Course Description

The course examines digital nomadism at the intersection of the sociology of work, migration studies, public policy, and entrepreneurship. How did the idea of location-independent work turn into a lifestyle, a market offering, and a distinct category of migration regulation? Why do European states seek to attract mobile professionals, and what social tensions accompany these policies?

A comparative analysis of EU country programs is complemented by an in-depth study of Spain and Portugal. Particular attention is paid to the cost of obtaining and maintaining status, the development of one’s professional activity, renewal conditions, and the transition to long-term residence and citizenship.

The practical component draws on the instructor’s own experience in Spain: obtaining an entrepreneur residence permit, launching a company, and working as an autónomo.

Prerequisites
It is recommended that participants have remote digital work and experience of professional relocation

Learning Goals
- Trace the development of the idea of digital nomadism and its institutionalization in European policy.
- Learn to distinguish between public perceptions, legal categories, and actual employment models.
- Master the comparative analysis of migration regimes and of the full cost of a chosen pathway.
- Develop a well-grounded strategy for residence and professional development that takes legislative changes into account.

Learning outcomes
Upon completing the course, you will be able to:
- analyze digital nomadism as a research category and a subject of public policy;
- verify the legal status of a program and distinguish a provision in force from a draft law or a promotional description;
- justify the choice of a Spanish route and draw up a preliminary preparation checklist;
- calculate the full cost of the chosen pathway with explicit assumptions and a reference date; draw up a roadmap that includes the legal basis, budget, milestones, required evidence, and a scenario for revising the plan.

Class topics

Session 1. From a Technological Idea to Public Discourse

How does digital nomadism become a socially significant category?
How an idea rooted in remote work and the globalization of professional markets (Makimoto and Manners’s Digital Nomad, 1997) spread through the media, tourism, and urban strategies, and after the pandemic became the basis for special migration regimes. How a digital nomad differs from a remote worker, an expat, and a migrant, and voluntary mobility from forced emigration. Debates over housing, taxes, and integration, and the problem of causality: how to separate the impact of nomads from other drivers of urban change.

Session 2. The Emergence and Evolution of Legal Models in the EU

How do states give legal form to work that is not tied to their territory?
What grounds for residence existed before special programs, and why they diverged from people’s actual activity. The first models — Estonia (2020), Portugal (2022), and Spain (Law 28/2022) — the distinction between a temporary stay and a residence permit, and a comparison of Spain, Portugal, Estonia, Croatia, Greece, and Italy. The hierarchy of sources, from EU law to agency instructions, and a method for tracking change: original wording, amendments, entry into force, transitional provisions.

Session 3. Spain: Remote Work, Innovative Entrepreneurship, and Cuenta Propia

Which legal basis matches your actual model of professional activity?
Three routes — the international remote worker, the entrepreneur residence permit, and cuenta propia — and the selection logic of each: the nature of the client relationship, qualifications, income, and the viability and innovativeness of the project. The instructor’s own experience: preparing the project, the ENISA assessment, working with the UGE, and how the permit connects to autónomo status and an S.L. company. Filing the application, responding to requests, and maintaining status through renewal.

Session 4. Spain and Portugal: The Cost of Obtaining and the Full Cost of Maintaining a Residence Permit

What exactly are we comparing when we call a country “cheaper” or “more advantageous”?
We compare routes by accessibility, documents, family provisions, and administrative predictability, and separate three levels of cost: obtaining status, maintaining it, and the cost of living. Why verifiable income, reserves, and actual expenses cannot be merged into a single “residence permit price”; tax residency and special regimes; one-, three-, and five-year scenarios that allow for delays and changing circumstances.

Session 5. From Temporary Status to Long-Term Residence and Citizenship

How do you design a multi-year pathway when the rules keep changing?
How renewing a temporary permit differs from long-term status, citizenship, and obtaining a passport. Timelines and rules for counting residence in Spain and Portugal; why, when laws change, the dates of entry and of each application carry different weight, and how the minimum period differs from the actual one. How changes in work, family, or country of residence affect the plan, and why an alternative scenario is needed.

Assessment
Final project: the defense of an individual 3–5-year pathway with a view to long-term residence and citizenship — a roadmap that includes the legal basis, budget, milestones, required evidence, and a scenario for revising the plan.

Assessment format: a brief public defense — a presentation of 5–7 slides and analytical theses of 1.5–2 pages. The work may serve as the practical component of the final project of the main course.

Criteria: quality of sources, soundness of the comparison, transparency of financial assumptions, feasibility of the route, and consideration of legislative uncertainty.

Teaching materials
Materials for participants
- Links to official legal databases, migration portals, and administrative instructions.
- Checklists for preparing documents to obtain and renew status.
- Templates for a comparative budget and an individual roadmap.
- A curated selection of verified chats and mutual support communities.
- Lists of vetted specialists for the countries covered, indicating their specialization and the basis for the recommendation.
- An annotated list of academic literature and high-quality information sources.