DIGITAL NOMAD VISA

IMHO, you need to be careful with what you are considering doing.

You say "Basically I am wanting to be in Europe for more than 90/180 as we want to be here in Spain for around 3 months at a time, plus,  visit other family members who are elsewhere in Europe." These visas are for people who want to LIVE in Spain, not just to avoid the 90 in 180 law.

Digital Nomad Visas are for those who want to LIVE in Spain, but work remotely 'in' another country. Non-Lucrative Visas are for people who want to LIVE in Spain, but do not need / want to work.

As with these visas you become a resident of Spain, you are then liable for tax in Spain; you will need to exchange your driving licence for a Spanish driving licence; you would be unable to drive a UK registration car in Spain (after 6 months maximum); you should prove that you no longer reside in the UK; you will be unable to use the NHS when you are in the UK, etc. etc.

I'm not familiar with all the rules for a Digital Nomad Visa, but with an NLV you can only leave SPAIN (i.e. not the whole EU / Schengen area) for a maximum of 10 months in the first 5 years.

I am aware that some solicitors are touting the NLV (and it would now appear the Digital Nomad Visa) as a way round the 90 in 180 law; but that is unlawful.

Thanks Rich. We have a business in Scotland which we can run remotely online and hoped this would be a way to stay in Spain for 3 months and also be able to visit our daughter who lives in Greece without waiting for 3 months to enter Europe again. I knew about the tax situation but not the driving and NHS side of it.  I am a bit concerned about actually going ahead with it. I want to keep (for the moment) our property in Scotland so possibly it is not the right thing to do now and I will have to just visit Spain for less time. 😳

Spain has applied (at the start of this year) to the EU to be exempt from the 90 in 180 rule, as they are already seeing less people buying holiday homes; some people selling up and returning to the UK, as they can't stay in their holiday homes as long as they wanted to; and all this is leading to a reduction in tax income, reduction in money coming into the Spanish economy, etc.

It is thought that this won't be allowed, as the EU likes consistency across all member states - and if they allow Spain to be exempt from one rule, they may be under pressure from other member states to become exempt from particular rules that they don't like. However, Spain may just informally tell their border control staff to ignore the rule; or they could create a separate bilateral agreement with the UK which would overrule the EU law.

If you do break the rules, then the penalties are heavy fines, bans on returning to the whole Schengen area for 3 years and potentially prison sentences - although I've read of only a very few examples of Brits being fined.

So, maybe it's best to wait and see if Spain can get exemption, etc. - or check if you have any Irish heritage which may enable you to get an Irish passport - then most of these issues go away..!

Thank you again. Do you think because we are going through the euro tunnel that it will make things worse for us because it is the French Border Control? When we leave we will not be over the 90 days (We will have been in Europe 88 days) but we hadn’t realised that our trip to Lisbon to see our son in March and our trip here in Spain for a few days in February would affect our 90/180 😳

When did you arrive in Spain and when do you return to the UK?

It's a rolling 180 days, so if you leave the EU in, say, mid-September, then as soon as 90 days have passed you can start your next stay...

There are several free online calculators that help with this, e.g.  https://www.visa-calculator.com/

Thanks, yes, I have since discovered these calculators.  We arrived in France on 3 May and then Spain on 4th May and we have the Le Shuttle booked for 31st July (all within 90 days) but I didn't realise until after I booked this trip that our previous trip to Spain for 14 days starting 16th February and also our 5 day visit to Portugal in March would cause a problem for these 90 days. 

We could leave earlier and try and change our booking but we have family arriving until 26th July.  I suppose I need to have a think about if they will accept my mistake, if they check or will they check?  

After your previous advice it seems although it would make life easier with a visa that it is not really the right path for us at the moment and the 90/180 rule will have to be managed properly in the future.

Thanks for your help

Personally, I think you will be ok.

In my experience, there are no border controls as you drive on the motorway from Spain to France - and then at the tunnel, French passport control when you're leaving France just check that your passport matches your face and waves you through - whereas at airports they tend to swipe the barcode section on the passport. 

If stopped (which I think is unlikely), I would just plead ignorance and apologise. A polite smile and acting humble goes a long way!

Yes, manage the 90 in 180 in the future. If you do decide to apply for a visa then I have a good lawyer I can recommend.

Good Luck!

Fantastic comforting advice 😍

At the end of the day we haven’t cost the Spanish anything for being here, on the contrary, have spent a bloody fortune in Spanish businesses furnishing our house and garden 😊

Will see how things go in our semi-retirement and might ask you for the lawyer details  🙏🏻

Diane 

Border control DO check regardless of which point you go through! Most passports are digital and these are scanned! It would be foolish to dismiss the rules and risk either fine or expulsion for 3 years. 🤷🏽‍♀️