In a world where remote work has become the new norm, the possibilities are endless for those who yearn to break free from the confinements of a traditional office and explore ancient ruins by day while coding their way to success by nightโdiscover, what countries have digital nomad visas, and unlock a life worth livingโmade possible by the growing number of countries rolling out the red carpet for digital nomads through these new visa programs.
Introduction
What is a Digital Nomad?
To keep it brief a digital nomad is a person who works a job or has a business. That does not require them to be in a specific city, state, or country. The work digital nomads perform is usually digital-based work that can be done from a computer. If you want to read a more in-depth article about What is a digital nomad? you can read our article here. The Pros and Cons of Being a Digital Nomad.
It is pretty evident that being able to have a location-independent lifestyle is essential. Would be preferred by most people compared to being forced to stay in one spot. This is why the competition for 100% remote jobs is so high.
In the blog, we will list all the countries currently offering digital nomad visas. Digital nomad visas are still a very new concept. There is no one size fits for digital nomad visas each country has different aspects to their version of the visa.
What Countries Offer Digital Nomad Visas
Antigua and Barbuda ๐ฆ๐ฌ | Antigua and Barbuda Nomad Digital Residency visa |
Argentina ๐ฆ๐ท | Argentina Digital Nomad Residency |
Armenia ๐ฆ๐ฒ | Residency |
Bahamas ๐ง๐ธ | Bahamas Extended Access Travel Stay (BEATS) (Suspended) |
Barbados ๐ง๐ง | Barbados Digital Nomad Visa |
Belize ๐ง๐ฟ | Work where you Vacation Visa |
Brazil ๐ง๐ท | Brazil Digital Nomad Visa |
Cabo Verde ๐จ๐ป | Cabo Verde Remote Working Program |
Cambodia ๐ฐ๐ญ | “E-visa” |
Canada ๐จ๐ฆ | Digital Nomad Visa |
Colombia ๐จ๐ด | Visa V Nomadas Digitales Visa |
Costa Rica ๐จ๐ท | Costa Rica Digital Nomad Visa |
Croatia ๐ญ๐ท | Croatian digital nomad visa |
Cyprus ๐จ๐พ | Cyprus Digital Nomad Visa |
Dominica ๐ฉ๐ฒ | Dominica Work in Nature Program |
Ecuador ๐ช๐จ | Rentista for Remote Work |
El Salvador ๐ธ๐ป | El Salvador Digital Nomad Visa |
Estonia ๐ช๐ช | Estonia Digital Nomad Visa |
Georgia ๐ฌ๐ช | Georgia Digital Nomad Visa |
Greece ๐ฌ๐ท | Greece Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) |
Grenada ๐ฌ๐ฉ | Grenada Digital Nomad Visa |
Hungary ๐ญ๐บ | Hungary White Card |
Iceland ๐ฎ๐ธ | Iceland Digital Nomad Visa |
Latvia ๐ฑ๐ป | Latvia Digital Nomad Visa |
Malaysia ๐ฒ๐พ | De Rantau Visa |
Maldives ๐ฒ๐ป | Maldives Digital Nomad Visas |
Malta ๐ฒ๐น | Nomad Residence Permit |
Mauritius ๐ฒ๐บ | Premium Visa |
Mexico ๐ฒ๐ฝ | Mexico Digital Nomad Visa |
Montenegro ๐ฒ๐ช | Montenegro Digital Nomad Visa |
Namibia ๐ณ๐ฆ | Namibia Digital Nomad Visa |
North Macedonia ๐ฒ๐ฐ | C-type and D-type Visas |
Norway ๐ณ๐ด | Norway Digital Nomad Visa (Svalbard) |
Panama ๐ต๐ฆ | Panama Digital Nomad Visa |
Portugal ๐ต๐น | Portugal Digital Nomad visa |
Qatar ๐ถ๐ฆ | freelance Visa |
Romania ๐ท๐ด | Romania Digital Nomad Visa |
Saint Lucia ๐ฑ๐จ | Saint Lucia “Live it Program” |
Serbia ๐ท๐ธ | Serbia Digital Nomad Visa |
Seychelles ๐ธ๐จ | Workation Retreat Program |
Spain ๐ช๐ธ | Digital Nomad Visa |
Thailand ๐น๐ญ | Digital Nomad Visa |
United Arab Emirates ๐ฆ๐ช | Digital Nomad Visa |
Uruguay ๐บ๐พ | Digital Nomad Permit |
Vanuatu ๐ป๐บ | Vanuatu Remote Worker Visa |
Emerging Trends in Digital Nomad Visas
Overall there are currently 45 different official digital nomad visas being offered by countries. In addition, Yonderpreneur has identified 7 other countries working on a digital nomad visa that might be introduced later this year or in 2024.
The Covid-19 Pandemic really kicked off the race for digital nomad visas. Once remote work came into the view of the general population countries raced to get visas off the ground. Overall the popularity and demand for digital nomad visas have come down a bit. Since businesses have brought their workers back to the office there has been less remote work available for people. Although the opportunity for remote work has come down the desire by people to work remotely has remained strong. Forward-thinking countries are still working on new visas for this exact reason.
We expect more and more countries will be creating digital nomad visas during the next 5 years to try and bring in high-income earning people to boost local communities through their spending. Along with that, we expect the benefits that countries offer in their digital nomad visas to become more advantageous to remote workers and digital nomads. This is due to the fact for countries to remain competitive they need to sweeten the deal to be seen as a better option than the other visas.
Selecting the Perfect Destination For You
Now that all these countries are competing for you to come to their country and work. You have to come to a conclusion about what you’re looking for and what your goals are. Some countries like Uruguay offer a path to citizenship in their digital nomad visa. Perhaps you’re just looking for a remote work opportunity that won’t tax you. li Vanuatu and the UAE programs are perfect examples of this.
In addition, it would make sense for you to look for a country with a lower cost of living than your home country. Living in a lower-cost-of-living country has been the essential benefit of being a digital nomad. When the rent in most US cities gets over $1500 a month less than $500 a month in latin america gets very attractive.
Even previous to the age of remote work and digital nomads the concept of “Snow Birds” retirees living in cold countries leaving to warmer countries during the winter. A very common thing in Canada. The same goes for digital nomads. Lots of people would much rather work from a beach in Mexico rather than a busy life-sucking Bakersfield California.
Every person has different preferences in what they are looking for personally and for their business and work.
Conclusion
It is obvious that the Covid-19 Pandemic fundamentally changed the world. One of these changes was the emergence of remote work and the digital nomad. Fast forward 3 years and now it’s a global phenomenon. There are currently 45 digital nomad visas offered by countries around the world. With more on the way.
If you are interested in applying for any of these digital nomad visas. Reach out to us at Yonderpreneur and we will help you through the application process.