Rory Moulton

Travel Writer, Author, Europe Travel Expert

The Rise of Europe’s Digital Nomad Visas

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Ever considered extending your European vacation and becoming a digital nomad in Europe?

I sure have.

My family and I spent summer 2016 in Spain. We traveled across the country, setting up shop in Airbnbs for a week or two at a time. We instantly fell for Iberia, often daydreaming about what it would take to stay even longer. Six months? A year? Could we do it?

One day, as my wife and son napped during the afternoon heat, I couldn’t shake those questions as I logged into my North America-based remote job. While joining the siesta sure was tempting, a double-espresso carried me through. We were in Sevilla, and my office overlooked a clay-tiled courtyard with an orange tree in the center. “We could probably get used to this living in Europe and working North American hours thing,” I thought.

Being a remote worker, I was learning, had its advantages.

And so I began researching long-stay visas in Europe. Spain had one, and I fell down the non-lucrative residency visa hole. Let me warn you: It’s a deep, dark, document-filled bureaucratic purgatory against which only the purest, most patient souls will prevail.

I soon discovered the non-lucrative visa would require hundreds of documents, all translated in Spanish, proof of income, proof of accommodation (how do we get that if we’re not there yet?), tons more stuff and an in-person interview … not in Spain, but in the Spanish Consulate serving our American state. As a Colorado resident, my family and I would have to interview in person at the Los Angeles consulate. Twice. Once to interview and once to pick up the visas in person.

It was a non-starter. Our hopes for a “Year Living Spanishly” were dashed. I even wrote a whole blog post detailing the ridiculous 21-step process.

Nowadays, that’s changing as Europe embraces the “digital nomad visa,” six-month to one-year visas for remote workers. The digital nomad visa grants temporary residency to people who have steady jobs working from home. And there are a lot more of us now than there were back in 2016. Unfortunately, we have a global pandemic to thank, but lemons to lemonade and all that.

Let’s take a look at which European countries are offering digital nomad visas and when we can expect other countries to follow suit.

Article Table of Contents hide
What is a Digital Nomad Visa?
General Requirements for a Remote Work Visa in Europe
How Do I Apply for Digital Nomad Visas?
Europe’s Best Countries for Digital Nomad Visas
Croatia
Estonia
Georgia
Greece
Iceland
Malta
Norway (Svalbard Islands)
Portugal
European Countries Developing Remote Work Visas

What is a Digital Nomad Visa?

Put plainly, a digital nomad visa allows non-residents to stay, live and travel in a country longer than a typical tourist visa. Europe’s Schengen Zone limits tourist visits to 90 days, but most remote visas grant stays up to a year with an opportunity to renew annually. Digital nomad visas require applicants sustain themselves without a local job, ideally by working remotely or through demonstrated liquid savings. Digital nomad visas don’t offer any benefits beyond the (typically) year-long stay. For example, digital nomads must still pay for health care in their adopted country and taxes in their home country and/or adopted country, depending on the visa. (Be especially vigilante about learning the tax situation as some remote-worker visas require paying local taxes but others do not.)

Before getting ahead of yourself, it’s important to understand what digital nomad visas aren’t. Digital nomad visas are NOT permanent-residency visas. They are not work visas. They are not retirement, property-ownership or business-investment visas (colloquially known as “Golden Visas”). Digital nomad visas are best described as extended tourist visas for travelers who want to live in a country for about a year and have the financial means to do so without needing a local job.

General Requirements for a Remote Work Visa in Europe

While exact requirements vary, generally speaking, applicants must prove they can support themselves through remote work or large savings. To give a remote visa application its best chance for approval, plan on having liquid savings (i.e., cash or stocks not 401K, other long-term investment vehicles) in the high-four or low-five figures at least, a notarized letter from your company attesting to your gainful employment, pay stubs, employment contract, proof of medical insurance accepted in the country, a rental lease or evidence showing proof of accommodation and, since we are amidst a global pandemic, vaccination certificates, PCR tests and quarantines. Other requirements may and inevitably will apply.

How Do I Apply for Digital Nomad Visas?

Again, it varies. Some countries have set up online portals, while others require applying in-person at embassies or consulates. Regardless of how countries want visa applications submitted, nearly all require an in-person interview at an embassy, consulate, government building or police station before granting the visa. My tip: Before traveling down the remote visa path in Europe, organize your finances and maximize your liquid savings for the financial examination. Digital nomad visas live or die based on the applicant’s financial health.

Europe’s Best Countries for Digital Nomad Visas

Europe, especially more affordable Southern Europe, has some of the world’s best countries for digital nomads. Not all countries in Europe offer remote visas, but the number has steadily risen since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Several countries have introduced remote visa measures, several others have tweaked existing freelancer visas to make them more appealing to digital nomads and several more have digital nomad visas in the works.

It makes sense as traditional tourism has plummeted and travelers seek alternatives to short, hotel-based trips. Plus, more and more people work remotely, enabling longer overseas stays. The era of the digital nomad visa is upon us.

Croatia

Perhaps nowhere in Europe is embracing the remote-worker visa like Croatia (except it’s technically a “permit” not visa). It’s a tourism-dependent economy that sees digital nomads as a means to not only alleviate the drop in international tourism but also as a possible solution to a problem vexing Croatia for years—getting tourists to visit outside spring and summer high season. Croatia’s digital nomad visa requirements are fairly lenient and the process seems straightforward, so I expect this program to explode in coming years. Croatia mandates applicants meet the monthly salary OR savings requirements not both.

Estonia

  • Approx. Nomad Visa Cost: $115
  • Savings Requirement per Person: None
  • Monthly Salary Requirement per Person: $4,015
  • European Cost of Living Rank: #22
  • Fixed Broadband Speed: 49.70 Mbps
  • Info: e-resident.gov.ee/nomadvisa

Estonia moved first among European countries to embrace remote workers. In fact, they even unveiled an “e-residency” program, which is something that really exists although I still don’t totally understand it. In August 2020, they opened their e-residency platform (still don’t get it) to remote workers.

Georgia

  • Approx. Nomad Visa Cost: Free
  • Savings Requirement per Person: None
  • Monthly Salary Requirement per Person: $2,000
  • European Cost of Living Rank: #41
  • Fixed Broadband Speed: 20.26 Mbps
  • Info: registration.gov.ge/pub/form/20/ydrv71

The cheapest cost of living and lowest required monthly salary make Georgia an attractive destination for budget nomads. As of publication, Georgia requires a 12-day hotel quarantine for all international arrivals.

Greece

Launched in September 2021, Greece’s digital nomad visa joins the swelling ranks of the Hellenic Republic’s plethora of long-stay visas. Greece’s remote-worker visa allows stays up to three years after a first-year renewal, making it the longest stay allowed on this list.

Iceland

Europe’s third most-expensive country makes an odd appearance on this list. Yet, for the six-figure nomad, Iceland has blazing-fast internet courtesy of Norway, stunning otherworldly natural beauty and a very straightforward digital nomad visa application process.

Malta

  • Approx. Nomad Visa Cost: $344
  • Savings Requirement per Person: None
  • Monthly Salary Requirement per Person: $3,100
  • European Cost of Living Rank: #14
  • Fixed Broadband Speed: 89.14 Mbps
  • Info: nomad.residencymalta.gov.mt

You might consider Malta a sleepy backwater in the Mediterranean. You’d be wrong. Malta not only has Scandinavian level internet speeds, but was also the first EU country to roll out a 5G network. After Croatia and Estonia, Malta was the third European country to offer a nomad visa.

Norway (Svalbard Islands)

  • Approx. Nomad Visa Cost: $688
  • Savings Requirement per Person: None
  • Monthly Salary Requirement per Person: $3,900
  • European Cost of Living Rank: #2
  • Fixed Broadband Speed: 103 Mbps
  • Info: sysselmesteren.no/en/visas-and-immigration

This remote-work visa is for gilded nomads. Gilded nomads who don’t mind the Arctic cold. Not only does Norway have an exorbitant cost of living, but their nomad visa is only valid in the unique visa-free Svalbard region, the country’s most expensive.

Portugal

Portugal’s existing D7 and Temporary Stay visas weren’t originally intended as digital nomad visas, but the government has revamped them to attract remote workers. Previously, D7 visa holders had to own land in Portugal or provide business services to a Portuguese company. Those requirements were axed in 2021, making Portugal’s D7 among the world’s most attractive remote-worker visas.

European Countries Developing Remote Work Visas

Update: December 2, 2022: Spain will begin processing digital-nomad visas as early as January 2023. See more here.

Update: March 29, 2022: Italy has officially included a digital nomad visa in its latest government decree. However, as tends to be the case with ministerial affairs in Italy, details are scarce. Actually, details are nonexistent beyond the following: “…for those who carry out highly qualified work activities through the use of technological tools that allow them to work remotely, autonomously or for a company that is not resident in the territory of the Italian state…the establishment of a dedicated visa and permit lasting one year, which can be extended for a further year and can be extended to the family unit of the remote worker.”

Update: Jan. 31, 2022: Spain has drafted a law authorizing digital-nomad visas. Parliament must approve it, which could take several months to a year.

Update: Jan. 28, 2022: Hungary has joined the ranks of European countries offering a digital nomad visa. Dubbed the White Card, remote workers can apply for the one-year visa and renew once. Details here: http://www.bmbah.hu/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=1714&Itemid=2100&lang=en

Update: Jan. 17, 2022: Romania has officially unveiled their digital nomad visa. It appears nomads will need monthly income of around $4,080. Details here: romania-insider.com/index.php/digital-nomads-law-iohannis-jan-2022

I’m watching exciting developments for remote workers seeking a long-term stay in Europe as several additional countries devise digital nomad visas. They include: Cyprus, Romania, Italy and Spain. (Spain and Italy, which both offer a one-year non-lucrative visa, are rumored to be close to launching specific visas for remote workers.)

Other countries, like Germany and Czechia, offer freelancer visas that exist somewhere between a proper digital nomad visa and a long-stay business visa. They’re typically more expensive and have more restrictions than a digital-nomad visa. You may also have to obtain a trade license, pay local taxes and provide a compelling reason for working from their country beyond, “Because I want to.” That’s why I don’t include them in the list above. Still, with minimal finessing, they can and are being used by digital nomads every day. These countries include:

Sources

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