Digital Nomadism as an Immigration Opportunity

For many years, successfully immigrating to a foreign country was relatively unlikely for the average person. However, digital nomad visas may be changing the immigration landscape for years to come. 

As someone who is passionate about both remote work and immigration, I’ve been lurking in groups where people discuss their experiences and application processes with various digital nomad visas across different countries. What has surprised me the most about these groups is the widening demographics of them, including people working every type of job imaginable with varying levels of travel experience. It’s not so much that remote work has changed immigration, but rather that many countries have allowed it to. Some digital nomad schemes even allow participating individuals to eventually obtain permanent residency or citizenship, which begs the question if such individuals are better off called “digital immigrants” than “digital nomads.” 

The idea that someone can just decide to move to a foreign country is really a strange concept to me. Having worked in business immigration, I associate immigration as a large amount of paperwork, complex laws and processes, high fees, and most of all, needing a valid reason. Immigration to a spouse’s country has in most cases always been possible, but I probably didn’t need to tell you that. Ancestral family ties are also possible for some countries, but anyone who has looked into this route has probably learned it’s far more complicated than it seems. Many people use higher education as a means to try and immigrate, but this effort is often fruitless unless you can secure a job upon graduation. The same is true for other temporary arrangements, such as student exchanges or working holidays - they may earn your entry, but they won’t guarantee your stay.

There are a few other schemes I haven’t mentioned, such as the United States’ green card lottery or the “golden visas” of other countries, but in my opinion, qualifying for these specialized programs is far too difficult to really make a difference in the relative ease of moving abroad. The truth is, contrary to what many people think, it is not easy to be approved as an immigrant. I cannot even express how many well-educated and determined people I have met who, despite years of trying to move abroad, have not been able to. That being said, it is hopefully obvious by now why the emergence of self-sponsored, straightforward visas open to nearly anyone with a remote job, regardless of their personal reason for wanting to move, is so notable. 

Yes, there are still restrictions on many of these schemes. Most of them require that you earn a certain level of monthly income, which will obviously favor those from high-earning countries. Some require you to pay local taxes, others don’t allow you to stay more than a certain number of consecutive years. Some prioritize freelancers, some don’t allow you to move if your company has an entity in the receiving country. Almost all require you to come having already secured a remote job, which is in itself a hurdle for many. Each country and scheme is different, and anyone looking to pursue one of these visas should research their options carefully. 

While not perfect, these visas are still clearly opening the door to many individuals who would otherwise have no real likelihood to ever live abroad. From what I heard of others’ experiences, this is making a world of difference to those whose discrimination cases are not strong enough to meet refugee criteria, or those whose family situations do not meet the strict definitions to qualify as such. I’ve heard of lighthearted reasons too, such as offering opportunities to landlocked surfers or tropical-born snowboarders, or individuals seeking to perfect a foreign language. There are a million reasons someone may want to immigrate, out of necessity or out of desire, and these visa schemes appear to be a massive step forward inclusivity. Only time will tell whether more countries develop these visas, or whether the countries that currently have them will shut them down or tighten the rules. At this moment, I’m feeling incredibly positive that these visas may be the start of an incredible movement to reshape immigration as we currently understand it.