A surge of people around the world have experienced a newfound flexibility with their careers since the pandemic began: the ability to work from anywhere in the world. Countries across the globe have responded in kind—especially those that rely on tourism—and are creating visas for long-term digital nomads.
These remote work visa programs offer mutual benefits. The programs help bolster the economies of countries dependent on tourist dollars, while allowing visitors to partake in genuinely slow travel. Travelers can live somewhere long enough to be immersed in the local culture and become part of the community, as they maintain a job based elsewhere.
Given the multitude of these remote work visa options, from the Caribbean to Europe to the Middle East, all you have to do is pick the part of the world that appeals to you most. Of course, a few factors make some locations more appealing than others—low costs of living, favorable weather, a laidback lifestyle, and beautiful scenery are often frontrunners—though these days, remote workers really do have their pick of home offices.
Once you decide where to go, applications are generally easy to submit online, usually requiring you to upload a copy of your passport, as well as proof of income and health insurance, with many approving applications in a matter of days.
Ready to take the leap? Here are a few of our the best remote work visas programs currently available.
Barbados
In July 2020, Barbados launched the Barbados Welcome Stamp Visa, inviting remote workers around the world to decamp to the island paradise in the throes of the pandemic. The application can be easily filled out online, and you’ll be confirmed or denied within five business days. Barbados has one of the best maintained road networks in the English-speaking Caribbean and excellent Wi-Fi throughout the island. Families are welcome, too, and non-nationals can pay a small stipend to have their kids attend state-owned public schools. Workers do not need to pay Barbados income tax during their stay.
Length of stay: 12 months, issued on arrival to Barbados, and you are free to come and go during that time
Fee: $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for families
Salary requirements: $50,000
How to apply: Apply online here
Where to stay: Waves Hotel & Spa is offering monthly rentals for an all-inclusive stay, complete with excellent Wi-Fi connections, daily fitness classes, and complimentary spa treatments. Monthly rental of a room on an all-inclusive basis is $8,000, based on double occupancy, which includes a 35 percent discount on the room rate. Hammerton Barbados specializes in villa rentals.
Bermuda
On the heels of Barbados’ announcement, Bermuda launched its Work From Bermuda Certificate last August. Like Barbados, the application is a short online form, and you’ll receive a response within five days. Each family member needs to submit a separate application. It is not possible to lease a car in Bermuda, but you may purchase a vehicle (one car per household) after passing a driver’s examination at the Transport Control Department. Remote workers and students do not need to pay income tax in Bermuda, which remains a British Overseas Territory. The one-year residential remote work certificate is renewable on a case-by-case basis.
Length of stay: 12 months, from the date the the certificate is issued via email
Fee: $263 per person
Salary requirements: None stated, simply that you must have “substantial means and/or a continuous source of annual income”
How to apply: Apply online here
Where to stay: Bermuda has a list of recommended co-working spaces and vacation rentals, including oceanfront Airbnbs and cottages in the center of town.
Dominica
For a more secluded island that still has reliable high-speed internet and a lush landscape of volcanoes, waterfalls, hot springs, and beaches, consider Dominica’s Work in Nature extended stay visa program, which launched in March. Applicants must upload a copy of their police record for the past five years, and can expect to receive a response within seven days. After your application is approved, you have 90 days to arrive in Dominica. English is the predominant language on the island, although French Creole is spoken by most locals. Remote workers are not liable to pay income tax in Dominica.
Note that, even with a negative PCR test result taken within the past 72 hours, new arrivals from high-risk countries including the United States are required to spend up to seven days in quarantine at a Safe in Nature certified property, and then PCR test again on the fifth day. Upon receipt of negative PCR test results, you will be medically cleared and free to move around. Be aware that the protocols change often, and the government is currently considering new rules for vaccinated individuals.
Length of stay: 18 months, issued on arrival
Fee: $100 non-refundable application fee, $800 visa fee for single applicants, $1,200 visa fee for families
Salary requirements: $50,000
How to apply: Apply online here
Where to stay: Secret Bay offers a “Linger Longer” remote work package with 50 percent off rates for stays of 35 nights or more, with discounted experiences and a four-course welcome dinner. Rates start at $503/night for 35+ nights (double occupancy and including taxes).
Many other Caribbean countries have launched similar visa programs, including Anguilla, Aruba, Cayman Islands, and Antigua and Barbuda.
Dubai
In October 2020, Dubai launched a virtual work program accepting visa applicants worldwide. Once accepted, applicants have access to phone lines, resident ID cards, banking facilities, and the ability to rent accommodation, rent or buy a car, and send children to school. You can also enter Dubai on a tourist visa before committing to the full-year program. Additionally, you can have a multiple entry visa during the tenure of the program, but if you are away from Dubai for more than six months continuously, your visa will be nullified. The UAE does not impose any personal income tax.
Length of stay: 12 months
Fee: $611 inclusive of application fees, processing costs, medical ID, and Emirates ID
Salary requirements: $60,000
How to apply: Apply online here
Where to stay: Blueground is a service that rents stylishly furnished apartments for a minimum of one month, and up to a year or more.
Estonia
Estonia is a burgeoning international tech hub, so it’s no big surprise that they offer an e-residency program for foreign online entrepreneurs, along with a digital nomad visa for freelancers and remote workers. The latter allows foreign nationals to work in Estonia for up to a year for a business of their own that is registered abroad, or in a remote position for a foreign employer. If a visa holder stays in Estonia for more than 183 days in a consecutive 12 month period, they will be required to pay taxes in Estonia.
Remote workers tout the destination’s high quality of life and low cost of living as just two reasons to apply. “Estonia is much cheaper than Denmark, has some of the cleanest air of any country in the world, and it’s very safe and friendly,” says Henrik Jeppesen, a full-time travel blogger and the founder of Every Country in the World, who relocated to Estonia with his wife earlier in the pandemic.
Length of stay: 12 months
Fee: €100
Salary requirements: €42,048 (approximately $51,000)
How to apply: Fill in this online application, then make an appointment at your nearest Estonian Embassy or Consulate and bring copies of supporting documents. Applications must be submitted through Estonian embassies and consulates abroad, and are reviewed within 30 days.
Where to stay: When he first arrived in Estonia, Jeppesen stayed at Hestia Hotel Kentmanni for €550 a month (under $700 USD), with complimentary access to their spa. “It’s one of the best deals I’ve ever seen,” he says. Several hotels in Tallinn are offering monthly rates to survive the pandemic, including Citybox Tallinn for €290 a month (about $350 USD), which Jeppesen says is better than many five-star hotels he’s stayed at, despite the low rate.
Georgia
A former Soviet country with a dynamic food and wine culture, and mountain landscapes rivaling Switzerland, Georgia debuted its Remotely Work from Georgia program in August 2020. The program, which welcomes long-term visitors from 95 countries, is not technically a visa, but rather an entry permit to live in the country for up to 360 days without one. (Prior to the pandemic, citizens of these 95 countries were already allowed to stay as tourists for up to 360 days a year.)
At this time, foreign visitors can freely enter Georgia if they can prove that they have received two full doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Unvaccinated visitors who are nationals or residents of the United States do not need to self-isolate, but must provide a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival and undergo a second PCR test at their own expense on the third day of arrival.
Unlike some of the Caribbean visa programs, remote workers must pay income tax while they are living in Georgia, but digital nomads making up to $150,000 annually can register as an individual entrepreneur and pay just one percent tax; that rate rises to three percent if you make more than $150,000. The Georgian language can be difficult for English speakers to learn, but many expats get by with English or Russian.
Length of stay: 360 days
Fee: No fee
Salary requirements: $24,000
How to apply: Apply online here. You will be asked to specify whether you’re a freelancer, full-time employee, or entrepreneur. You’ll also need to provide personal information, such as marital status.
Where to stay: Tbilisi has plenty of options on Airbnb, with rents for studio apartments starting at around $300 per month.
Montserrat
This mountainous British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean launched its Remote Worker Program in January.
Krystal Bajkor was among the first new residents to arrive in Montserrat, relocating from Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband and two young children in April. “We liked that they had basically no COVID [cases], so life seemed like it would be pretty close to normal,” she says. There are currently no active COVID cases on the island, and a 14-day quarantine is required for new arrivals.
Length of stay: 12 months, issued on arrival
Fee: $500 for an individual, $750 for a family with up to three dependents (additional family members are required to pay $250 each)
Salary requirements: $70,000
How to apply: Apply online here. Along with a copy of your passport, you’ll also need to provide a copy of your birth certificate. Applications are confirmed or denied within seven business days.
Where to stay: There are many Airbnbs on the island and Tradewinds Real Estate helps expats invest in real estate. Bajkor and her family were shuttled straight from the airport to their Airbnb, where they were permitted to quarantine with grocery delivery provided. Government employees and the property caretaker checked in on them throughout.
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