First: which type of consultant are you?

The visa treats these as two distinct situations with different evidentiary requirements.

W-2 employee of a consulting firm — You work for McKinsey, Deloitte, BCG, Accenture, a boutique strategy house, or any firm that puts you on payroll. Your income is reported on a W-2. This is structurally identical to any other W-2 remote worker case: you need your employer's written authorization confirming they permit you to work remotely from Spain, payslips, and — critically — an SSA Certificate of Coverage that takes approximately three months to obtain from the Social Security Administration. Your employer's HR department needs to be willing to cooperate. If they're not, the in-country route doesn't work.

Independent consultant (1099) — You bill clients directly, operate through a sole proprietorship, LLC or S-corp, and receive 1099-NEC forms. You are your own employer. This is a freelancer case: the key documents shift from employer letters to commercial contracts, invoices, bank statements and client letters. You don't need HR approval from anyone. Your case is governed by the same rules as the 1099 contractor framework.

Some consultants fall into a hybrid situation — for example, operating their own LLC while also holding a part-time W-2 engagement. These cases are manageable but require careful structuring to present clearly.

Income: usually not the obstacle

The main applicant must demonstrate financial resources of 200% of Spain's minimum wage — €2,849/month gross in 2026. For most U.S. consultants, especially those working at the management or strategy level, this threshold is not the challenge. What matters is how the income is documented.

For W-2 consultants, payslips and an employment contract or offer letter showing salary are sufficient. For 1099 consultants, the income story must be assembled from invoices, bank statements, contracts showing recurring fees, and possibly an accountant letter or tax return. The numbers need to be consistent across all of these — a contract showing $15,000/month needs invoices and deposits that reflect it. Irregular billing (typical in project-based consulting) is fine with a written explanation. Full income documentation guidance is in the income requirements guide.

The 20% Spanish-client ceiling

This is the most frequently misunderstood rule for consultants who serve international clients. The Digital Nomad Visa is designed for people whose professional activity is primarily outside Spain. Spanish law allows holders to work for Spanish clients — but no more than 20% of total professional activity may come from Spanish sources.

For management and strategy consultants who serve European clients, this requires an honest assessment before applying. If you have a Spanish corporate client that represents, say, 30% of your billings, you are over the limit for this visa. Reducing the share before filing, restructuring the relationship, or acknowledging that a different immigration route may be appropriate are the options. Do not build an application around Spanish clients and hope the issue goes unnoticed — it is a grounds for refusal.

Consultants whose European work is entirely non-Spanish (UK, German, French, Dutch clients) have no problem with this rule.

The company age requirement

The company you work for — whether as an employee or as the client of your independent consulting entity — must have been in business for at least one year. For W-2 consultants this means confirming the consulting firm's age, which is rarely an issue for established names. For independent consultants, the one-year requirement applies to the client companies you work with, not your own LLC — though if you are applying as a self-employed person with your own entity, that entity must also have been operating for at least one year.

The minimum relationship with that company must be at least three months before filing. New clients signed immediately before applying create documentation gaps that reviewers notice.

Retainers vs. project invoices: why contract structure matters

Spain's immigration reviewers look for stable, ongoing professional income. A monthly retainer contract — where you are engaged for recurring services at a defined monthly fee — documents this clearly and directly. A series of one-time project invoices documents the same underlying income less clearly, because it raises the question of whether more projects will follow.

This does not mean project-based consultants cannot qualify. Many do. But if you have a choice between structuring a client relationship as a retainer or as individual project SOWs, the retainer form documents better for immigration purposes. If your work is genuinely project-based, document continuity in other ways: a master services agreement with multiple work orders, client letters attesting to the ongoing relationship, a multi-year engagement history shown through invoices and bank records.

How many clients is the right number?

There is no rule requiring a minimum or maximum number of clients. Some consultants work with one anchor client on a substantial retainer — that is sufficient if the income clears the threshold and the relationship is properly documented. Others work with three to five clients simultaneously — that is also fine, but each client relationship needs to be documented individually. More clients means more contracts, more letters, more invoices to organize. The review is about the quality of the documentation for each relationship, not the count.

One-client dependency is not a problem per se, but it does raise the question of what happens if that relationship ends. That is more of a personal financial planning question than a visa eligibility question.

Qualifications: degrees and the experience alternative

Applicants must show either a university or business school degree, or a minimum of three years of professional experience in the field. Most consultants — especially those who came through structured firms — hold relevant degrees, typically in business, economics, engineering or law. This documentation is usually straightforward.

For consultants without formal degrees who built their expertise through years of industry experience, the experience route is available. Document it with a CV, professional references, previous contracts, engagement records and any other evidence that establishes the track record. The bar is not how many years you can count — it is whether the evidence is coherent and credible.

The employer cooperation question for W-2 consultants

W-2 employees of consulting firms need their employer to authorize remote work from Spain in writing and to support the Certificate of Coverage request through HR. This requires the employer's active cooperation — not just passive tolerance of remote work.

Large consulting firms increasingly have processes for international remote work authorization; some have done it for other employees before. Boutique firms may be less familiar with the process. In either case, the employer needs to be brought into the plan before the application process begins, not after. An employer who agrees verbally but is slow to execute documentation creates timeline problems that compound.

Independent consultants have none of this complexity. There is no employer to manage. If your clients are comfortable with you working from Spain — and if the work is truly remote, they typically are indifferent to geography — the only cooperation needed is a client letter confirming the relationship, which is a routine ask.

NDAs and confidentiality concerns

Some consultants worry that applying for a visa will expose their plans to their employer prematurely, or that documents submitted to the Spanish government will contain confidential information. A few practical clarifications.

Independent consultants do not have an employer to disclose anything to. You are the employer. Your client relationships are your business.

W-2 consultants at firms must involve HR regardless — the employer letter and Certificate of Coverage cannot be obtained without the employer's knowledge. The framing is typically straightforward: you are requesting authorization to work remotely from Spain, which is an internal HR process the firm controls.

On client information: the documents submitted to UGE identify your clients and the nature of the engagement, but not the substance of your work. Client names and contract amounts are routinely submitted. If a client NDA restricts disclosure of the existence of the engagement — which is unusual — discuss that specific situation before filing.

Taxes: what consultants need to know before moving

Living in Spain makes you a Spanish tax resident once you are present more than 183 days in a calendar year. For independent consultants, this means engaging with Spain's self-employment tax framework — VAT questions, invoicing requirements, RETA enrollment, quarterly obligations. For W-2 consultants, the picture is different but still requires cross-border tax planning.

The Beckham Law is often mentioned in this context — it offers a flat 24% tax rate on income up to €600,000 for up to six years. For W-2 consultants at high salary levels, this can be significant. For independent consultants, eligibility is more nuanced. Tax analysis needs to happen before the move, not after approval. My process concludes with a referral to vetted cross-border tax specialists who handle exactly this population. Do not assume the tax picture is simple because the visa picture looks straightforward.

If you are working remotely from Spain for a U.S. company, the broader U.S. tax obligations do not disappear. U.S. citizens file U.S. returns regardless of where they live. The question is how Spanish and U.S. tax obligations interact — which requires someone who understands both sides.

Is this the right visa for your consulting practice?

For most U.S. consultants serving American or non-Spanish international clients: yes, this is the right structure. Income clears the threshold, professional credentials are strong, the work is remote by nature, and the client relationships are documented through contracts and invoices. The path is clearer than it is for many applicant types.

The cases that require more analysis are consultants with significant Spanish-client revenue, those whose billing entity is relatively new, and those working in project-based engagements with less contractual continuity. A free assessment takes 15 minutes and gives you a written analysis of which bucket your situation falls into.

Take the free assessment or reach out through the contact page to discuss your situation directly.

Sources: Ley 28/2022 (BOE) · Ministerio de Inclusión — UGE. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Last updated: July 2026.