Health cover for the Spanish Digital Nomad Visa. We explain which coverage pathway applies to your application and, where private insurance is needed, the policy and certificate options available through 247.
The short answer
Your application has to evidence healthcare coverage in Spain. Where that evidence comes from a private policy, the published condition is cover from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, with no copayments, no waiting periods and no cap on the cover. That wording comes from the Unidad de Grandes Empresas instruction sheet dated 24 June 2025 rather than from the statute itself, and it is stricter than the condition attached to other residence routes.
Private insurance is not the only route, and this is the part most often got wrong. Where the applicant will be affiliated to Spanish Social Security, or holds qualifying coverage evidence issued by another country under an applicable social-security agreement, a private certificate may not be required at all. Establish which of those applies to you before buying a policy — the sections below set out how each case works.
Applying for the visa itself? That is a separate service from your insurance. If you would rather have the application prepared and submitted for you, see the Digital Nomad Visa application service. Your health insurance is still arranged here.
Understanding the visa
DNV stands for Digital Nomad Visa. In Spain the route's formal name is the visado para teletrabajadores de carácter internacional — the visa for international teleworkers — but immigration guidance, consulates and applicants all shorten it to DNV. If you have seen “DNV” in a Spanish immigration context, this is the visa it means.
For the route itself, see how the Digital Nomad Visa route works.
Spain's Digital Nomad Visa — officially the Visa para Teletrabajadores de Carácter Internacional — was launched in 2023 as part of Spain's Startup Law. It allows non-EU nationals who work remotely for companies or clients outside Spain to live in the country legally, without needing a Spanish employer.
The DNV is designed for two groups: employees of foreign companies working remotely from Spain, and self-employed freelancers or business owners whose clients are primarily based outside Spain. Authorisation length and renewal conditions are set by the immigration route and can change, so check the current rules applying to your own application.
A DNV application has to evidence qualifying healthcare coverage. Where the application relies on private cover, published checklists commonly ask for comprehensive cover from an insurance company authorised to operate in Spain, and some expressly exclude copayments. Check the checklist that applies to your application.
Spain's visa system is layered — DNV is just one route. Here are the other Spanish visa health insurances we arrange.
Cover for the non-lucrative visa — Spain's classic retiree route.
Learn moreCompare visa-specific health insurance for all the main Spanish residency routes.
Learn moreCover that meets Spanish consulate requirements for student visa applications.
Learn morePolicies from insurers authorised to operate in Spain, with certificate wording you can check against your consulate’s current list.
Learn moreFirst, check how you will be covered
A Digital Nomad Visa application has to evidence qualifying healthcare coverage. Depending on how you work and where your social-security obligations remain, that evidence may come from Spanish Social Security, from qualifying coverage evidence issued by another country, or from private health insurance.
Which evidence is accepted depends on the route and on the office handling your application, so confirm the current requirements with that office, or with the professional or competent authority dealing with your case, before you buy anything.
Check the current instructions for the consulate or office handling your application. Published DNV checklists commonly ask for comprehensive healthcare coverage comparable to Spain’s public health system, provided by an insurance company authorised to operate in Spain and maintained for the relevant authorisation period. Some checklists expressly exclude copayments, waiting periods or coverage limits. Travel insurance is not an alternative to qualifying health cover.
The DNV is a relatively new visa, launched in 2023. Consulate experience with it is still developing, and some consulates have interpreted the health insurance documentation requirements slightly differently in practice. Our team are familiar with the current requirements across the main consulates handling DNV applications from UK, US, Canadian, and other applicants, and can advise on what your specific consulate expects.
Is this visa for you?
The DNV is open to two main groups of remote workers.
If you work as an employee for a company based outside Spain, and your role can be carried out entirely remotely, you may qualify for the DNV. You must have been employed by the same company for at least three months, and the company must not have a significant presence in Spain. Typically, you may earn up to 20% of your income from Spanish clients or companies.
If you are self-employed and work for clients or companies based outside Spain, the DNV is also available to you. You will need to demonstrate that you have an established freelance or business activity, that your clients are primarily abroad, and that your income meets the minimum threshold (typically set at a multiple of the Spanish minimum wage, currently reviewed periodically).
The DNV can include family members — a spouse or partner, and dependent children — as part of the same application or as dependants. Each family member will need their own health insurance certificate meeting the same requirements.
Avoid these errors
International health insurance — even policies from well-known providers that technically include Spain — will not be accepted. Published checklists ask for cover from an insurance company authorised to operate in Spain, and the insurer should appear in the applicable DGSFP register. Check what the office handling your application requires before relying on a policy issued elsewhere.
Copayment policies are widely sold because they cost less. If the applicable checklist excludes copayments, a copayment policy will not meet that requirement. Check the current instructions for the office handling your application, and if you are unsure what the wording requires, send it to us before you buy.
While technically permissible, having family members on different insurers' policies can complicate the application and create inconsistencies in documentation. We typically recommend keeping all applicants on the same insurer's policy where possible.
Your health insurance should be active from your intended entry date into Spain. Starting the policy too early can mean it expires before your visa does; starting it too late can create a gap in cover at the start of your residency.
Once a policy is arranged, the formal certificate from the insurer takes a short amount of time to be issued. Do not leave this to the day before your consulate appointment — give us and the insurer time to prepare the correct documentation.
Our process
Which consulate? Employed or self-employed? Family members included? Intended start date? Any pre-existing health conditions? We gather what we need to recommend the right policy.
We explain the options available through 247 from insurers authorised to operate in Spain, and what each policy’s certificate can show. Explained in plain English.
Once you proceed, we arrange the policy and coordinate with the insurer to obtain the required certificate.
With your compliant insurance certificate in hand, the health insurance element of your application is handled. We remain available if your consulate has questions.
If your authorisation continues to rely on private insurance, keep the policy and supporting certificate under review before they expire. Renewal and immigration requirements can change, so check the current conditions applying to your authorisation and contact us in good time if you need continued private cover.
Why choose us
Getting the health insurance right on your DNV application matters. We have the knowledge and the relationships to make it straightforward.
We only recommend policies we know to be accepted for DNV applications. No guesswork, no policies that will cause problems at the consulate.
We work with the insurer on the required certificate and keep you updated throughout the process.
We work with applicants from all over the world applying through different consulates. If your consulate has specific requirements, we are already familiar with them.
We arrange cover for family members with the same insurer where available.
All advice, documentation, and certificates in English. No Spanish-only paperwork to navigate at a critical stage of your application.
We are available Monday to Friday. Whether your consulate appointment is on a Tuesday or a Saturday, we are here to help.
Employed, self-employed or with family
The insurance question on this route is really a question about how you will be contributing in Spain. Settle that first, because it decides whether you need a private policy at all.
The practical order. Confirm how you will contribute, then buy. Applicants who buy a policy first and discover afterwards that they will be affiliated in Spain have paid for evidence the file did not need. Applicants who assume affiliation and cannot show it at the point of application have the opposite problem, and less time to fix it.
Timing
The certificate is issued after the policy is set up, not at the same moment, so it is the document most likely to hold up a file that is otherwise ready.
Where your application relies on private cover, the certificate is normally expected to show:
Arrange cover before the appointment rather than after it, and allow working days for the certificate itself. Appointment dates rarely move to accommodate a document that has not arrived.
Common questions
Questions we hear regularly from DNV applicants. If yours is not answered here, call or WhatsApp our team — Monday to Friday.
The application has to evidence qualifying healthcare coverage, and that is not the same as saying a private policy is always required. Published checklists ask for proof of public or private health insurance arranged with an insurance company authorised to operate in Spain, and state that a certificate is not necessary where coverage by the Spanish public Social Security system is proven. Some checklists also allow a certificate of entitlement issued by another country’s competent institution where an applicable international social-security agreement covers healthcare in Spain. Where an application relies on private insurance, checklists commonly ask for comprehensive cover comparable to Spain’s public health system, from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, maintained for the authorisation period. Some expressly exclude copayments, waiting periods or coverage limits. Confirm which pathway applies to your case with the office handling your application. If it will rely on private insurance, we can explain the policy and certificate options available through 247.
Published checklists ask for cover from an insurance company authorised to operate in Spain, appearing in the applicable DGSFP register. A policy issued elsewhere may not satisfy that requirement even if it covers treatment in Spain. Check the current instructions for the office handling your application, and we can explain the policy and certificate options available through 247.
Premiums vary by age, the people included and the insurer. The only reliable figure is a quote based on your own circumstances — ask us and we will price the options available through 247.
Yes. If you are including a spouse, partner, or dependent children in your DNV application, each person will need their own health insurance certificate. We can arrange cover for all family members together, typically on the same insurer's policy. We arrange an individual certificate for each person and check that it is in the required format.
The Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) is for people who work remotely for foreign companies or freelance clients — you must have an income from abroad. The Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) is for people who want to live in Spain without working — typically retirees or those with passive income. Both routes require evidence of qualifying healthcare cover, and the published checklist for each should be checked separately — they are not identical. See our NLV health insurance Spain page for more details on the NLV requirements.
Yes. Your Spanish health insurance policy continues after you receive your TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero). The same policy that met your DNV application requirements is the policy you will use for day-to-day private healthcare in Spain. It will also need to be renewed and remain compliant when you renew your residency card.
Certificate preparation times depend on the insurer, the completed application and any information or underwriting required. Ask us for the current expected timeframe before relying on a particular submission date, and contact us early if your appointment is close.
Renewal conditions are set by the immigration route and can change, so check the current requirements applying to your authorisation. We contact you before renewal and help you maintain continuous cover.
DNV stands for Digital Nomad Visa. Its formal Spanish name is the visa for international teleworkers, and it is the residence route for non-EU nationals who work remotely for companies or clients based outside Spain.
Possibly not. Where an applicant will be affiliated to Spanish Social Security after the authorisation is granted, the processing unit's instruction sheet treats the private insurance evidence as unnecessary. Where that affiliation is not in place at the point of application, the file is usually evidenced with private cover instead. Confirm how you will contribute before buying a policy.
Normally yes. A spouse or partner and dependent children are each expected to have their own certificate, priced on their own age. They are not covered by the main applicant's certificate by default.
Applying for Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa? Request a DNV health insurance quote and we’ll arrange the policy and certificate options for your application.
More from 247 Expat Insurance
The statute allows public or private cover. The digital nomad route requires health cover from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain, and accepts either public or private provision.
The no-copayment rule is documented for this route. The processing unit’s own instruction sheet states, in terms, that travel insurance, policies based only on reimbursement of medical expenses, and policies with copayments or waiting periods are not accepted. Unlike the non-lucrative visa, this is written into the published documentation for the route rather than inferred from one consulate’s checklist.
If you will join Spanish Social Security, the insurance documents may not be needed. Where an applicant will be affiliated to Spanish Social Security after the authorisation is granted, the instruction sheet treats the private insurance evidence as unnecessary. Which applies to you depends on how your work is structured, so confirm it before buying a policy you may not need.
Primary sources. Ley 14/2013, article 62.3(e). Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos, Solicitudes iniciales de autorización para teletrabajadores de carácter internacional, instruction sheet dated 24 June 2025 — the source of the no-copayment and no-waiting-period condition. First-party extraction 4 October 2026. Reviewed 6 October 2026.
