Digital Nomad Visa Income Requirements Jumped in 2026
Digital nomad visa income requirements rose across Europe this year, and two official-looking sources disagree on Spain's figure by over 400 euros.
Digital Nomads Magazine
Editorial Team
Written and curated by Digital Nomads Magazine.
Digital nomad visa income requirements are not fixed numbers. Most of them are pegged to something that moves: a minimum wage, an average salary, a statistical series published once a year. When those move, so does the bar, and 2026 moved it up almost everywhere in Europe.
If you checked a threshold in 2024 and filed it away, the figure in your head is wrong.
The 2026 digital nomad visa income requirements
| Country | Monthly income | How it is calculated |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | EUR 2,442 | 200% of the monthly minimum wage (SMI), which is EUR 1,221 for 2026 |
| Croatia | EUR 3,622.50 | 2.5 times the previous year's average net Croatian salary |
| Portugal | EUR 3,680 | Four times the national minimum wage of EUR 920 |
Checked against official government sources, September 2026.
Dependants cost extra and the formulas differ. Spain asks for a further EUR 916 a month for the first family member and EUR 306 for each one after that. Croatia adds 10% per family member. Portugal adds roughly half the minimum wage for a spouse, taking a couple to about EUR 4,140.
Spain's figure depends on who you ask
This one is worth slowing down for, because you will find two numbers in circulation and both are described as 200% of the Spanish minimum wage.
Spain pays its minimum wage in 14 instalments rather than 12. Take the monthly figure of EUR 1,221 and double it and you get EUR 2,442. Take the annual figure of EUR 17,094, double it, then divide by 12, and you get roughly EUR 2,849. Same rule, two answers, a difference of more than EUR 400 a month.
The Spanish consular guidance states EUR 2,442 per month, on the monthly basis. Several advisory firms publish the higher figure. If you are close to the line, budget for the higher one and apply on the lower, and ask your specific consulate before you assemble the paperwork.
These thresholds are recalculated every year and consulates sometimes apply them differently. Check the consulate you will actually apply at before you gather documents, rather than trusting any figure in an article, including this one.
Croatia will take savings instead of income
Croatia's monthly bar is the highest of the three at EUR 3,622.50, which prices out a lot of perfectly solid freelancers. Less widely mentioned: the Croatian Ministry of the Interior also accepts a lump sum in the bank, at EUR 43,470 for a 12-month stay or EUR 65,205 for 18 months.
For anyone with irregular income but a decent buffer, that is a completely different test and a far easier one to pass. Croatian stays run up to 18 months, with a further six months possible if you apply within 60 days of expiry. You cannot work for Croatian employers or serve Croatian clients on it.
Who just got priced out
Portugal is the uncomfortable one. At EUR 3,680 a month, the D8 now asks for an income that sits well above the median salary in Portugal itself, and above what plenty of experienced freelancers actually clear after a slow quarter. The visa that built the country's reputation as the default European landing spot has quietly become a visa for the well paid.
Spain is now the accessible one of the three, which is a reversal of how most people still think about the pair. Outside the eurozone the maths changes again, and countries that index to local salaries rather than European ones remain far cheaper to qualify for.
Every one of these thresholds is indexed to something that rises. Assume the number goes up each January and check it again before you apply.
The wider point is that a nomad visa is no longer only a way to stay longer. With Schengen days now counted automatically at the border, holding one is also what takes you out of the 90-day count entirely. That has quietly changed the value of clearing these thresholds.
The two biggest jumps are not in Europe
Mexico is the largest move of the lot, and it barely gets written about because Mexico has no dedicated nomad visa - remote workers use the Temporary Resident Visa, so it does not appear on nomad visa comparison lists. In July 2025 consulates switched from calculating the threshold against the minimum wage to calculating it against the UMA. The monthly requirement went from roughly $2,600 to roughly $4,400, and the savings route from about $43,000 to about $74,000. Guides written before that change are still quoting the old numbers, which is the difference between qualifying and being refused.
Estonia raised its bar to EUR 4,500 a month, up from EUR 3,504. Sources disagree about whether that is gross or net, and Estonia does not settle it clearly in English, so confirm with the consulate before you rely on either reading.
Checked 30 September 2026. Thresholds tied to a local index - Mexico's UMA, Colombia's minimum wage, Ecuador's SBU, the Czech average salary - move every year without an announcement. A figure in any article, including this one, is a starting point for a consulate conversation rather than a number to plan around.
Our country-by-country visa guide covers the application routes, and the real cost of being a digital nomad is worth reading alongside these figures, because qualifying for a visa and affording the country are two different tests.
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Written and curated by Digital Nomads Magazine · October 5, 2026
