Greetings, readers.If you are citizens of the United States and want to live in Spain while working remotely, the biggest hurdle is usually Social Security. Many applications are prepared with only the standard immigration criteria in mind but, as the administration does not work on assumptions—only on documents that genuinely prove what they claim—if the certificate does not match your circumstances, the file can become rather cumbersome.

WHY CAN REMOTE WORK BE A PRACTICAL PROBLEM?

Because for you, remote work is a way of organising your life; but for a Social Security agreement, it is a matter of secondment or the effective place of work. An international remote-work residence permit requires consistency and evidence that you work remotely for a company or clients outside Spain. The agreement determines which Social Security legislation applies and when double contributions are avoided. If the paperwork describes remote work as a voluntary arrangement, but you ask to be treated as a posted worker, the administration will request more evidence or may be unable to accept that route.

WHAT DOES THE SPAIN–USA AGREEMENT PROVIDE, AND WHERE IS ITS LIMIT?

At present, our reference point is the Social Security Agreement between Spain and the United States of America, and the administrative arrangement for its implementation, signed in Madrid on 30 September 1986 and in force since 1 April 1988. This serves to coordinate both systems and avoid double contributions; and, for digital nomads, what matters most is the applicable legislation during the stay.

As a general rule, you pay contributions where you work. The key exception is a temporary posting as an employee, when an employer sends the worker to the other country for a limited period. Public information on the agreement describes a typical framework of up to five years for such a posting, with a possible extension if accepted by the competent authority. This does not operate by presumption: it must be evidenced by a certificate of coverage or a certificate of applicable legislation issued by the competent authority.

WHAT DOES THE IMMIGRATION AUTHORITY ASSESS WHEN YOU APPLY TO RESIDE IN SPAIN AS DIGITAL NOMADS?

International remote-work residence falls under Law 14/2013 of 27 September on support for entrepreneurs and their internationalisation, following the amendments introduced by Law 28/2022 of 21 December on fostering the ecosystem of start-ups. Consequently, the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos) processes many applications and checks that what you claim can be verified through documents.

In practice, the main points they must confirm are that the employment or professional relationship is genuine; that there is effective remote provision of services to an entity or clientele outside Spain; the absence of de facto integration into the Spanish labour market; and a healthcare coverage solution. If you choose the agreement route, the administration needs a certificate of coverage that fits your specific scenario, because that document is what allows them to understand whether you remain covered by the US system or whether you must be brought into the Spanish system.

WHY IS IT REQUIRED THAT THE MOVE BE A TRANSFER DECIDED BY THE COMPANY?

An operational criterion conveyed by the Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit makes it fairly clear: to apply the agreement in Social Security matters, it is essential that working from Spain is treated as a secondment, not a mere authorisation to work remotely. It also adds the need to prove that the decision comes from the company and responds to organisational or strategic needs, and that the certificate must expressly state that it covers the posting as a remote worker to Spain.

This explains why many US-based profiles fail at this stage. If the company only authorises you to work from Spain for personal convenience, the element of an employer-driven posting is often missing and the certificate may not be issued with the required wording. In that scenario, even if you meet other immigration requirements, the application loses the foundation needed to sustain the agreement route and forces a rethink of the coverage and contribution strategy.

WHAT DOCUMENTS ARE NEEDED, AND WHAT ERRORS COULD CAUSE PROBLEMS?

Primarily, the documents that establish the fact of the secondment and those that prove coverage. A decisive document is often a letter from the company, signed by someone with authority, describing the temporary posting to Spain, the business reason for it, the expected period, the continuation of the employment relationship with the home entity, and the remote-working arrangement. That letter must be compatible with the contract and any internal addenda, without generic wording that undermines the concept of a posting. Alongside this, the certificate of coverage must be usable, with content that allows the administration to understand the scenario without having to interpret it.

The mistakes that most commonly trigger further requests for evidence are contradictions between documents; certificates that do not mention the posting to Spain or do not cover remote work; letters without dates or without a business rationale; documents lacking sworn translations where required; and signatures or job titles that do not allow responsibility to be verified. It can also be costly to submit the application first and chase the certificate afterwards, because if the certificate is not issued with the correct approach, it is not advisable to try to rebuild the file on the fly.

WHAT TYPICAL SCENARIOS EXIST, AND HOW DOES THE STRATEGY CHANGE?

If you are employed on a US payroll and there is a temporary posting decided by the company, the agreement is usually the most natural route. The strategy is to document the posting with clear business logic and obtain a certificate of coverage that describes the remote-work posting to Spain for a specific period, avoiding the need for Immigration to infer what should already be written down.

If you are employed on a US payroll but remote work is a personal decision, the fit with the agreement is usually weak. The prudent strategy is to accept that limitation from the outset and not build the application around a certificate that may not be obtainable with the required content. In these cases, it is typical to consider whether the company can convert it into a genuine posting with appropriate justification and documentation, or to prepare an alternative route for healthcare coverage and compliance that can also be evidenced.

If you operate as an independent professional with foreign clients, the discussion tends to revolve less around posting and more around where the activity is effectively carried out and which legislation applies. Living and working from Spain may mean that coverage and contributions must be arranged under the Spanish framework, and the most common risk is mixing concepts and trying to present yourself as posted when there is no employer sending you.

WHAT PRACTICAL STRATEGY REDUCES RISK FROM THE START?

The safest strategy is to finalise the Social Security piece first and then draft the rest so that it is fully compatible. Agree with the company whether there is a temporary, employer-driven posting, with dates and a business reason, and check that the contract, letter, addenda and certificate of coverage all say exactly the same thing. Make sure the certificate reflects the posting as a remote worker to Spain. If there is no posting or you cannot obtain a certificate with that content, plan an alternative coverage and compliance route from the outset—one that is also verifiable.

In any event, if your situation involves a US company or clients, remote work from Spain, and doubts about the certificate of coverage, reviewing strategies and documentation before submitting usually avoids later requests. At Immigration Services we can manage your case end-to-end, from analysing the agreement’s fit and reviewing the certificate of coverage to preparing and submitting the application to the Large Companies Unit, with a coherent, defensible documentary strategy from the start. If you need a friendly hand in your process, get in touch 😊