Meridian · Freshness tracker

What's changed.

Dated updates to visa, tax, residency, citizenship, housing, and labour policy across every country tracked. Every entry cites its primary source and the date we last verified it.

Subscribe via RSS ↗ · 14 entries shown

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Category All categoriesVisa & immigrationResidencyCitizenshipTaxationLabourHousingHealthcareOther
In force 1 Jul 2025
In force Housing

National short-term rental registry (Registro Único de Alquileres) mandatory

From 1 July 2025 all operators of short-term rental accommodation (Airbnb, Booking, direct-bookings) must register with the national Registro Único de Alquileres and display the registry number in listings. Designed to enforce licensing compliance in major tourist cities. Related municipal moratoria (notably Barcelona's plan to eliminate tourist rental licences by 2028) continue separately.

Who it affects: Short-term rental hosts and tourist-accommodation operators.

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · La Moncloa — Spanish Government ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 20 May 2025
In force Residency

Family regrouping permitted after one year of residence

Under the 2025 Immigration Regulation, non-EEA residents with permits including the DNV, HQP, and NLV can apply for family regrouping after one year of residence — rather than waiting until the first renewal (typically two years). Materially shortens the timeline for reuniting with a spouse and dependent children.

Who it affects: DNV, HQP, NLV, and other non-EEA residence-permit holders seeking family regrouping.

Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones ↗ · BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 20 May 2025
In force Residency

New Immigration Regulation (Real Decreto 1155/2024) enters force

Real Decreto 1155/2024 — a comprehensive update of the Immigration Regulation — entered force on 20 May 2025. Material changes include: family regrouping permitted after one year of residence (previously at first renewal), updated definitions for several residence categories, and clarified pathways between permit types. Also implements changes to the Non-Lucrative Visa and Digital Nomad Visa operational procedures.

Who it affects: All non-EEA residents and applicants to Spanish residence permits from 20 May 2025.

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones ↗ · La Moncloa — Spanish Government ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 3 Apr 2025
In force Residency

Golden Visa (investor residency via real-estate) abolished

The Residence by Investment programme allowing residence in exchange for €500,000 in Spanish real estate was abolished on 3 April 2025, via modification of Ley 14/2013 under the Organic Law on the right to housing (Ley de Vivienda). Other investment routes (public-debt, business capital) remain, but the widely-used real-estate route is closed. Application submitted before the cut-off date continue to process under prior rules.

Who it affects: High-net-worth non-EEA applicants to the Spanish investor-residence route via real estate.

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · La Moncloa — Spanish Government ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 22 Jan 2025
Repealed Taxation

Real Decreto-Ley 9/2024 tax measures repealed

RDL 9/2024, enacted in December 2024 with a broad package of individual-taxation amendments, was rejected by Congress during its mandatory convalidation vote on 22 January 2025 and therefore repealed retroactively. The net effect is that the tax rules in force before December 2024 (including the Beckham Law as constituted under the 2023 Startups Law) remained unchanged. A political signal of the Sánchez coalition's fragility during this period.

Who it affects: Beckham Law beneficiaries and other individual-tax regimes potentially affected by RDL 9/2024.

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · Agencia Tributaria (Spanish Tax Authority) ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Jan 2025
In force Labour

Minimum Interprofessional Salary (SMI) raised 4.4% to €1,184/month for 2025

Retroactively effective 1 January 2025, the SMI rose from €1,134 to €1,184 per month (14 payments per year). This has flow-through effects on residence-permit income thresholds pegged to SMI — notably the Digital Nomad Visa minimum income requirement (200% SMI = €2,368/month) and derivative permits.

Who it affects: Low-wage employees; DNV applicants and other permit categories with SMI-linked income thresholds.

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · La Moncloa — Spanish Government ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Jan 2025
In force Visa & immigration

US W-2 employees confirmed eligible for Digital Nomad Visa

Consular practice in 2025 confirmed that US W-2 employees (employees on US payroll) can qualify for the Digital Nomad Visa, clarifying an ambiguity from the original 2023 Startups Law that had caused inconsistent consular decisions. Eligibility requires the employer to provide documentation authorising remote work from Spain and evidence of social-security compliance.

Who it affects: US remote workers employed through standard W-2 arrangements with US companies.

Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, UE y Cooperación ↗ · Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 26 May 2023
In force Housing

Housing Law (Ley 12/2023) creates "tensioned" rental-market zones

Ley por el Derecho a la Vivienda entered force on 26 May 2023. Introduced the "zonas de mercado residencial tensionado" (tensioned residential-market zones), rent-price caps for large landlords in designated zones, and tax incentives for long-term letting. Implementation is opt-in at the autonomous-community level — Catalonia has activated it widely; Madrid has not. Directly affects rental-market dynamics in major Spanish cities.

Who it affects: Tenants and landlords in designated tensioned zones (notably Barcelona).

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · La Moncloa — Spanish Government ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Jan 2023
In force Visa & immigration

UGE-CE fast-track for HQP/startup/ICT applications established

The Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (UGE-CE) was formalised as the specialist processing unit for Highly Qualified Professional, Startup, and Intra-Company Transfer applications under the Startups Law. Typical processing: 20 working days, vastly faster than the standard Work Visa pathway. Reduced administrative friction has been material to the Startups Law's adoption.

Who it affects: Employers hiring into the HQP, Startup Visa, and ICT routes.

Large Companies and Strategic Groups Unit (UGE-CE) ↗ · Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Jan 2023
In force Taxation

Beckham Law expanded to digital nomads and shortened non-residency period

Under the Startups Law, the Beckham Law special tax regime was expanded to explicitly cover holders of the DNV and HQP routes. The minimum pre-relocation non-residency period was reduced from 10 to 5 years, materially opening the regime to more applicants. The 24% flat rate on Spanish-source income up to €600,000 remains unchanged.

Who it affects: Digital Nomad Visa holders, Highly Qualified Professional hires, and other non-EEA movers.

Agencia Tributaria (Spanish Tax Authority) ↗ · BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Jan 2023
In force Visa & immigration

Startups Law (Ley 28/2022) enters force — DNV and HQP introduced

Ley 28/2022 de fomento del ecosistema de empresas emergentes ("Startups Law") entered force on 1 January 2023. Created the Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) for remote workers and expanded the Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) route. The law also expanded the Beckham Law tax regime to include holders of the DNV and shortened the pre-relocation non-residency requirement from 10 to 5 years.

Who it affects: Remote workers, qualified international hires, and founders considering Spain.

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · La Moncloa — Spanish Government ↗ · Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 1 Jan 2023
In force Labour

Self-employed (autónomo) contributions reform — income-based from 2023

Real Decreto-Ley 13/2022 replaced the long-standing flat-rate autónomo social-security contribution with a 15-band income-based contribution system from 1 January 2023. Low-income self-employed benefit; high-income autónomos face higher contributions. Gradual transition running through 2032.

Who it affects: All self-employed workers in Spain — including DAFT-style permit holders structured as autónomos.

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · Tesoro Público (Spanish Treasury) ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 16 Aug 2022
In force Residency

Arraigo para la Formación route created

Real Decreto 629/2022 introduced a new "arraigo para la formación" (integration through training) regularisation route from 16 August 2022. Allows non-EEA residents with two continuous years of residence to regularise status by enrolling in a recognised training programme leading to an occupation on the shortage list. Has become a significant practical pathway for irregular-to-regular transition.

Who it affects: Non-EEA residents in irregular status considering regularisation through training.

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones ↗ · verified 2026-04-19

In force 12 Aug 2021
In force Labour

Riders Law establishes presumption of employment for delivery platform workers

Real Decreto-Ley 9/2021 ("Riders Law"), in force from 12 August 2021, established a legal presumption that delivery-platform workers (Glovo, Deliveroo, Uber Eats) are employees rather than self-employed. Expanded by jurisprudence through 2023–2025. A precedent-setting piece of EU platform-work legislation, influential for the subsequent 2024 EU Platform Workers Directive.

Who it affects: Platform-work couriers and delivery-platform operators in Spain.

BOE — Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spanish Official Gazette) ↗ · La Moncloa — Spanish Government ↗ · verified 2026-04-19