What Countries Offer Digital Nomad Visas? The Ultimate List

About Author: Hi, I’m Jessica Suess, an Aussie who moved to the UK for studies and ended up on a global journey as a freelancing digital nomad. I’m recently settled in Brazil, navigating finances and sharing what I have learned. See My Full Bio.

More than 50 countries now offer digital nomad visas to attract remote workers to live and spend in their nations. That number is rising as more countries announce their intentions to release similar visas. It’s getting hard to keep track!

If you are wondering which countries offer them and whether you are eligible, you are in the right place!

Below you will find lists of countries that currently offer digital nomad visas, or have announced their intention to launch one shortly.

The lists are broken up by area so you can explore Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa (no countries in Oceania currently offer DNVs). You will also find the length of the visa and an indication of the minimum income requirement to help you see if you qualify.

However, remember that some countries have placed additional restrictions on their visas. For example, in some cases only certain nationalities apply, you must work in the tech industry, or you must have a minimum level of education or experience.

For each country, you will also find links to official information about the visa. These aren’t always easy to find, because while these visas are designed for digital nomads and remote workers, they aren’t always called digital nomad visas (or DNVs).

We will also start by sharing some general information that you should be aware of before deciding to apply for a digital nomad visa.

1. What You Should Know About DNVs Before You Apply

Digital nomad visa is a general term for visas that are designed for remote workers. They allow people who have the ability to work remotely to do so while living in another country. They are open to company employees with remote work contracts, freelancers, and self-employed business owners and entrepreneurs.

The main requirement of these visas is that your income comes from a source outside the country that you intend to live in. The visa allows you to live in that foreign country for a fixed period of time but does not allow you to work in that country. This is because the visa is principally designed to bring money into the local economy.

Most digital nomad visas allow you to stay for one or two years in the first instance but are often renewable if you continue to meet the criteria. Many countries cut off the renewal period at a point that ensures that the digital nomad visa is not a pathway to permanent residence. Other countries have opened up that path through their DNV, usually if you stay a minimum of five years.

All have a minimum income requirement to ensure that you can support yourself on your foreign income. If the minimum income is not specified, it is still assessed on a case-by-case basis. The minimum income requirement is often a multiple of the local minimum or average wage.

Some have additional digital nomad visa requirements. Some countries have limited the nationalities that can apply for their visas. They are usually limited to citizens of rich countries such as the United States, Australia, and European Union countries. Others require that you have a minimum level of education or work experience, or that you work in a specific field, usually tech-related. This is because their program aims to attract talent that can feed local innovation.

What all this means is that you need to check the terms and conditions carefully before you apply.

1.2 Can You Bring Your Family Members With You?

Most digital nomad visas allow you to be accompanied by your family, specifically your spouse, civil partner, and dependent children.

In almost all cases, this increases the minimum income requirement, since in most cases your dependents are also not allowed to work within the local economy. In many cases, you will see the minimum income requirement increase by 30% per person, but rules do vary, so make sure you check.

School-age children should gain the right to attend public school as part of their visa.

1.3 Do You Have To Pay Taxes?

The general rule for international tax is that if you are a resident in a country for more than 183 days, you become a resident for tax purposes. This means that you become liable to pay local tax on your international income.

This often leads to double taxation since, in most countries, you continue to be a tax resident until you have been out of the country for at least one full tax year. Many countries have double taxation treaties to avoid exactly this type of problem. But these are negotiated between countries on an individual basis and need to be researched.

Some digital nomad visas provide special tax considerations for visa holders, such as exemption from local tax for the duration of the visa or a beneficial tax rate. But again, this is something that you need to check. Here is our introductory guide to income tax for digital nomads.

1.4 Other Requirements

If you look at a variety of digital nomad visas, as we have, you will notice that a few other requirements come up consistently.

These include:

There will be other terms and conditions that you need to adhere to depending on where you are applying, but these requirements show up consistently.

2. European Countries

Many countries in Europe have launched digital nomad visas, but notably not the most popular countries for economic immigrants, such as Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

If you apply for a digital nomad visa in a country that is within the Schengen area, you only have the right to live in that country. However, you do have the right to visit other Schengen area countries as a tourist under your visa. You can visit any Schengen country for up to 90 days in any 180 days.

If the European country that issues the visa is not in the Schengen area, and you do not already have the right to travel within Schengen, then you must apply for a Schengen tourist visa in the normal way.

3. Asian Countries

A variety of Asian countries have now released digital nomad visas, including wealthy enclaves such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and countries known for their affordable cost of living, such as Thailand and Malaysia.

The visas are a bit of a mixed bag. For example, Malaysia offers an accessible DNV with a relatively low minimum income requirement, which reflects the cost of living in the country. They have also launched schemes to provide facilities for digital nomads, such as a partnership with Airbnb to ensure the availability of short-term accommodation.

Meanwhile, Thailand has set its minimum income high, at USD 80,000 per year. This is reduced for individuals with certain desirable qualifications. They also have strict rules about the size of the companies that remote workers must be employed by.

4. American Countries

Digital nomad visas have taken off in the Americas, especially the Caribbean, with most countries offering a digital nomad visa, but with hefty income requirements. This is consistent with the ready availability of Golden Visas and Citizenship by Investment for wealthy individuals in the Caribbean.

The visas have also taken off in South and Central America, in countries such as Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil. Generally, terms and conditions align with those seen in Europe rather than the Caribbean.

In North America, both Canada and Mexico now offer generous visa conditions for remote workers. In Canada, remote workers can even seek local employment for the duration of their stay and then move onto a work visa, as long as their profession qualifies.

5. African Countries

Digital nomad visas are still relatively rare in Africa and limited to just a handful of countries. This may reflect that Africa is not yet popular with remote workers from other continents as a long-term destination due to issues such as unreliable internet infrastructure in many areas. But as that changes, and as digital nomads look for new “uncharted” places to explore. we can expect to see more African digital nomad visas launched.

6. Are There Other Visa Options for Digital Nomads?

While digital nomad visas are designed specifically for remote workers, they aren’t the only option if you want to spend time in another country.

Most countries allow foreigners to travel there on a tourist visa for up to 90 days. While you can’t work locally on that visa, it is a bit of a gray area whether you can work remotely. However, immigration authorities don’t have effective methods for tracking the activity of foreign remote workers, and they are likely to turn a blind eye if you are only spending a short time there; it still means tourist dollars into the economy.

Many countries also offer freelancer visas, start-up visas, or entrepreneur visas for people who wish to move to their country while working for themselves. The big difference from DNVs is that these visas usually require you to register your business locally and therefore pay local taxes. Therefore, this path is more popular with expats looking to make a long-term move rather than digital nomads on a temporary visit. But we will talk more about these types of visas in another post.

For wealthy individuals, there are also Golden Visas and Citizenship by Investment opportunities. These tend to be most popular with individuals from countries with “weak” passports, which make it more difficult to travel to other countries, or with individuals looking for a better tax deal.

But if you are a remote worker or digital nomad wanting to spend a year or so immersed in a new country and culture, digital nomad visas are one of the most accessible options. And there are so many to choose from!