One of the latest countries to join a list that is constantly growing,Indonesia has launched its digital nomad visa. It lasts for five years and comes with a tax exemption on income earned abroad. The country intends to attract remoters. Bali is indeed one of the favorite destinations of digital nomads because of its tropical climate and low cost of living.
Working from wherever you want
The Covid-19 pandemic has legitimized remote jobs. Impossible to avoid, it is one of the ways to offer employees the flexibility they demand today. It's a demand that companies are now obliged to meet or risk losing the best talents. A 2021 Qualtrics survey illustrates this perfectly. In this survey, 80% of respondents looking for a new job said that is should offer them the opportunity to live in the location of their choice.
These requirements are well understood by an ever-growing list of states. More than 40 countries have launched (or are about to launch) visa programs specifically for mobile workers. This will provide the necessary legal framework to allow nomad workers to carry out their professional activities with complete peace of mind by allowing them to stay for extended periods of time wherever they wish.
The remoters pampered
Of course, governments are not only acting out of the goodness of their hearts. In trying to attract remoters, they are thinking above all about the development of their economies. More digital nomads on the territory means also (and maybe above all) more foreign capital invested locally. And to attract them, some countries are not hesitating to multiply the incentives. Argentina, for example, plans to offer digital nomads on its new visa differential rates on housing, co-working spaces and domestic flights with AerolíneasArgentinas.
In an article published by the Harvard Business Review [1], Prithwiraj(Raj) Choudhury, an associate professor specializing in employee geographic mobility, explains that digital nomads and remoters in general "can be a boon to any economy — spending money, facilitating collaboration and spurring innovation".
Western countries too
These issues are not limited to developing countries. Of course, from Costa Rica to the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Brazil and Dubai, they make up the bulk of the list. But Western countries are not left out. Within the European Union, countries like Germany have launched their own program or are about to do so like Italy.
As such, the country has invested more than a million euros to strengthen computer networks, improve transportation and upgrade infrastructure in rural communities to attract remoters of all kinds.
$1,000 on average
Each country has its own requirements when it comes to issuing a digital nomad visa. However, there is a broad common core. The applicant must provide proof of remote employment, travel insurance and a minimum monthly income. A way to ensure that they can support themselves without needing to take a local job. Most applications cost around 1,000 $ and provide remoters with stays between 6 months and 2 years with the option to extend their visa once it expires.
According to trend-tracking site Exploding Topics, searches for the term "nomad visa" have increased by 2,400 percent in the past five years. More than a trend, it's now a new reality.
[1] How "Digital Nomad" Visas Can Boost Local Economies (05/27/2022)