Daniel had spent two decades in engineering and the last two of them as Deputy General Director at his own firm. By 2024 he wanted Spain — but he also wanted to keep the firm running from a laptop. The Digital Nomad Visa fits exactly that brief, but only if the paperwork tells a clean story about the move from office to remote. UGE asked for that story twice before approving the case.
The client
Daniel is a UK-based chartered engineer with over twenty years in the field. Since 2005 he has served as Deputy General Director at the engineering company he co-founded — managing project portfolios, supervising senior engineers, and signing off on technical deliverables for institutional clients. The role had always been office-based.
By the time he came to us, Daniel had decided to relocate to Spain and continue running the firm remotely. The board had agreed. What was missing was the documented transition: until recently, his contract and salary structure had been written for an in-office director. Spain’s consular reviewers do not assume the transition; they look for it on paper.
Why the Digital Nomad Visa fit
We considered the Non-Lucrative Visa briefly and ruled it out: Daniel’s income was active (director’s salary), not passive, and he wanted to keep working. The DNV exists for exactly his profile — qualified professionals working remotely for a company outside Spain. The fit was clean on every objective criterion:
- The employer (his engineering firm) is registered outside Spain and operates outside Spain.
- The role is performable remotely — he had already been signing deliverables electronically through 2023.
- His monthly income comfortably exceeded 200% of the Spanish minimum wage (the DNV threshold; ~€2,442/month in 2026).
- His engineering qualifications and twenty-year track record matched the role on his contract.
- He could fly to Spain for the in-Spain application route — a 90-day Schengen visa-waiver stay covers the procedure.
What we filed
Daniel applied through the in-Spain residence authorisation route, processed centrally by the Unidad de Grandes Empresas (UGE) in Madrid. The file went in electronically the week he arrived in Spain. The full set:
- Employment contract with the engineering firm, plus a board resolution authorising the move to remote work.
- Letter from the company secretary confirming the firm’s foreign registration, sector activity, and Daniel’s seniority and salary.
- Three years of payslips and tax records demonstrating continuity of the working relationship.
- UK criminal record certificate (apostilled, sworn-translated).
- Private medical insurance with full Spain coverage and no co-payment.
- Engineering qualifications — chartered status certificate, university diploma (apostilled, translated).
The supplementary requests
UGE issued two requerimientos while reviewing the file:
- Supplementary contract. The case officer wanted a signed amendment to Daniel’s employment contract specifically formalising the transition from in-office to remote work, with the new salary terms reflecting that change.
- Three months of payslips under the new terms. UGE wanted to see that the new arrangement was already operational and being paid against — not a future plan.
Both requests pointed at the same gap in the original file: the transition to remote was assumed in the contract documents we provided, but not dated. The case officer wanted a clear “as of this date, Daniel works remotely under these terms” — and three months of payslips proving it had taken effect.
We turned the responses around within the statutory window: amendment letter from the firm, refreshed three-month payslip set under the new contract, brief covering letter referencing each piece of evidence to the corresponding requirement.
Outcome
Six weeks after the original filing, UGE issued a positive resolution. Daniel’s residence permit was granted for three years, with a built-in extension of two years available on renewal — five years on the route in total. He flew home to wind up affairs in the UK and returned to Spain to begin the TIE biometrics process.
“A massive thank you to ClickToSpain. The team was always available, which mattered most during the waiting period. Beyond the paperwork, they kept me calm during moments of doubt and stopped me from making any rash decisions. The result? A three-year visa.”
— Daniel, on working with ClickToSpain
What this case shows
Daniel’s case is the classic “transition to remote” DNV file. UGE will see a contract that was originally written for an office role and quite reasonably ask: when did the remote arrangement actually start, and is it already paying out under those terms? The answer needs to be on paper before you file, not promised in covering letters.
Practically, that means three things:
- Have your employer issue a formal contract amendment dated before your DNV application.
- Run at least one full month of the new payment cadence through your bank account — three months is safer.
- Reference the amendment in the company letter so UGE does not have to dig for it.
Get the chronology straight on paper and the case runs straight through. Skip it and expect a requerimiento, which adds weeks.
Last updated: 1 May 2026. Legal basis (unchanged): Ley 14/2013, article 74 quinquies (added by Ley 28/2022 of 21 December 2022); applications processed by Unidad de Grandes Empresas (UGE). Practice update: UGE’s documentation expectations for DNV cases have tightened materially since 2024 — particularly around income evidence and the clarity of the employment relationship. The file we would build today is heavier than the one described above.