Working Remotely: More Countries Offering Digital Nomad Visas, Including Croatia, Spain, Portugal, and Others

Digital nomad visas are trending and for a good reason. For people who want to continue working remotely following Covid, visas are the solution.

Particularly, Europe is allowing people to work abroad. Across the continent, from those with longer-standing programs such as Croatia and Estonia to newcomers including Spain and Portugal, countries are seeing the potential of prospective new residents as a response to their flagging tourism industries, Forbes reported.

Countries are making it easier for people to apply and win temporary residency while they work for a foreign company or as a freelancer.

“Not only does this help fill the low-season gaps in tourism-reliant destinations, it offers non-EU citizens the chance to legally work remotely,” Euronews said. Digital-nomad visa programs “also help countries to combat other problems from brain drain to ageing populations.”

“Visas for digital nomads fill a legal vacuum for remote workers who wish to spend short or extended periods of time abroad working independently,” etiasvisa added. “These professionals can take their job with them anywhere they go. (Usually they only need a laptop and an internet connection.)”

There are many perks of the European digital-nomad permit, including the opportunity for recipients to travel visa-free throughout the 26 countries of the Schengen Area.

While some of the programs have been specifically designed for remote workers, others have been adapted from previous work visas to include some variations among them. However, they generally follow the same idea: allowing a temporary residency permit for foreigners to stay from six months to two years.

Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Malta, Norway, Hungary, Iceland, Greece, and the Czech Republic are on the list of European countries already offering full or partial versions of the program, but with income requirements ranging from €2,000 to €3,000 a month.

Spain, Italy, and a few others are in the process of setting up similar digital-nomad visa schemes.