Spain's Digital Nomad Visa — Rapid Uptake Under the 2023 Startup Law, Concentrated in Barcelona

Spain's Ley de Startups (Startup Law), approved by parliament in November 2022 and in force from January 2023, created a dedicated visa for remote workers employed by or contracting with companies based outside Spain, alongside other measures to attract entrepreneurs and investors.
Applicants must show they work for a foreign employer, or that no more than 20% of their freelance income comes from Spanish clients, hold relevant qualifications or experience, and meet an income threshold; successful applicants receive a residence authorisation valid for one to three years with Schengen-area travel rights.
Figures from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration's Observatorio Permanente de la Inmigración, reported independently by Genbeta and El Nacional, show granted digital-nomad residence permits roughly doubling from 9,537 in 2023 to 19,771 in 2024; more than 30% of 2024 permits (around 6,401) went to people settling in the Barcelona area, nearly double the roughly 3,514 who chose Madrid.
The scheme's concentration in a handful of cities has become a point of public debate: Barcelona's outsized share of arrivals has been linked in Spanish media coverage to local concern over housing costs and neighbourhood change, a cautionary reminder that fast-growing talent-attraction visas can create uneven local pressure even as national uptake figures look like a success story.

Read the full analysis: https://www.genbeta.com/laboral/33-gente-que-pidio-visados-nomada-digital-2024-fueron-a-vivir-a-barcelona-casi-doble-que-eligieron-madrid