Guide

Europe Digital Nomad Visas Compared: Income, Fees, Stay, Tax

A side by side look at the digital nomad and remote work visas of seven European countries, plus Germany, which has none. It covers minimum income, official fees, length of stay, tax residency triggers, and whether the time counts toward permanent residence.

Published: 2026-10-16 · Last verified: 2026-10-16 · Numbers apply to US passport holders

The short version

Of the eight countries in the JetlagMath data, seven run an active digital nomad or remote work route for US passport holders: Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Malta, and Italy. Germany has none. Spain has the lowest income bar at EUR 2,442 per month. Croatia has the lowest official fees at EUR 87.59 when you apply in country. Greece charges the most at EUR 1,016 to EUR 1,091. Only Croatia and Malta give remote work income a special tax treatment. In the other five, the normal residency tests decide whether you owe local tax.

Minimum income, converted

Each country sets its threshold in its own way. Some use a fixed figure, some a multiple of the minimum wage, and some a multiple of the average salary. Below, each figure appears in the unit the source uses, followed by the monthly or yearly equivalent.

• Spain: 200 percent of the 2026 minimum wage, which is EUR 2,442 per month or EUR 34,188 per year. Spain pays its minimum wage in 14 installments, so the yearly figure equals 2,442 x 14. Spread over 12 months, that works out to about EUR 2,849 per month. Add EUR 915.75 per month for the first family member and EUR 305.25 for each additional one.
• Greece: EUR 3,500 per month, or EUR 42,000 per year. If you earn a salary, the figure counts net income.
• Malta: EUR 42,000 gross per year, or EUR 3,500 per month. If you applied before April 1, 2024, the older EUR 32,400 threshold still applies to you.
• Croatia: 2.5 times the 2025 average net salary of EUR 1,449, which is EUR 3,622.50 per month or EUR 43,470 per year. Add EUR 144.90 per month for each additional family member. Savings can replace income: EUR 43,470 for 12 months or EUR 65,205 for 18 months.
• Portugal D8: four times the EUR 920 minimum wage, which is EUR 3,680 per month or EUR 44,160 per year. Your average income over the last three months must meet it.
• Estonia: EUR 4,500 gross per month, or EUR 54,000 per year. You must have earned it in each of the six months before you apply, from an employer, a company you own, or clients based mainly outside Estonia.
• Italy: three times the minimum income level for exemption from public healthcare co-payments. The decree gives no fixed euro figure, so the consulate applies whatever amount is in force when you file. Italy also requires at least 6 months of experience in remote work and a highly qualified profile, such as a degree or 5 years of professional experience.

Official fees

These totals cover government fees only. Health insurance, translations, and agent fees are extra.

• Croatia: EUR 87.59 if you apply in Croatia (EUR 46.45 for the stay, a EUR 9.29 issuance fee, and EUR 31.85 for the card). At a consulate it is EUR 55.74, plus EUR 41.14 if the card is issued there, for EUR 96.88. US citizens do not need the EUR 93 D visa.
• Estonia: EUR 120 for the D visa. Children aged 6 to 11 pay EUR 60.
• Spain: a USD 190 consular fee plus a EUR 9.84 NIE fee. The consulate says it reviews visa fees every quarter.
• Italy: a EUR 116 visa fee plus EUR 86.46 in permit charges at the Questura, for EUR 202.46.
• Portugal D8 residence: a EUR 110 visa fee plus AIMA fees of EUR 133.00 and EUR 114.30, for EUR 357.30. Through AIMA's digital channel it is EUR 295.60. The temporary stay version costs only the EUR 110 visa fee.
• Malta: a EUR 300 application fee per person plus a EUR 100 residence card fee.
• Greece: EUR 1,091 at a consulate (EUR 75 visa, EUR 1,000 permit, EUR 16 card). If you enter visa free and apply inside Greece, it is EUR 1,016.

How long you can stay

• Spain: a consular visa of up to 1 year. A residence authorization applied for inside Spain can run up to 3 years.
• Greece: a 1 year visa. The digital nomad residence permit runs 2 years.
• Portugal: the D8 residence permit runs 2 years and renews in 3 year periods. The temporary stay version allows up to 1 year.
• Croatia: up to 18 months per grant. You must then wait 6 months before applying again.
• Estonia: up to 365 days within 12 consecutive months. You can also spend up to 90 days in any 180 day period in other Schengen states.
• Malta and Italy: 1 year. Italy requires you to apply at the Questura within 8 working days of arriving.

Before your long stay status starts, every day in the Schengen area counts toward the 90 days in any 180 day limit. Use the Schengen calculator if you scout locations before applying.

Tax treatment and residency triggers

• Croatia: no Croatian income tax on pay from employers or clients not registered in Croatia while you hold nomad status. Any other income follows the general test: a domicile or habitual residence, with a stay test of at least 183 days over two consecutive calendar years.
• Malta: remote work income is not taxed for the first 12 months of the permit, then taxed at a flat 10 percent. In general, 183 days or more in a calendar year makes you tax resident.
• Spain: tax resident with more than 183 days in a calendar year, or if your center of economic interests is in Spain.
• Portugal: tax resident with more than 183 days in any 12 month period that begins or ends in the tax year, or if you keep a home you intend to use as your habitual residence.
• Greece: tax resident with more than 183 days in any 12 month period, and residence then counts from your first day. A permanent residence, habitual abode, or center of vital interests in Greece also triggers it.
• Estonia: tax resident if your place of residence is in Estonia, or with at least 183 days over 12 consecutive calendar months. There is no nomad exemption. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, and a US Estonia tax treaty applies.
• Italy: tax resident if, for most of the tax year (183 days, or 184 in a leap year), you have habitual residence, domicile, physical presence, or registration in the Anagrafe resident population register. No special regime applies to this visa.

How the day counts work: in Spain, arriving July 1 and staying through December 31 gives 184 days, which is more than 183, so you are tax resident for that year. Arriving July 2 gives exactly 183 days, which is not more than 183. Greece has a sharper edge, because crossing the line makes you tax resident back to your first day. Portugal's rolling 12 month window can catch stays that span two calendar years.

Processing times

This comparison does not list processing times. No official source confirmed them for these routes, and waits vary by consulate. Ask the office where you will file.

Permanent residence and the Germany gap

Time on Spain's, Greece's, and Italy's routes, and on Portugal's D8 residence permit, counts toward the 5 years needed for permanent residence. Portugal's temporary stay version does not count. Estonia's D visa does not count either, because Estonia only counts time on a residence permit. Croatia's 18 month cap and 6 month gap rule out the unbroken 5 years it requires. Malta states that its Nomad Residence Permit does not lead to long term residence, permanent residence, or citizenship.

Germany issues no digital nomad, passive income, or retirement visa. Remote workers there use other routes, such as the freelance permit, and German tax residence can start as soon as you keep a dwelling there.

Before you apply

Thresholds tied to minimum or average wages change every year, and Spain reviews its consular fees every quarter. Check every figure here against the official source listed below, and with the consulate or immigration office handling your file, before you pay or book travel. For tax planning, confirm your residency position with the tax authority or a qualified adviser in the country you choose.

Country pages

Portugal: every long stay route with the current math on the Portugal country page.

Spain: every long stay route with the current math on the Spain country page.

Croatia: every long stay route with the current math on the Croatia country page.

Estonia: every long stay route with the current math on the Estonia country page.

Germany: every long stay route with the current math on the Germany country page.

Greece: every long stay route with the current math on the Greece country page.

Malta: every long stay route with the current math on the Malta country page.

Italy: every long stay route with the current math on the Italy country page.

Official sources

• Embassy of Portugal in Washington DC, D8 residency visa for remote work checklist
• Embassy of Portugal in Washington DC, D8 temporary stay visa for remote work checklist
• Spain Ministry of Foreign Affairs, telework (digital nomad) residence visa, consulates in the United States
• Croatia Ministry of the Interior, digital nomads
• Estonia Ministry of Foreign Affairs, application for a long stay D visa
• Greece Joint Ministerial Decision 95391/2024, FEK B 1807
• Residency Malta Agency, Nomad Residence Permit eligibility
• Consulate of Italy in Brisbane, digital nomads checklist
• Make it in Germany (German federal portal), apply for a visa
• European Union, ETIAS official site

Facts in this guide last verified against the sources: 2026-10-16