligations of the Digital Nomad Spain?

Again, the Digital Nomad Spain is a worker who must be regularised in Spain in terms of spanish Social Security. So, if you come as a Digital Nomad as an employee, your company will have to pay Spanish Social Security contributions for you. On the other hand, if, for example, you settle in Malaga as a self-employed Digital Nomad, you will have to register with Social Security and pay contributions as a Spanish worker. However, there may be international Social Security agreements that allow you to export your coverage to Spain.

Advantages of processing your residence permit as a Digital Nomad in Malaga

The processing of the Spain Digital Nomad Visa or Residence Authorisation is really fast, with deadlines of only 20 working days for the residence authorisation, and with the possibility of bringing your family members to Spain. In addition, you should bear in mind that the Digital Nomad in Spain has a special Tax Regime for posted workers, known as the Beckham Law, under certain conditions. At Perez Parras Economists and Lawyers we are not only experts in Immigration Law, and we will not only efficiently process your Spain Digital Nomad Residence Permit, but we are also specialists in International Tax Law, and we will prepare your spanish tax return through the Beckham Law in Spain, allowing you to be taxed at a flat rate of 24% on the salary you receive, with the advantage that other income or capital gains will be exempt from taxation under the Beckham Law Spain.

Why come to live as a Digital Nomad in Malaga?

The ranking prepared by Savills Research positions Malaga as one of the most attractive cities in the world for executives to come to live and telework as Digital Nomads in Málaga, no less than in the second position as a city worldwide, above Barcelona or Palma de Mallorca.

According to statistics from Savills Research (https://www.savills.com), Malaga is the second most attractive city in the world to come to telework as a digital nomad, in terms of climate, quality of life, property rental prices and internet connection speed.

According to Savills, Malaga’s positioning as an ideal city for executives to relocate to telecommute as digital nomads is due to the fact that Google has set up in Malaga, attracting other multinationals such as Vodafone, Citi, Globant, etc.

Again, according to the Savills ranking, Malaga has the best score as a city, worldwide, for quality of life, with excellent scores also for internet connectivity and rental prices in the luxury segment. It also has one of the highest scores worldwide in terms of climate throughout the year.

Malaga is a city of technology, startups, multinationals, universities with engineering schools and researchers, sun and beach, museums and a vibrant atmosphere, a centuries-old historic centre and international networking events and luxury coworkings. According to Savills (https://www.savills.com), Malaga is the second most desirable city in the world and ideal for executives who want to settle down as digital nomads in Spain.

There is no doubt about the value of Malaga as a cultural and tourist destination, making Malaga a place to be, live and work. In this case, with the possibility of teleworking as a Digital Nomad from Spain for any company in the world, living in Malaga, which can even provide the worker with an important competitive advantage: working from one of the cities with the best quality of life, Malaga, for foreign companies, with a foreign salary. And, once again, Spain favours this type of worker even more with advantageous taxation, through the Beckham Law Spain. It is clear that attracting talent and high-level teleworkers is nowadays a strategic issue for Spain.

Malaga is a top city for Digital Nomads to come and telework. It stands out for its standard of living, its climate and its internet connectivity.

Malaga has become a city for innovative technology companies, a meeting and collaboration point for relevant professionals in the technology and business sector. Malaga is not only the city of the sun (the paradise of the Costa del Sol -Sunny Coast-), it is the top European city for technology companies, technology research centres and university engineering schools, making it an attractive place for professionals from the technology sector who may come to Malaga as digital nomads to, who knows, in the future, settle here for a long time. Malaga, with its own lifestyle that favours work-life balance, combines the beach with the mountains, a centuries-old historic centre full of museums and typical shops, combined with modern buildings, international networking events and first-class coworking facilities.

If you are a posted worker to Malaga or Spain, whether you are a highly qualified worker Spain, or a digital nomad in Malaga (international teleworker Spain), or in general a worker posted by your company to Spain, do not hesitate to contact Pérez Parras Economists and Lawyers in Malaga and Nerja so that we can advise you on whether you can benefit from the Beckham Law for workers posted to Malaga or Spain, as it will bring you extraordinary tax benefits. We are a team of lawyers specialised in international taxation in Málaga (Beckham Law Spain, Non-Resident Income Tax (IRNR) Spain, model 720 Spain, Wealth Tax Spain, etc.), bilingual and experts in Immigration Law Spain.

Likewise, if you wish to buy your property in Malaga with the advice of expert lawyers in property purchase and sale in Malaga to avoid risks and problems and to optimise the taxes to be paid for your purchase or sale in Malaga, or rent your property in Malaga avoiding risks, do not hesitate to contact Pérez Parras Economists and Lawyers in Malaga and Nerja, as we have lawyers and economists who are experts in the field.