Spain digital nomad visa

[The Green View]

The Startup-law was passed by the Spanish Senate on 12th December.

I would suspect its going to be a month or three until the U.K Consulates know how to process the new Visas.

I have started a thread in the accounting section (link below) so we can crowdsource information on options of how we can get paid.

It's early days and I don't expect much information but its down to us lot to work out how to do it.

https://forums.contractoruk.com/acco...h-payroll.html

Still got my NEI, don't know if that will give me a leg up in the process but I'd assume it's a necessary prerequisite

[Bluenose]

The Startup-law was passed by the Spanish Senate on 12th December.

I would suspect its going to be a month or three until the U.K Consulates know how to process the new Visas.

I have started a thread in the accounting section (link below) so we can crowdsource information on options of how we can get paid.

It's early days and I don't expect much information but its down to us lot to work out how to do it.

https://forums.contractoruk.com/acco...h-payroll.html

[lecyclist]

Spotted this:

https://www.contractoruk.com/oversea...directors.html

The article is a bit confusing to me, unless I'm missing something. Why would you pay the minimum salary to qualify for the visa, leaving the rest in your Limited company to be taxed at what will be 25% from April 2023? Surely, you'd do the total opposite and pay no corporation tax? Also, I think the income tax rates is a flat rate at 15% irrespective of what you pay yourself.

I agree. It seems logical to identify ways to reduce the profits in the UK limited company to close to the £50K level, to take advantage of the 19% corporation tax rate. There are many options here depending on personal circumstances.

One other thing not mentioned in the article is the requirement for 'full' private medical insurance, which is significant at around €300 / month, which would pretty much negate any CT increases for most contractors.

I was quoted €2200 for a family of 4 from ASSSA health insurance for an annual policy some months back. This was "like for like" with Spanish state cover, no restrictions on previous illnesses, and fully compliant with attaining residency. The hospitals suggested to me based on the geography I was considering were the IMED chain. You may recall that the golden visa, non-lucrative visa, and other visa types usually require private insurance just for the first year, at which point you can switch over to the state system. This may also prove to be the case with the Digital Nomad visa, but you would need to check. Alternatively, you can apply for an S1 in your country of residency, which is sufficient when making normal residency applications to sidestep the Spanish private health requirement. However, again this may not apply to the Digital Nomad visa, so you would need to check.

In my case, the European Residency permit was preferable to me (as a permanent resident of another EU country), so I did not investigate further.

Then there's the employers NI that the UK Ltd would presumably still have to make.

I wanted this digital nomad visa thing to work, seeing as I already have property out in Spain and spend several months a year over there, subject to the 90/180 day rule, which is why I launched this thread, but I just don't see it offering any financial incentive for UK Ltd contractors. Please tell me I'm wrong!

Don't he disheartened. It's worth exploring all the options available again.

[WTFH]

I wanted this digital nomad visa thing to work…, but I just don't see it offering any financial incentive for UK Ltd contractors.

If you want to run your UK Ltd, then no, it’s not going to offer you any incentive. You need to be a digital nomad, not a UK Ltd trying to act like you’re not.

[jamesbrown]

I wanted this digital nomad visa thing to work, seeing as I already have property out in Spain and spend several months a year over there, subject to the 90/180 day rule, which is why I launched this thread, but I just don't see it offering any financial incentive for UK Ltd contractors. Please tell me I'm wrong!

On the contrary, I think you're right. It don't see how it stacks up when you retain a UK company, even in the minimalist sense of paying significantly less tax which, let's face it, is a pretty weak reason on its own to transition your life overseas.

[oliverson]

Spotted this:

https://www.contractoruk.com/oversea...directors.html

The article is a bit confusing to me, unless I'm missing something. Why would you pay the minimum salary to qualify for the visa, leaving the rest in your Limited company to be taxed at what will be 25% from April 2023? Surely, you'd do the total opposite and pay no corporation tax? Also, I think the income tax rates is a flat rate at 15% irrespective of what you pay yourself.

One other thing not mentioned in the article is the requirement for 'full' private medical insurance, which is significant at around €300 / month, which would pretty much negate any CT increases for most contractors.

Then there's the employers NI that the UK Ltd would presumably still have to make.

I wanted this digital nomad visa thing to work, seeing as I already have property out in Spain and spend several months a year over there, subject to the 90/180 day rule, which is why I launched this thread, but I just don't see it offering any financial incentive for UK Ltd contractors. Please tell me I'm wrong!

[_V_]

The easiest way by far at the time was to simply purchase property worth more than $500000 in Portugal.

You are not really a digital nomad if you spend $500K in each country as a way in.

[agentzero]

I looked at moving to Portugal a few years ago, after brexit. It was obvious at the time that the general environment in the UK, even without a pandemic, was going to be negative for one to two decades. I am not against paying a lot of tax, but I am against paying a lot of tax when public services are destroyed and even healthcare is unreliable due to a right with ideology that is destroying the country and has 2 years left to run.

The easiest way by far at the time was to simply purchase property worth more than $500000 in Portugal. In the last year this has seen restrictions being placed on where you can buy the property. 11000 took advantage of this golden visa scheme, but from all over the world. Top countries were as you would think, Russia, China, many from the Middle East too. This mix was the negatives against it for me. I respect people escaping those oppressive countries but also wonder how much of them are related to the elites in those countries trying to find some EU country to park their cash, since Cyprus and Malta are now seeing more and more restrictions from these dodgy source countries.

If you are looking at moving and want to commit then this could still be the easiest way to get EU residency and a passport. Check the restricted areas on a map and determine what type of lifestyle you want.

[WTFH]

What about my company car? I've read that these are subject to VAT payments by the employee in Spain. What about the terms of the lease? I doubt I can just take the car abroad long-term. What about the insurance on it? Sure I can take it abroad but that's a temporary arrangement. What about my UK driving license?

Your company car is leased through your UK company, and the lease is under UK regulations.
You'd need to read the lease, but I would expect that it will say you can take the car away on holiday, but only for certain lengths of time.
If you're living in Spain for more than 6 months then you need to surrender your UK driving license and apply for a Spanish one.
Your UK insurance will be invalid if you have moved to Spain, or spend more than x days per year there (may be 90, check your policy). You won't be able to get Spanish insurance unless you have a Spanish driving license.

So, your best bet is for your company to review the lease it has and return the car (while paying whatever early penalties may apply)

[jamesbrown]

Yeah, having so many attachments to the UK, including a UK company, is definitely going to complicate matters. I agree that these visa options are better suited to people with few ties who can essentially decide to move their lives overseas indefinitely. For the same reason, I don't think a lower tax bill is good enough motivation, you really need to want to move there (and consider a lower tax bill a bonus).