Travel and immigration halted in 2020 as countries tried to contain the COVID-19 pandemic with severe restrictions on mobility. From mid-March 2020 to the end of February this year, there were more than 100,000 movement restrictions problematic worldwide. Global tourism hit historic low in 2020 with a billion fewer international arrivals than in 2019. The global travel and tourism sector lost nearly $ 4.5 trillion.
There are many places in the hope of attracting new visitors and revenue in view of innovative tourism and residence Schemes. One idea with potential is the digital nomad visa.
Nomad digital visas allow holders to live in one country while having a job abroad. Most countries require Applicants must meet a specific monthly income threshold, provide proof of health insurance, and take a negative COVID-19 test. The requirements are otherwise low, and most programs allow visa holders to stay in the country for up to a year.
In places where digital nomad visa programs have not been implemented, they are workers limited to tourist visas that prevent stays longer than a few months. Live in one place for the long term and often work abroad at the same time requires Corporate sponsorship and complicated bureaucratic processing.
While several pre-existing visa programs are dedicated to the self-employed and those who can live on passive income, nomadic digital visas are for a much broader population. Somewhat paradoxically, most of them came into being during the pandemic, despite the fact that governments have placed the most stringent restrictions on the international movement in recent history. Even under these conditions, many officials recognize that foreign visitors are good for economic recovery.
Estonia began development its nomad digital visa program in 2018, and it started Accept applications last august. Around 20 other countries and territories have implemented similar programs. Thailand and Indonesia, already top travel destinations for digital nomads off the peg, are in one slow running Become the first Asian country to launch a remote worker program.
The demand is clearly there. When Barbados launched its annual “Welcome Stamp” visa last June, it was receive more than 1,000 applications in the first week. Georgia receive 2,000 applications for the one-year remote working program from August to January.
Croatia accepted its digital nomad program thanks to the Dutch entrepreneur Jan de Jong, who brought the idea to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in one open letter On Linkedin. De Jong, who has lived in Croatia for over a decade, was invited to a meeting with Plenković and the Interior Ministry shortly after his appointment.
De Jong tells reason that the politicians “immediately showed a full understanding of how great the opportunity was for Croatia”. He built a large part of his case on the wealth that digital nomads bring to a country: “The average monthly salary in Croatia is 905 euros. Basically, every digital nomad who comes to Croatia is considered a temporary citizen of Croatia with high expenses. “With these people comes” a nice influx of new income “.
Welcome to this income, de Jong believes it is “even more important” that “digital nomads bring their experience and way of thinking”. Half a million young people have left the country in the past 10 to 15 years. “By welcoming digital nomads,” says de Jong, “we want to reverse the brain drain.” In this way, nomadic digital visas can provide both short-term relief for the burden of pandemics and long-term benefits for countries struggling to attract talent.
The nomad digital visa market is so saturated that countries are promoting unique benefits to attract workers interested in moving. The Croatian visa program has a lower income threshold than Barbados and Estonia, offers digital nomads the option to take out private health insurance, and does not collect income tax during the 12 month visa period. Barbados, Cape Verde and Georgia too freed digital nomads from income tax. Dominica offers duty-free goods and discounts from service providers. Dubai offers the COVID-19 vaccine free for visa holders.
With many restrictions on global movement still in place, travelers may not be as interested in shorter trips as usual. But longer-term nomadism, de Jong predicts, will “recover faster and earlier”.
The goal posts for reopening the border have been pushed back again and againand it is easy to fear that these will be restrictions on movement outlast the pandemic. However, the growing popularity of digital nomad visas bodes well for the long-term health of international mobility. Travelers bring talent and resources, and officials who adopt this idea understand the goodness of it.
