During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers were concerned about their employees working remotely. That concern did not last very long, though. A CNN report revealed that 90 percent of employers believed working remotely had not hurt productivity. If anything, given the right circumstances and infrastructure, working from home came as a blessing to many.

Fast forward two years, and the experts at McKinsey have found that Americans are now more interested than ever in working remotely. The rise and popularity of remote work have not been surprising. Soon enough, though, people began to look into working vacations, and so began the growing popularity of working as digital nomads.

Digital nomads work remotely, except they might be working while they are on vacation. That means these professionals can be anywhere away from their homes as they carry on with their usual jobs or businesses.

Of course, working as a digital nomad comes with a ton of challenges. One of these includes the complexity of managing a visa for the country where you plan to work as a digital nomad.

The visa application procedure is almost always the most difficult part of traveling. It is complex for tourists, so how might it be for someone looking to relocate to a different country or region and work remotely from there?

Fortunately, the growing popularity of digital nomads gave rise to digital nomad visas, which helps make the transition a lot smoother.

What Is a Digital Nomad Visa?

A digital nomad visa is legal paperwork that gives an individual the right to work in a remote setting away from their country in a different country or region. It comes with varying perks, including the right to stay in the country for a certain period, tax-free income in the destination country, the right to open a bank account in said country and so on.

With a digital nomad visa, working remotely in a foreign country becomes much easier. Of course, not all countries offer this facility. Only a few around the world provide digital nomad visas. On top of that, not all of these countries provide benefits that might interest you in staying there as a digital nomad. Thus, it is only fitting that we only explore the top few countries that provide such visa facilities.

5 Countries With Digital Nomad Visas

Here is a list of five countries that offer digital nomad visas.

Antigua & Barbuda

The Antigua Nomad Digital Residence program is one of the most popular digital nomad programs in the world. As per this program, digital nomads can live on the island for up to two years. This is perfect for anyone who not only wants to work remotely but also wants to explore the country or region and discover its hidden gems and culture.

Contrary to that, a tourist visa for Antigua & Barbuda will allow you to stay there for only 30 days. This hardly leaves you enough time to fully adapt to the place, let alone explore it.

Bali

Bali is one of the more recent additions to the list of countries that offer digital nomad visas.

Initially, as reported by Bloomberg, Bali was supposed to offer digital nomad visas for up to five years. However, this decision was later amended. According to the latest update, however, Bali will allow digital nomad visas for up to 60 days of stay only. Although cut short, it is still a long time for digital nomads to stay and experience the country to its fullest.

In addition to the 60 days, digital nomads can extend the initial visa twice. Each time, you are allowed an extension of an additional 60 days. That means, theoretically, you can stay in Bali with your digital nomad visa for up to 180 days or three months.

You should know that the digital nomad visa in Bali is not a multiple-entry visa. If you end up leaving the country, you must reapply if you want to reenter.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica offers one of the smoothest experiences for digital nomads. The country’s 90-day tourist visa can be extended to a full year when you are working as a digital nomad.

Digital nomads enjoy quite a few facilities in Costa Rica. They are exempted from paying income taxes. You can also open a national bank account in the country.

Besides, digital nomads get the privilege of validating their home country’s driving license, which makes acquiring a license in Costa Rica much easier.

Croatia

You can stay in Croatia as a digital nomad for six months to a year. You also have the option to reapply once your initial visa expires.

Once your visa validity ends, you are required to leave Croatia for 90 days. You can reapply for a digital nomad visa again using a new application once this period ends.

If you are allowed a visa as a digital nomad in Croatia, you do not have to pay local income taxes. The authorities there also do not have to file any income tax that they may derive from your remote job. A fantastic opportunity to brush up or learn Croatian! 🙂

Malta

Malta has recently launched a digital nomad residency program. It is called the Malta Nomad Residence Permit, through which you can stay in Malta while working remotely.

Within the European Union (EU), Malta is one of the most popular destinations for digital nomads. It is currently home to a large pool of digital nomads, and the number is increasing with each passing day.

The digital nomad community in Malta is also growing exponentially, giving birth to a community of entrepreneurial ex-pats in the country that is making the most of Malta’s digital nomad facilities and lifestyle. The island nation’s business networking culture is also benefiting from this as well as the digital nomads who are actively participating within these groups and communities.

Digital nomads have been around for a while but only recently has this trend become so popular. These five countries are some of the best in the world when it comes to providing digital nomad visas, and thus, if you were to opt for such a lifestyle, it would be best that you pick from the countries listed above.