Staying a year or longer
The visa for international remote work is valid for up to one year when you apply from Canada. It itself evidences residence, so a foreigner identity card is optional. After the visa year, the route continues with a residence authorisation applied for from inside Spain, granted for three years when you are legally in Spain. The income test is 200% of the Spanish minimum wage each month. To be safe, have more than €2,500 a month.
- Employees show at least three months with an employer that has existed for at least a year and authorises remote work.
- Freelancers show at least three months with their clients, and may take up to 20% of their work from Spanish companies.
- You also need a degree or three years' experience. The same income, qualification and relationship conditions apply to the longer authorisation.
- The non-working residence visa is not an alternative here, because it does not authorise work.
More detail
The 2026 decree sets the minimum wage at €1,221 a month. The Spanish consulate in Washington publishes the income figure for 2026. The Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa pages state the percentage but no euro figure.
Reading the annual minimum wage (€17,094) spread over 12 months gives a higher amount. On that reading, have more than €2,900 a month. Ask your consulate which amount it applies, and recheck in 2027, as the minimum wage changes each year.
Sources: Embassy of Spain in Ottawa, Spanish Ministry of Economy, Boletín Oficial del Estado (Royal Decree 126/2026), Consulate General of Spain in Washington, Consulate General of Spain in Toronto, Consulate General of Spain in Montreal. Checked 4 October 2026.
Documents, fees and timing
You prepare a passport valid for at least a year with two blank pages, an RCMP fingerprint-based criminal record certificate with an apostille and an official Spanish translation, and proof of legal residence in Canada. You also need health insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain, employer or client certificates, the company's registry certificate, social security evidence, proof of income, and your degree or work history. The Ottawa embassy states a legal deadline of 10 days from submission, extendable if documents or an interview are requested.
- Applications are in person, by appointment. The visa must be collected within one month of approval.
- The Toronto consulate serves Ontario outside Ottawa and the western provinces and territories. Montreal serves other areas.
More detail
The passport must be issued within the last ten years. We found no visa fee in the research, so it is unknown here.
Sources: Embassy of Spain in Ottawa, Consulate General of Spain in Toronto. Checked 4 October 2026.
Tax
A year away does not by itself end Canadian residence. The CRA looks at residential ties, and if you keep a home or other main ties in Canada, you are usually still a factual resident. Spain treats you as resident if you spend more than 183 days there in a calendar year, or if your main economic interests are there. Residents pay personal income tax (IRPF) on worldwide income, subject to the tax convention with the country the income comes from.
- You usually become a non-resident of Canada on the latest of leaving, your family leaving, or becoming resident abroad.
- If you emigrate, you are treated as having sold most property at fair market value on departure. Form T1161 applies if the property you own is worth more than $25,000, and you can elect to defer paying the tax.
- A Canada–Spain social security convention has applied since 1988. The CRA's form CPT125 requests a certificate of Canada Pension Plan coverage under it, and the visa accepts such a certificate in place of Spanish social security registration.
- Employees on the remote work visa may be able to opt, with form 149, for a special regime for the year they become resident and the five following years, if they were not resident in Spain in the previous five years.
More detail
The tax agency's description of the special regime names employees. Freelancers register for social security as self-employed. We assume no special rate or saving.
Whether the convention certificate fits your situation needs checking. Spanish income tax rates are not covered here.
Sources: Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria), Canada Revenue Agency, Department of Finance Canada, Government of Canada, Spanish Social Security (Import@ss), Embassy of Spain in Ottawa. Checked 4 October 2026.
Setting up
Provincial health cover depends on your province. Ontario, for example, can keep OHIP for up to two years away if Ontario stays your primary home and you meet the presence rules, or for full-time work abroad. For the visa, you need insurance from an insurer authorised in Spain covering all risks of the public system, unless you prove Spanish social security cover. Everyone living in Spain must register on the municipal register (padrón) where they habitually live.
- A foreigner identity number (NIE) is assigned by the police to people with economic, professional or social dealings in Spain.
- A foreigner identity card is for stays over six months, and appointments can be weeks away.
- Keep statements from your personal Canadian account, because they support the income evidence. If you emigrate, tell Canadian payers and banks that you are no longer resident.
- In Spain, a basic payment account has a maximum fee of €3 a month. Ask any bank for its exact documents before arriving.
Sources: Government of Ontario, Embassy of Spain in Ottawa, Spanish National Police (electronic office), Spanish National Statistics Institute (IDA-Padrón), Banco de España, Canada Revenue Agency. Checked 4 October 2026.
Living in Zaragoza
Zaragoza is the city the research looked at most closely. It has hot summers and cool winters. At Zaragoza Airport, the 1981 to 2010 July mean maximum is 32.4°C and the January mean is 6.6°C. We found no official source for rents or other living costs there, so they are unknown here.
Sources: Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). Checked 4 October 2026.
Other places we looked at
The research also looked at Seville and Valencia, for contrast. We found no official source for rents in either place, so they are unknown here.
- Seville: Triana, across the Guadalquivir, keeps its ceramic heritage, flamenco and riverside bars, according to the city's tourism site.
Sources: Visita Sevilla (Seville city tourism). Checked 4 October 2026.
Canada
Spain