Digital nomad visas allow temporally residency in a specific country, usually with a longer allowance than the tourist visa allows. These types of visa allow you to work while you are in the country and might offer attractive tax conditions, but some requirements must be met.
Digital nomad visas only apply if you are working remotely, i.e., your income comes from a different country to the one where you want to be residing. If you want to open a restaurant or a hostel, a digital nomad visa will not cover your employment.
1. Minimum monthly income.
This will differ country by country, but most countries will require you to prove you are earning a minimum income from abroad. For example, Portugal digital nomad visa requires a minimum income $2,750 per month, Greece requires a monthly €3,500 and Colombia just $750 (3 times the minimum national wage).
As you can see, this might differ a lot depending on the country. This requirement is set in place to ensure that you can pay for yourself during your stay. It is also a way for the local government to ensure it is attracting nomads who will contribute to the country's economy.
2. Your work income must come from outside the country.
These type of visa don't provide working permit, you CANNOT work for an employer in the country you are planning to stay in. You must work for a foreign-based employer or business. This ensures that digital nomads don't compete with the local workforce and are therefore not harming the local economy.
3. Health insurance
Most digital nomad visas require you to have a valid private health insurance to cover any medical incident or illness while you're in the country. Once again, this is to ensure that you are not taking advantage of the local health system (as most likely you won't be paying the same amount of taxes as the locals).
There are many companies that specialise in digital nomad insurance and it's worth doing your research before taking out a policy to make sure you are fully covered.
4. Return flight ticket
Is it common for many digital nomad visas to require proof of a flight out booked. While this sounds like a potential problem, I would suggest to just get one of the cheap relatively local flights to somewhere. Particularly in Europe you can easily get a flight for £15 or so with Ryanair.
Can you be a digital nomad on a tourist visa?
A lot of digital nomads work while on tourist visas, but doing so is illegal in most countries. Even as an EU citizen, you should report your stay in another EU country if you are planning to be there for longer than 90 days.
Always check the local requirements and remember that sometimes getting a visa is less of a problem than sorting out a mess you can get into if you don't plan properly!
What countries offer digital nomad visas?
More and more countries are offering digital nomad visas. As today, these are the countries currently offering it:
Antigua and Barbuda
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
Cayman Islands
Colombia
Costa Rica
Croatia
Curacao
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Dominica
Dubai
Ecuador
Estonia
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Latvia
Malta
Mauritius
Mexico
Montserrat
Namibia
Norway
Panama
Portugal
Romania
Seychelles
The following countries are working on their own digital nomad visas:
Andorra
Albania
Argentina
Montenegro
Serbia
Spain
How long do digital nomad visas last?
The duration of the digital nomad visas depend on the issuing country, but usually they last between 90 days to a year, some of them up to 5 years.
Do European citizens require digital nomad visas for European countries?
No, most European digital nomad visas are designed for non-European citizens.
The requirements for working in a Schengen country while holding a Schengen passport depend on the country, but in most cases you need to register your residency if planning to stay for longer than 90 days.
