Simple question, awkward answer. You look up how much you need to earn for the digital nomad visa, find two different figures on sites that look equally serious, and neither explains why it disagrees with the other.
It is not that one of them is wrong. It is that the same requirement — 200% of the Spanish minimum wage (SMI) — can be calculated on two bases, and the law does not say which. The gap is €407 a month, which is not exactly a rounding error.
Where the two figures come from
The 2026 minimum wage is set by Royal Decree 126/2026 of 18 February at €1,221 a month. That "a month" comes with small print: the SMI is set in fourteen payments. Over a year that is 1,221 × 14 = €17,094.
So which "monthly minimum wage" do you take 200% of?
- Take the figure exactly as the decree publishes it, €1,221, and 200% is €2,442 a month.
- Take the annual total and spread it over twelve months — 17,094 / 12 = €1,424.50 — and 200% is €2,849 a month.
Both calculations are correct. Both start from the same decree. And both are in use: the Consulate General of Spain in Washington publishes €2,442 for the main applicant, while a good share of immigration firms and specialist guides work with €2,849.
At a glance
| 14-payment basis | 12-payment basis | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly SMI 2026 | €1,221 | €1,424.50 |
| Main applicant (200%) | €2,442 | €2,849 |
| First family member (+75%) | €916 | €1,068 |
| Each additional member (+25%) | €306 | €356 |
| Applicant + spouse | €3,358 | €3,917 |
| Applicant + spouse + one child | €3,664 | €4,273 |
| Who uses it | Consular checklists | Administrative practice and law firms |
What to do about it
The prudent answer fits on one line: if you can evidence the higher figure, evidence the higher figure. Anyone reaching €2,849 satisfies both readings and never has this conversation. Anyone landing in between — say €2,600 — is in a band where the outcome depends on who reads the file, and that is an uncomfortable place to be after months of planning a move.
If your income sits in that band, there are two sensible moves before you file:
Ask your consulate in writing. Checklists on exteriores.gob.es vary between consulates and sometimes do not address this specific point. An email asking which exact amount they apply for the current year removes the doubt. Keep the reply.
Evidence it generously and from several sources. The requirement is to prove means, and nobody said they must come from a single payslip. Contract, employer letter, payslips, tax returns and bank statements all count together. A file showing €3,100 through three consistent documents reads far better than one showing €2,900 on a single sheet.
Family raises the bar; it does not double it
A common misunderstanding: bringing family does not multiply the requirement. It increases it in bands. On top of the applicant's 200% you add 75% for the first family member and 25% for each additional one.
In money, on the higher reading: alone, €2,849. With a partner, €3,917. With a partner and one child, €4,273. Each further child adds about €356.
It is worth doing the sum before deciding who comes in the first application and who follows, because it is a decision with a documentary cost too: every family member adds their own birth or marriage certificate, with its apostille and its sworn translation.
What gets translated, and what doesn't
All documentation in a foreign language is filed translated into Spanish, and in visa files that means a sworn translation by a translator accredited by the MAEC.
That said, "all" carries some important nuances by document:
- Employment contract and employer letter are translated in full. They are the core of the evidence and usually short.
- Payslips are translated, and if there are many it is worth asking the consulate how many months it actually wants before translating a whole year.
- Bank statements are the delicate case, because this is where files balloon. Criteria vary a lot between consulates — some ask for three months, others demand twelve with every page — so reading the checklist before ordering anything translates directly into money.
- A bank certificate, where your consulate accepts one, condenses into a page what statements take sixty to say.
One final point on timing, and it is the most useful advice in this article: translate at the end. Gather every final document first, check against the consular checklist that none is superfluous, and send the whole set to be translated at once. Translating as you go, document by document, is the surest way to pay twice for the same file.
The amounts quoted correspond to the minimum wage set by Royal Decree 126/2026 and change every year. This guide reflects practice at the date of publication; your consulate's checklist overrides any summary. Once your documents are settled, you can check the price of their sworn translation before ordering.