Several of our clients have asked for advice about working remotely in foreign countries. We did the research to help them and thought it would be interesting to share our results with our newsletter readers.
Since working remotely has become commonplace, many countries have established new visas that allow individuals to legally work and live in their country. They refer to these visas as Digital Nomad Visas. There are currently 49 countries offering these special visas.
These Digital Nomad Visas allow individuals to relocate themselves and their families to another country while they maintain their job working remotely. Tourist visas do not allow an individual to work while they’re visiting a country. There are some rules that I wanted to share with you.
Digital Nomad Visas allow remote works to stay in country for up to a year. Workers must be employed in their home country. There is a minimum salary that an individual must make. It’s typically low, around $30,000. However, some countries like the Cayman Islands target wealthier remote workers. The minimum annual salary requirements in the Cayman Islands are $100,000 for singles, $150,000 for couples, and $180,000 for families. Anyone with a Digital Nomad Visa is barred from taking any type of local job. An application fee is required. These fees can range from $100 to up to $2000.
Among the countries issuing Digital Nomad Visa are Spain, Greece, Iceland and Italy. Caribbean beach havens such as Aruba and Barbados are also issuing these digital nomad visas.
There are advantages and disadvantages to being a digital nomad. The obvious benefit of these programs is to allow you to enjoy a long vacation while maintaining a source of income, without putting your career on hold. The countries that offer these visas have the infrastructure necessary to support remote workers, such as Wi-Fi. Anguilla has two telecommunications network providers that offer high speed internet.
Some of the disadvantage is that it requires a job that is remote and flexible. This is especially important when it comes to logging in for hours when there’s a time difference. Digital Nomad Visas can be costly. If your application for your next destination is rejected, you could be left scrambling to find a new place to live before you’re forced to leave the country before your current visa expires. Moving around can also make it harder to form long-lasting relationships while the constant distance can put a strain on existing ones.
Unless a country offers you permanent residency when your temporary visa expires, there’s little point in putting down roots where you won’t be living after a year or so. This lack of ties can be seen as a plus to those who value their independence. Anyone thinking about a lengthy working time period abroad should carefully consider how isolating it can be.
All of our clients that have taken advantage of this Digital Nomad Visas opportunity are not selling their homes here in the United States. They are using various long- and short-term rental opportunities to make mortgage payments or receive additional income.
Is working as a Digital Nomad right for you?
