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Digital Nomad Visa

Do retreats or workshops held in Spain count toward the Digital Nomad Visa's 20% Spanish-work limit — and is that limit calculated monthly or annually?​

The 20% limit under the Digital Nomad Visa law refers to the proportion of your total professional activity that comes from clients or companies located in Spain. The law does not specify whether this is measured monthly or annually, and published government guidance does not clarify the calculation period. In practice, most immigration lawyers recommend tracking it on an annual basis — so a single retreat that generates 18% of your annual income would generally be within the limit, even if that same retreat represents 70% of your income in the month it happens.

The more important question for retreat hosting is not the percentage itself, but whether the activity is permitted under the visa at all. The Digital Nomad Visa is specifically designed for professional activity performed remotely through computer and telecommunications systems. A paid, in-person workshop or retreat delivered in Spain may fall outside that definition — regardless of where the attendees come from — and this is not clearly addressed in the law or published guidance.

Before booking a venue or accepting payment for an in-person retreat in Spain, confirm with an immigration lawyer that the activity is permitted under your specific authorization. Separately, ask your gestor about Spanish VAT, invoicing, and any business-registration or insurance requirements that may apply.

Sources​

Confidence: ⚠️ Use as a starting point — verify with a professional · Last updated September 2026.

Notes​

The law refers to "professional activity" without defining the measurement period or method. Annual tracking using gross professional revenue is the most common approach recommended by practitioners, but it is not expressly required by Article 74 bis. The in-person nature of a retreat is the larger risk factor — the 20% calculation is secondary to confirming the activity type is permitted at all.