The Employer Letter for Spain's Digital Nomad Visa: What HR Must Write
Applications rarely fail on income. They stall on a one-page letter most HR departments have never written. Here is exactly what it must say.
Why this letter decides your application
If you are an employee applying for Spain's Digital Nomad Visa, Spain wants written proof that your employer knows you will work from Spain and formally authorizes it. Reviewers have tightened scrutiny on remote-work documentation — a vague "to whom it may concern" note does not survive review. The letter must be specific, and most US and UK HR teams have simply never produced one for Spain.
The five clauses the letter must contain
On company letterhead, addressed to the Spanish consulate handling your file, signed by someone with authority (HR director, manager, or officer), the letter should confirm:
- Employment relationship and seniority — your role, start date, and that you have been employed for at least 3 months (contract type stated: indefinite, or valid until a date).
- Express authorization to work remotely from Spain, full-time, for the duration of your residence there.
- That your role requires no physical presence at company offices — performed entirely online — and involves no services to clients located in Spain. This clause is what defuses reviewer objections; most rejected letters are missing it.
- Your gross annual compensation, matching your payslips and bank statements to the number.
- That the company has operated continuously for more than one year and remains in good standing.
Signature, printed name, title, company stamp if one exists, and a contact email and phone the consulate can verify. If your consulate requires it, add a sworn translation into Spanish by a MAEC-certified translator.
How to ask HR (without triggering a "no")
- Bring the draft. HR departments say no to research projects and yes to reviewing a ready-made letter. Hand them text to approve, not homework.
- Frame the Spain-clients clause correctly: it is a factual statement about your role, not a business restriction on the company.
- Expect legal review. Larger companies route this through counsel — budget two to four weeks, and start before anything else in your application.
- If HR hesitates on "authorization", the underlying questions are usually tax and employment-law exposure. Those are questions for the company's advisors — but a correctly scoped letter states facts about your role, which is what the consulate needs.
The companion document almost nobody mentions
For US W-2 employees there is a second paper: the SSA certificate of coverage under the US–Spain totalization agreement, showing you remain in the US Social Security system. It is the single most common stall point in W-2 applications — the SSA moves slowly, so request it the same week you talk to HR.
Checklist before you submit the letter
- All five clauses present, numbers matching payslips exactly
- Signed with verifiable contact details, on letterhead
- Dated close to your filing date (consulates dislike stale letters)
- Sworn translation arranged if your consulate requires it
- Consistent with everything else in your file — one mismatched figure invites a requerimiento
Want the letter drafted for you?
The Relocation Toolkit includes your employer authorization letter written ready for HR's signature, personalized to your case — plus cover and bank letter templates and a document checkup before you submit.
Xpat Spain is a self-help document preparation and information service — not a law firm, and not a substitute for a licensed lawyer. You make all decisions about your application; Spanish authorities decide outcomes. Requirements vary by consulate and change over time: verified August 2026 — always confirm with your consulate before filing.