Having a Baby and Spain's Digital Nomad Visa: Before or After the Birth? (2026)

Being pregnant does not stop you from applying for Spain's Digital Nomad Visa, and a baby can join your permit at any time. Article 62.4 of Law 14/2013 allows minor children to apply for the same authorization as the main applicant, either together with you or later. What changes is the paperwork and the income you must prove: when a baby is your first family member, the monthly threshold rises from €2,849 to €3,917 (2026 figures, based on the SMI set by Royal Decree 126/2026).

This guide explains whether to apply before or after the birth, how a newborn joins your permit, which documents your baby needs and how health insurance works during pregnancy. If you are moving with a partner or older children, our guide to bringing your whole family to Spain on the Digital Nomad Visa covers the wider family rules.

Key Takeaways

• Pregnancy is not a requirement or an obstacle under Article 62.3 of Law 14/2013. Spain assesses your income, insurance and documents, not your pregnancy.
• A child who is not yet born cannot be included in an application. Your baby joins through a separate family application after the birth.
• Article 62.4 of Law 14/2013 lets children apply together with the main applicant or later, so you do not need to wait for the birth to apply.
• A baby who is your first family member adds 75% of the SMI to the threshold: €3,917 per month for one parent and a baby.
• A baby born in Spain receives a Spanish birth certificate, which needs no apostille or sworn translation.
• Plan to file your baby's application within six months of the birth.

Can You Apply for the Spain Digital Nomad Visa While Pregnant?

Yes. The general requirements in Article 62.3 of Law 14/2013 are a clean criminal record, health insurance, sufficient financial resources for you and your family, and payment of the fee. Pregnancy appears nowhere in that list, and it is not a ground for refusal.

What pregnancy does affect is planning. Three practical points deserve attention before you file:

Health insurance. If your profile requires private health insurance, check how the policy treats maternity before you buy it. Many private policies apply waiting periods to childbirth cover or limit cover for a pregnancy that started before the policy did.

Travel. If you apply from inside Spain, leaving the country while your application is pending has consequences for re-entry. Our guide on travelling while your Digital Nomad Visa is pending explains them. Airlines also commonly restrict flights in late pregnancy, so confirm the policy of your carrier.

Timing. The Unidad de Grandes Empresas (UGE) resolves applications filed from inside Spain in about 20 business days. A consular application takes longer and varies by country. Build that timeline around your due date, not the other way round.

Applying Before or After the Birth: How the Timing Changes Your Application

There is no single right answer. The choice depends on your income, where you plan to give birth and how close your due date is.

Applying before the birth often suits people whose income comfortably covers the threshold for one adult but is close to the family threshold, and people who want to give birth in Spain. The trade-off is a second application a few months later.

Applying after the birth suits families who prefer to give birth at home and move with the baby. It also means you file everything at once, but your baby needs a passport and an apostilled, translated birth certificate before you can submit.

If you are unsure which sequence fits your income and due date, request a free case evaluation and Hoply's immigration lawyers will map the timeline with you before you spend money on documents.

How a Newborn Joins Your Digital Nomad Visa

Your baby cannot be added to an application that was filed before they were born. Instead, the baby gets their own residence application as your family member.

Article 62.4 of Law 14/2013 is the key rule. It allows the minor children of the main applicant to apply "jointly and simultaneously or successively". Successively means later: your baby can apply after your permit is granted, as long as the family meets the income and insurance requirements at that point.

For a baby born in Spain, the Spanish Immigration Regulation also includes a specific residence authorization for children born in Spain to foreign residents (Article 159 of Royal Decree 1155/2024). That procedure must be started within six months of the birth. Which procedure fits your case depends on your file, so the safe planning rule is simple: have your baby's application ready and filed within six months of the birth.

If your baby is born while your own application is still pending, the baby's application depends on your authorization. In most cases it makes sense to file it once your own decision is known.

When your baby joins as your family member, their permit generally follows yours, and they will need to renew alongside you. Our Digital Nomad Visa renewal guide explains what that involves.

Documents for Your Baby: Born in Spain vs Born Abroad

The documents your baby needs depend mainly on where they are born.

A Spanish birth certificate is the easier route. It is issued in Spanish by a Spanish public registry, so it needs no apostille and no sworn translation.

A certificate issued abroad must be apostilled under the 1961 Hague Convention, or legalized through the consular route if the country is not part of the Convention. Our guide to consular legalization for non-Hague countries explains that process.

The passport is usually the slowest document. Start the request as soon as the birth is registered, because the baby's application cannot be filed without it. If only one parent is applying, the UGE may also ask for the other parent's consent for the child to reside in Spain.

How a Baby Changes the Digital Nomad Visa Income Requirement

Spain sets the Digital Nomad Visa income requirement as a percentage of the SMI, the national minimum wage, which Royal Decree 126/2026 fixes at €1,221 per month in 14 payments for 2026. The UGE's published criteria set the amounts per family size:

The detail most parents miss is that the second person in the household adds 75% of the SMI, whoever that person is. If you are a single parent, your baby is that second person, so the threshold rises by €1,068 a month, not by the €356 that each additional child adds. The couples guide explains the same jump for partners.

Only the main applicant's income counts toward these amounts. If your income falls short, you can cover the difference with savings that cover the gap for the full duration of the authorization.

Consider a freelance designer earning €3,400 per month who is expecting her first child and applying alone. She meets the €2,849 threshold for herself, but not the €3,917 needed once her baby joins. The €517 monthly gap over a three-year authorization means €18,612 in documented savings. Our guide to the Digital Nomad Visa income requirements explains how savings are documented.

Health Insurance for Pregnancy and a Newborn

Article 62.3(e) of Law 14/2013 requires public health insurance or private health insurance with a company authorized to operate in Spain. Each family member must meet this requirement, including your baby.

How that works in practice depends on your profile:

Remote employees. If you remain covered by your home country's social security, you need private health insurance, and your baby needs cover too. Check whether the insurer accepts newborns and how quickly you must add them after the birth. Our guide for remote employees covers the insurance requirement in more detail.

Freelancers and business owners. Once you register with Spain's self-employed scheme (RETA), you enter the Spanish public health system, and your family can usually be registered as your beneficiaries. That cover starts after your registration, which happens after approval. If your due date falls soon after arrival, consider how you will cover the gap.

In both cases, read the maternity terms of any private policy before you sign. Waiting periods and exclusions for a pregnancy already underway are common, and they vary by insurer.

Your Baby's Passport and Nationality

Being born in Spain does not, as a rule, make your baby Spanish. Your baby normally takes your nationality, so you request the passport from your own country's consulate.

Article 17.1(c) of the Spanish Civil Code is the exception. It grants Spanish nationality to children born in Spain to foreign parents when neither parent's law gives the child a nationality. This applies only in specific cases and should be checked individually.

Procedures differ by country. UK citizens, for example, do not need to register the birth with the UK authorities and can apply for a British passport directly, according to GOV.UK. US citizens usually report the birth through a Consular Report of Birth Abroad before or alongside the passport application.

Planning Your Family's Move With Hoply

A pregnancy adds a deadline you cannot move. The application that works is the one built around your due date, your income and the documents your baby will need.

Hoply combines a digital platform with immigration lawyers who review, prepare and file every application. We work out whether to apply before or after the birth, calculate the threshold for your family size and prepare your baby's application so it is filed on time. Every application is backed by a simple promise: approved, or your money back. Request a free case evaluation and we will tell you which sequence fits your family.