How the rise of ‘digital nomad’ visas will drive the global battle for talent

By Jessica Davies

Many people have traveled from country to country while they remote worked over the past decade, but there were limited ways to do so legitimately until recently. Antiquated visa systems required travelers to define themselves as entrepreneurs or workers and required a company to sponsor their stay — an expensive, bureaucratic route with few guarantees. Instead, most people chose to label themselves as “tourists” but risked deportation if the authorities caught them out.

As with most aspects of work and travel, however, the Covid-19 pandemic has challenged the status quo. Now, countries are launching “digital nomad visas” in the hopes of replacing tourists with remote workers.

Few people know that Estonia is home to one of the world’s most advanced digital governments. The country’s e-Residency program, launched in 2014, allows people from overseas to register their identity details, start businesses in the European Union, and open bank accounts without ever visiting. In 2018, the same policymakers responsible for this program announced a new project, intended to be a global first: a digital nomad visa.

“We saw a gap in the visa market precisely because nomads have been forced to exist in this legal grey area between ‘tourist’ and ‘worker,’” said Alex Wellman, communications lead for Estonian e-Residency. “We took the opportunity to solve that problem with a legitimate route for location-independent workers to base here. As a society, we recognize the need for overseas talent to contribute to the development of our business ecosystem, labor market, and overall economy.”

The eligibility criteria for Estonia’s visa are straightforward. Firstly, participants must have an active employment contract with a non-Estonian company, conduct their business through their own company registered abroad, or be a freelancer working primarily for overseas clients. Secondly, their monthly income must be at least €3,504 ($4,160) before tax in the six months leading up to their application.

In July 2020, the Estonian parliament approved the nomad visa plan, and applications for the scheme officially opened the following month. By this point, however, Estonia wasn’t the only option for remote workers seeking a change of scenery.

The Barbados Welcome Stamp launched a month before the Estonian nomad visa. It allows remote workers from anywhere in the world to relocate to the island for up to 12 months. Participants are not required to move their personal or business tax residency to Barbados, but they must have an annual income of $50,000 and agree to buy local health insurance.

“The same strengths like climate, food, and beauty that has made Barbados a fantastic destination for tourism makes it an excellent match for remote workers,” said Peter Thompson, the entrepreneur who first proposed a Barbadian remote work visa in response to the pandemic. “We are not a large nation, so the digital economy gives us our window of opportunity. Getting ahead as a country is not just what you know, but who you know. This is a way for Barbados to radically expand that ‘who you know’ aspect by becoming a global hub,” he added.

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Source:: Digiday