How would you like to spend a year working remotely in a tropical paradise—and pay no income tax? Barbados thinks you’d like it very much
Lesson summary
Hi there, here we go with Plain English Lesson number 356. I’m Jeff; JR is the producer; and the full lesson is online at PlainEnglish.com/356.
Coming up today: The rise of the remote-worker visa. Office workers the world over were sent home during the pandemic, and many won’t return. Think, too, of the legions of online business owners and freelancers. That’s the target market for a new type of visa that sits between a tourist visa and a traditional work visa—it’s called a remote worker visa or digital nomad visa, and it’s becoming increasingly common. The expression we’ll review is “get around” a rule; and we have a good quote of the week. Let’s get going!
Extended visas for remote workers
Countries from the Caribbean to Europe to the Middle East are competing to attract remote workers with special visas and residency permits. The trend started a few years ago, but has accelerated since the pandemic sent white-collar workers home from the office about a year ago.
The basic bargain is this: Under most of the world’s immigration rules, you are either a tourist or a resident. A tourist has permission to enter the country and stay for a limited time—three months is the most common—and that person has no right to work for a local company. If you wish to work in another country, you typically need an offer letter from a local employer and you have to have a job with a local company and show up to a local workplace.
That didn’t always accommodate the modern reality of remote work: either people who own their own businesses, freelance, or simply have the flexibility to work from anywhere. Remote workers have traditionally gotten around this, though, by presenting themselves as tourists. The owner of an online business can enter a country on a tourist visa and perform his remote work from a hotel or short-term apartment rental.
The problem is that entering a country as a tourist limits your stay and requires that you pay tax in your home country. Remote workers have to either leave their new destination after their tourist stay expires, or go on visa runs, exiting and re-entering every so often. This works for more footloose, younger digital nomads, but is a disadvantage to anyone who wants a bit more stability.
Enter the remote work visa. These are typically long-term visas or short-term residency programs specifically tailored for remote workers. They allow remote workers to enter a country, stay and work legally for a year or two, and pay low or no taxes. Income taxes, however, are a complicated thicket of regulations and reciprocal treaties. So while Barbados may not charge taxes to digital nomads, those workers may owe income taxes to their home countries all the same.
There are several reasons for a country to offer this. Barbados, an island nation in the Caribbean, values tourism. As a beautiful beach destination, they want to increase their profile among jet-setting travelers. This is probably the motivation behind Croatia’s remote work visa, too. Croatia borders Italy and has ancient towns and sparkling beaches but is as-yet less developed as a tourist destination.
Other countries may be looking for more business or technological talent. Estonia, for one, has promoted itself as a well-governed, business-friendly destination with a concentration of talent in technology. The same is true for the eastern European nation of Georgia. By attracting remote workers and business owners, these countries hope to benefit from a better talent pool within their borders. And remote workers may forge local business ties that last even after the remote worker leaves.
Specific rules and eligibility requirements vary from country to country. But in most cases, remote workers need to prove that they make their income from an online source or from a source based in another country. They also need to prove they have enough income to sustain themselves during their stay, or at least enough savings to cover basic living expenses. Some destinations use this to specifically screen for higher spenders: You need to make the equivalent of $50,000 US dollars to get the Barbados visa.
A few other common requirements: You typically have to arrange for your own private health insurance before you get there. Applicants may need to show proof that they’ve secured accommodations. Many destinations also require a criminal background check; some may now require a quarantine upon arrival.
Programs around the world
Here are some other countries with digital nomad visas. The Bahamas, St. Lucia, the Cayman Islands, and Bermuda, in the Caribbean; in Europe, Greece and Spain have them; Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and Thailand also have such programs.
Germany and Portugal have programs, too, but there are more restrictions on who’s eligible . Mexico has a good one. In Mexico—and this is not even new—you can live and work remotely for a year, but extend it for up to four years. A lot of Americans considering a permanent move to Mexico will take advantage of that before applying for residency.
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