Reply to: Spain digital nomad visa

[oliverson]

I think you should pay for a Spanish tax expert to give you options.

I think you would need to thinking about moving to a part of Spain without a wealth tax if your property and assets are above the thresh-holds.

You will need a proper UK Payroll, not your UK Limited to survive a beckham rate (24%) audit.

The other consideration though is that with UK NICS on that payroll - if you get the 24% Spanish flat-rate you can actually offset some of the UK Employers NICS you pay on the UK payroll against the Spanish bill as expenses and you end up paying less than 24% e.g. 17-24%.

If you are fully paid up on your UK NICS Contributions then I would look very closely at other options, obviously Spain is the number one choice if you have a young family but if you don't it might be worth considering what the other options are because you'll need to keep paying's NICS.

Obviously a limited will work but I doubt you will survive an audit.

Think I've written this off again, certainly from a Limited company perspective. Others have pointed out that I may be creating a 'permanent establishment' and risk facing two lots of corporation tax.

I'm resigned to fulfilling this 12 month extension I just signed, hoping there's another one off the back of that, and if so, retiring in mid-2016, god willing. I can then move to Spain on a non-lucrative visa and get my golf handicap down!!

[Bluenose]

I think you should pay for a Spanish tax expert to give you options.

I think you would need to thinking about moving to a part of Spain without a wealth tax if your property and assets are above the thresh-holds.

You will need a proper UK Payroll, not your UK Limited to survive a beckham rate (24%) audit.

The other consideration though is that with UK NICS on that payroll - if you get the 24% Spanish flat-rate you can actually offset some of the UK Employers NICS you pay on the UK payroll against the Spanish bill as expenses and you end up paying less than 24% e.g. 17-24%.

If you are fully paid up on your UK NICS Contributions then I would look very closely at other options, obviously Spain is the number one choice if you have a young family but if you don't it might be worth considering what the other options are because you'll need to keep paying's NICS.

Obviously a limited will work but I doubt you will survive an audit.

[oliverson]

The itch I keep on coming back to scratch!

Current thinking is why don't I incorporate an Irish company and at renewal, move the contract across to that. I don't think that will create an issue with my US client.

Assuming my visa application was successful I could then pay myself something like £ 50k and pay 24% tax on that, whilst the Irish Ltd company pays only 12.5% Corp. Tax on the rest. IR35 (or similar) almost completely goes away and I have free movement throughout the EU. Company is building up a big some for my retirement (c. 3 years). Rent my UK home out and make a bit off that whilst its value rises. **** all tax to the UK is a big bonus.

See what happens under Labour but what am I missing here?

[Bluenose]

I don't want to refer you all to the facebook group as I don't want to upset the admins here but I used a para-legal to help me with the docs.

Main issue is the A1 certificate from HMRC, everything else is easy. There is a list on the Spanish Manchester and London consulate sites.

You can use your limited but the 24% flat tax rate probably won't apply if you use that route (it won't be 100% confirmed for a while), you would have to use a U.K Brolly and swallow the U.K NI deductions. I am OK with that but others may not be.

[oliverson]

I managed to complete the process with my family. Good luck to those attempting it in 2024.

Congrats.

I'd also be VERY interested to learn more.

[hildaoblivion]

Well done! Interesting to hear details if you're willing to share?

Did you use/keep using your UK Ltd?

What docs were needed and how long to get them...etc

[Bluenose]

I managed to complete the process with my family. Good luck to those attempting it in 2024.

[GJABS]

test

[NotAllThere]

I found this graphic a helpful reminder, showing basic rules for travel in the EU.

It's not just EU citizens, it's citizens of any Schengen country as well - i.e. Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein

[lecyclist]

I found this graphic a helpful reminder, showing basic rules for travel in the EU.

[GigiBronz]

Long term rentals are widely available from 10th September (end of high season - beginning of school/ higher education cycle) until June (Spanish schools break up around 21st June). This is the model I favour, as I have no interest in tying up more equity in property.
…

Thank you for the advice, some of them I was aware but some of them were also only in my head.
I do need to learn Spanish to be able to communicate properly, I can understand and speak a few words but far from being fluent.

my mind is set for Marbella or between Marbella and puerto banus for now. Not entirely convinced to pull the trigger but will see.

I live in Isle of Dogs in London with Thames view and it is indeed incomparable. As long as you live high enough so that you do not hear the party boars, the experience is incomparable.
there is that show: “murder by the sea” where the say that there is something that attracts psychopaths, always wondered if it is me or it is only the beauty of nature…

[lecyclist]

Long term rentals are widely available from 10th September (end of high season - beginning of school/ higher education cycle) until June (Spanish schools break up around 21st June). This is the model I favour, as I have no interest in tying up more equity in property.

One of the benefits of renting during this period in an obvious tourist area (e.g. beachfront) is that the second home/ holiday rental purpose of the whole block often means you will have near complete privacy for the period of rental (no noise from neighbours).

Another benefit, since the 9/10 month contract is unappealing to many, means you can achieve a rent that may be equivalent to 3-4% effective annual yield (based on the expected selling price of the property), which means it's a no-brainer to rent rather than buy. Typically the best rental deals are on the older properties (especially those without a/c) where the owner has already cleared the mortgage.

If you are prepared to select 2nd or 3rd line to the beach the savings can be even greater. That is a false economy in my opinion, trading quality of life for a few hundred euros per month, but all our situations are different.

I would suggest using Idealista ( https://idealista.com/ ) as a guide to understand the Spanish property market in the area you are targeting, however it is unlikely you will get any response from contacting ads (1) Unless you are communicating in Spanish (2) Unless you are located in Spain. For that reason, when you are serious about finding a property you should probably contact one or the larger agents in the area, especially if you are trying to coordinate everything from overseas. Although of course that means the price could be higher.

[GigiBronz]

Mate of mine (from Poland, so EU) recently moved to Greece as he can work remotely from wherever and found it rather difficult to get a longer term rental (he got one in the end, but not after being left high and dry and having to move out in two days as the chap changed his mind). Main issue was that you are not local, you might ditch it and move out any minute etc. so the risk for them is higher.

they start to be less picky once outside the holiday season albeit with the caveat that plenty will expect you to vacate before the next holiday season.
Which would not mind as you are never sure how long you would like to stay somewhere. I might find something off-putting after the next 4-5 months.

considering how cheap it currently is on airbnb, I do not find it an actual problem. the rental market is actually worse in the areas in demand in UK.

[dsc]

[...]I've lived for 3+ months in Airbnb's here and not entirely sure if to pull the trigger on getting a more long term accommodation. Finding long term accommodation during the summer is also slightly more difficult as they would rather get tourists in at daily rates.
[...]

Mate of mine (from Poland, so EU) recently moved to Greece as he can work remotely from wherever and found it rather difficult to get a longer term rental (he got one in the end, but not after being left high and dry and having to move out in two days as the chap changed his mind). Main issue was that you are not local, you might ditch it and move out any minute etc. so the risk for them is higher.

[GigiBronz]

The main problem is that the U.K government is curre you taking up to three and a half months to issue A1 social security certificates to British people who have been paying national insurance for a quarter of a century.

prisoners are not allowed to leave the prison. Not that it is any different in Europe, it is actually worse in most places including Spain if you have to work there. But if you are lucky and can arbitrage earning in a HCOL area while living in a LCOL area... it can work well.

Maybe persist with a few phone calls to the support line? It should be only a formality.

I've lived for 3+ months in Airbnb's here and not entirely sure if to pull the trigger on getting a more long term accommodation. Finding long term accommodation during the summer is also slightly more difficult as they would rather get tourists in at daily rates.

The UK economic situation might deteriorate in the near future as more information comes out. There are already issues with defaults, corporate leases, people struggling with debt, but I think more will follow in the next 3 months.
I would get my ducks in order asap so you can focus on what is next.