American Business Development Manager (Client Company in Virginia, USA)

The Case & Challenge

The applicant, an American Business Development Manager, applied for Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa from within Spain as an employee of a company in the United States.

He had been working for the company full-time since March 2023 under a formal employment contract, with an annual gross salary of €70,600 declared in the application. The employer provided a letter expressly authorizing him to perform his role remotely from Spain, together with an official certificate of the company’s registration in the United States — both duly sworn-translated.

The application was submitted electronically through UGE (the Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos) on August 22, 2026, while the applicant was in Spain on a valid stay authorization.

Because he had recently arrived in Spain, the file needed to bring together every element UGE expects from an employed international teleworker: proof of the employment relationship, evidence of sufficient and regular income, qualification, health coverage, and a clean criminal record — each document in the correct form for a US-issued record.

The Strategy & Solution

We prepared the file around the US-specific requirements from the start. The employment contract and the employer’s remote-work authorization letter were accompanied by sworn Spanish translations, and the company’s official registration certificate confirmed that the employing entity existed and remained active in the United States.

Income was demonstrated with recent payslips and three months of bank statements showing salary payments from the US company, and his professional qualifications were supported by his degree together with proof of more than three years of relevant experience.

Two documents proved especially important. First, the certificate of coverage under the US–Spain social security agreement established that he remained covered by the US social security system — the standard route for employees of US companies seconded to telework from Spain. Second, his criminal record certificate from the United States was apostilled and sworn-translated, supplemented by a responsible declaration covering all countries of residence in the previous five years.

Private health insurance meeting Spain’s coverage requirements completed the file, alongside proof of entry into Spain and the designation of a representative in Spain for notifications.

The Outcome

The application was approved without any requerimiento — UGE raised no questions and requested no additional documents. The complete, correctly prepared file was sufficient on first submission.

On September 15, 2026 — just over three weeks after submission — the applicant was granted his Initial Residence Authorization for International Teleworkers, valid until September 14, 2029.

This case shows that when an employed applicant’s documentation is assembled correctly from the outset — with the US–Spain social security certificate, apostilled and sworn-translated records, and complete income evidence — a Digital Nomad Visa application can move through UGE smoothly and be approved well within a month.