Digital Nomad Visa
For living in one country while working for employers or clients in another.
What is a Digital Nomad Visa?
A digital nomad visa is a relatively recent category that lets someone live in a country while working remotely for employers or clients outside it. It exists because the older categories did not fit: tourist visas do not cover working, and work visas assume a local employer. This one is built around income that comes from somewhere else.
Who it's for
Remote workers and freelancers who want to be based somewhere for a period while their work and their income stay elsewhere.
↔ Compared with Tourist Visa
- The gap this category fills. Working remotely from a beach on a tourist visa is a widespread assumption and often not what the tourist category permits.
↔ Compared with Business Visa
- A business visa is for engaging with a local market on a short trip. A nomad route is for living somewhere while working with markets elsewhere.
↔ Compared with Long-Stay Visa
- Most nomad routes are a form of long-stay permission, distinguished by the kind of work they allow.
The application process
How this type is obtained
In advance, through a dedicated route where a country has created one. It is a national scheme rather than a shared arrangement, and countries structure these routes quite differently.
1. Worth knowing
These schemes are newer than the other categories here and are still being introduced, amended and occasionally withdrawn — so they are the ones least safe to rely on from memory.
2. Worth knowing
Living somewhere for an extended period can raise questions beyond immigration, including tax residence. Those are separate from the visa and are worth taking advice on.
3. Worth knowing
Nomad routes are generally built around working for people outside the country. Taking on local clients is often the boundary, and it is drawn differently in different places.
What You Need to Know
Everything you need at a glance — what it covers, what to prepare and what to expect.
Remote workers and freelancers who want to be based somewhere for a period while their work and their income stay elsewhere.
In advance, through a dedicated route where a country has created one. It is a national scheme rather than a shared arrangement, and countries structure these routes quite differently.
This page explains what the visa type means. It does not state what any country requires. Rules, costs and conditions are set by each destination and change without notice — always confirm the current requirements with that country’s official immigration authority or its embassy before you book or travel.
Frequently asked
Plan your journey
Our travel designers turn knowledge and inspiration into a journey crafted entirely around you.
Plan My Journey →