A lot has changed in the past couple of years due to the pandemic, and the typical 9-5 office structure is no exception. Even in the after-effects more of us are still working remotely or have gone to a more remote type of work.
Another industry that has been greatly affected is the travel industry. In 2020 all travel for tourism purposes basically ceased to exist. And although it is gradually making a comeback it is still not what it used to be.
New restrictions and procedures put into place after the pandemic has made it harder to just hop on a plane for a quick trip. There are often delays, tests that need to be scheduled, and in some places quarantines. These tourists quarantines can range anywhere from 10 days to almost a month! Singapore has one of the longest quarantines at 21 days. Any violation of these quarantines can result in hefty fines and even jail time.
So what does all of this mean?
People have fewer restrictions on where they can work from and although they still want to travel to new destinations it is a lot harder to just go for a quick 4 or 5-day vacation. The result of this newly found remote work and slow travel lifestyle is the digital nomad visa!
We are all familiar with visas, visas are basically temporary permission for a passport holder of a certain country to enter another country for a given amount of time and for a certain purpose. There are several different types of visas. There are students visas, tourist visas, work visas, etc.
The new kid on the block is the digital nomad visa
A digital nomad visa allows an individual to work remotely or online while staying in a different country for an extended amount of time. Digital nomad visas are also called remote visas, remote work visas, or freelancer visas.
Digital nomad visas are a huge perk to the host country because they now have individuals coming, living, and spending money, but not taking any of the local jobs. This is because the digital nomad visa holder usually works remotely from their home country. If they were seeking work in a foreign country they would need a work visa.
Digital nomad visas are also a big perk for digital nomads because they can potentially be living in a country with a lower cost of living than their home country and saving money. They also get to experience new cultures and places without having to take the time off or go on a vacation.
Not Just A Perk For Employees
Remote visas are also a perk for the digital nomad employer because their workers often work more and feel better about their work and lives. With less time for chit-chat around the water cooler and cubicle conversations employees have more time to work on projects. This increase of freedom due to location independence correlates with higher morale for the remote workers. One study found that digital nomads and remote workers reported feeling happier, more valued, and less stressed than their in-office counterparts.
There are a lot of countries that rely on tourism as a big part of their economies and they know that more people are working remotely than ever before. So they have had to get creative about how to safely draw tourism and spending back to their countries. One way to do this is by offering enticing digital nomad visas to draw people with money to burn to their country to live and work. Check out this list of countries with digital nomad visas!
