Spain digital nomad visa

[sadkingbilly]

So, back to the digital nomad visa.

the way I see it, if I'm tax resident in Spain, i.e. spend 183+ days over there, then I can't be tax resident here in the UK also.

yes you can.

[oliverson]

So, back to the digital nomad visa.

I just can't stop thinking about this, already having a second home in Spain, and with the 25% Corp. Tax on the horizon.

I've mailed my accountant for some advice, but the way I see it, if I'm tax resident in Spain, i.e. spend 183+ days over there, then I can't be tax resident here in the UK also. That would mean I could spend 182 days in the UK, doing some of the work here. This flips my current 'modus operandi' of being UK resident but spending several months a year in Spain, working out of there, on it's head.

The fly in the ointment is going to be the driving licence. My understanding is that a UK licence is no longer valid 6 months from date of residency. But say I swapped my UK licence for a Spanish one, what then? According to the the Gov.uk site, the Spanish licence is valid for the UK, seeing as technically I passed the swapped licence here in the UK.

Other concerns would be the Tesla. I really don't want to cancel the lease so I'd have to try come to some agreement with the leasing company.

Plenty of obstacles to overcome then, but if I can do that, I get to enjoy NOT paying 25% Corp. Tax to a government that turned it's back on me in a pandemic, ruined my industry with IR35, ruined my country. Cherry on cake, the right to roam the EU again without the 90/180 day rule.

[WTFH]

As for the driving licence, if you plan to live in Spain (as I do), you will be able to swap your UK drivers licence for a Spanish one, you will need to do it in under 6 months into the residency. Source: British ambassador to Spain.

What to do with UK Home? Sell it. What to do with the language? Learn it. What to do about a Spanish car? Buy one. What to do with your shoelaces? Tie them.

OK, so you're not talking about being a nomad, you're talking about relocating to Spain full time.
There's a big difference. It's like the difference between being a contractor with multiple clients and working for one client for 5+ years, but calling yourself a contractor.
Going on holiday to a country for a month and coming back with your attitude is a lot different to upping sticks, selling up and moving.

You might want to start a new thread for people who want to move to Spain permanently, rather than be a nomad.

[jamesbrown]

jamesbrown I am not trying to convince anyone but we have the usual types sea-gulling on a thread and not actually offering helpful information. The thread is in the business section, its not really a debating thread about 'why' and offering life counselling about decisions. Its about the 'how'. Every John in the UK will have 50p about the 'why', its subjective and I would suggest if someone wants to debate the why and is not planning on moving to Spain, keep it in General, don't seagull this thread. Thankyou.

As for the driving licence, if you plan to live in Spain (as I do), you will be able to swap your UK drivers licence for a Spanish one, you will need to do it in under 6 months into the residency. Source: British ambassador to Spain.

What to do with UK Home? Sell it. What to do with the language? Learn it. What to do about a Spanish car? Buy one. What to do with your shoelaces? Tie them.

You aren't the thread police. I think it's perfectly reasonable to post about some of the issues that might be encountered. Some of these issues will have a read across from one jurisdiction to another.

[Bluenose]

jamesbrown I am not trying to convince anyone but we have the usual types sea-gulling on a thread and not actually offering helpful information. The thread is in the business section, its not really a debating thread about 'why' and offering life counselling about decisions. Its about the 'how'. Every John in the UK will have 50p about the 'why', its subjective and I would suggest if someone wants to debate the why and is not planning on moving to Spain, keep it in General, don't seagull this thread. Thankyou.

As for the driving licence, if you plan to live in Spain (as I do), you will be able to swap your UK drivers licence for a Spanish one, you will need to do it in under 6 months into the residency. Source: British ambassador to Spain.

What to do with UK Home? Sell it. What to do with the language? Learn it. What to do about a Spanish car? Buy one. What to do with your shoelaces? Tie them.

[WTFH]

we tried it for a month, living in Spain. it's fairly easy to do, if you are both remote workers and the kids are young.

moving from the UK to Spain for a family man with a young family or a young single man, it's a no brainer. work there for 5 years, get a EU passport and then stay or, move on.

the cost of living there is peanuts in comparison, especially if you are young and stick to places like Grenada.

the food ingredients are better quality, the air, cleaner, the roads, health and rail networks are better.

from April, if you are caught by ir35 some people will be paying 53% tax in the uk on their daily rate. each child, in childcare is costing about 1150-1450 per month, per child.

that gets swapped for approx 15% tax, 350 euros per month, per child (it's state supported). private schooling? no problem. you don't need private health insurance but you can get it anyway.
for a top earner who has two kids you will save 5 grand a month plus.
how to invoice clients? invoicing smaller clients is easy, it's the bigger UK ones that will be off limits and you know what, I am ok with that. they ain't good to work for anyway.

I am planning to not work for UK based firms over time but if I do work for UK based firms, it most likely won't be for big companies that insist on the current ir35 and fcma umbrella scam which, appears to have been constructed to try and stop people working outside of the UK.

nice try UK government but it's actually sped up my desire to leave.

I can drop my rate by 40% and still have the same amount of money coming in. don't like being undercut by offshore peeps in the past? well, in the future it will be people like me undercutting those that can't or won't move.

this is snowball situation, there will be a trickle of people posting here that are gonna do it and over the next year's, it will be a flood.

agents won't be able to compute it initially but it's also possible that these same agencies will setup hubs in Spanish hot spots and start flogging bodies at a rate that nobody in the uk can compete with.

that's what the Spanish government is counting on, it's actually part of their strategy for doing this.

Sounds like (for you) there are absolutely zero downsides.
Do you have your UK driving licence?
Do you own car(s) in Spain?
What did you do with your UK home?
Did you enrol in language classes?

Oh, sorry, just re-read - you went for a 1 month trip, so none of the above a relevant.

[jamesbrown]

it will be a flood

Exceptionally unlikely.

In any case, who are you trying to convince?

[Bluenose]

Your problem is that if someone is thinking of calling themselves a “digital nomad” and is considering Spain as an option for a couple of years of their nomadic lifestyle, then they will need to compare it to other countries, such as the one they are currently resident in.
Such as:
1. How much does it cost to live there as a nomad?
2. How do I invoice my clients?
3. What about my family (kids education, etc)?
4. What limitations are there?
5. What do I have to give up?
6. Am I wanting to be a nomad, or am I just wanting to get out of the UK until the sunlit uplands arrive, at which point I’ll be on the first plane “home”?
etc

we tried it for a month, living in Spain. it's fairly easy to do, if you are both remote workers and the kids are young.

moving from the UK to Spain for a family man with a young family or a young single man, it's a no brainer. work there for 5 years, get a EU passport and then stay or, move on.

the cost of living there is peanuts in comparison, especially if you are young and stick to places like Grenada.

the food ingredients are better quality, the air, cleaner, the roads, health and rail networks are better.

from April, if you are caught by ir35 some people will be paying 53% tax in the uk on their daily rate. each child, in childcare is costing about 1150-1450 per month, per child.

that gets swapped for approx 15% tax, 350 euros per month, per child (it's state supported). private schooling? no problem. you don't need private health insurance but you can get it anyway.
for a top earner who has two kids you will save 5 grand a month plus.
how to invoice clients? invoicing smaller clients is easy, it's the bigger UK ones that will be off limits and you know what, I am ok with that. they ain't good to work for anyway.

I am planning to not work for UK based firms over time but if I do work for UK based firms, it most likely won't be for big companies that insist on the current ir35 and fcma umbrella scam which, appears to have been constructed to try and stop people working outside of the UK.

nice try UK government but it's actually sped up my desire to leave.

I can drop my rate by 40% and still have the same amount of money coming in. don't like being undercut by offshore peeps in the past? well, in the future it will be people like me undercutting those that can't or won't move.

this is snowball situation, there will be a trickle of people posting here that are gonna do it and over the next year's, it will be a flood.

agents won't be able to compute it initially but it's also possible that these same agencies will setup hubs in Spanish hot spots and start flogging bodies at a rate that nobody in the uk can compete with.

that's what the Spanish government is counting on, it's actually part of their strategy for doing this.

[ladymuck]

Surely 'nomad' is a bit of a misnomer? Nomads move around, the scheme does sound like it's trying to attract longer term visits.

[oliverson]

It is off topic. it's going to be messy enough discussing the Spanish one.

what I would say though, is that Spain has a different set of issues to address and that Spain is not directly comparable to other countries.

Yeah, they're still forced to wear face muzzles on public transport!!