
Estonia is launching a new Digital Nomad Visa for remote workers - MacSystem
https://e-resident.gov.ee/nomadvisa/
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owenversteeg
The important parts people will probably look for:

\- No right of citizenship or permanent residence in Estonia or EU \- Get to
live in Estonia for up to 1 year \- Must make more than 3500 eur/mo gross from
remotely earned income from sources mostly outside of Estonia

~~~
paxys
Pretty sure no work visa in the world grants the right of citizenship or
permanent residence. I imagine for a lot of freelancers though demonstrating a
sustained 3500 EUR/month income for at least 6 months prior to the application
might be difficult.

Overall this is very encouraging though, and I hope more countries start to
realize the net gain in attracting such people who will contribute to the
economy by paying taxes and potentially starting their own companies down the
line.

~~~
owenversteeg
Well, plenty can lead to it eventually, usually offering some kind of pathway.
Even the US provides pathways to permanent residence (and then citizenship)
through employment.

But yeah, I agree. 3500/mo is ~4000 usd/mo or ~48k USD/yr. Lots of traveling
freelancers probably won't be able to show a minimum of that sustained for 6
months. I'd bet the bar was set intentionally high though, because they're
bound to spend a good bit of that directly into the local economy.

I wonder what countries will follow. I imagine there's got to be plenty of
poorer/smaller countries thinking about it... A few people making $4k/mo adds
little to a country like India or China but in a tiny country that could
easily become a decent sized cash transfusion to the local economy.

~~~
disabled
> Well, plenty can lead to it eventually, usually offering some kind of
> pathway. Even the US provides pathways to permanent residence (and then
> citizenship) through employment.

The US has a lot of visas for longer term professional work, that do not allow
you to obtain the right to permanent residency or citizenship, at least on
paper (for example, one way to get in: these individuals however, are allowed
to get married to a US citizen and can theoretically, at least, get in that
way).

So, the US and Estonia are not much different, in this respect. But, in these
situations, what it comes down to, in order to stay long term: formal in-
person connections in the respective country.

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jake_morrison
I am hoping North Asian countries loosen up about visas.

Right now it's easy to be a digital nomad or retiree in Thailand. Malaysia has
My Second Home:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_My_Second_Home](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_My_Second_Home)

I expect things will get easier in North Asia as the effects of the aging
population hit.

I would love to be able to move to a small town in Japan to live the Totoro
life with fast Internet. And no virus problems.

~~~
christiansakai
North Asia has too much problem by themselves already. They don’t need more
foreigners money as they are already rich and would rather prevent Eternal
September.

Not all South East Asian countries are welcoming to foreigners as well. I.e.,
Indonesia. They have too many digital nomads causing trouble and contributing
nothing locally.

No skin in the game.

~~~
DarthGhandi
> contributing nothing locally

Someone earning $10 a day online from overseas sources is contributing far
more than a local worker.

~~~
stockkid
Could you elaborate how that might be the case? Is the argument that the $10
will somehow trickle down into the local economy?

~~~
DarthGhandi
How is it going somewhere else? If course it's being spent in the economy.
Essentially it's an export of services.

For large amounts I'm sure some is saved but most workers whether local or
foreign bringing in overseas dollars are contributing far more to overall
improvement of the economy than someone working at a retail store earning the
exact same amount while shuffling around domestic dollars.

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wef2323tg23
How much taxes do I have to pay with this visa? As far as I know, Georgia
(country) provides almost tax-free residency as long as the income is from
foreign territories.

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schmookeeg
Either this is completely not for me, or i don't get it.

I contract from my US C corporation.

That corporation pays me, at my US address.

I pay taxes accordingly. In the US.

Is Estonia trying to horn in on those personal earnings, claiming I earned
them while being a tourist in their country? (illegally? gasp) What if I don't
pay myself while in EE and just pay myself later?

Are there services I might consume over and above a tourist visa as a remote
worker, and those need recouped? Will this remote worker visa get me better
access to those services?

I didn't understand their digital citizenship thing a decade ago either.

Befuddled. I love Estonia too, so I want to understand. :)

~~~
kd5bjo
For most countries, visiting with a tourist visa means that it’s illegal to
work while inside the country. The intent is to prevent you from entering the
local job market, so most countries will turn a blind eye to tourists who
don’t completely cut themselves off from their employer back home.

The actual laws haven’t been updated to officially allow that, though, so
you’re operating in a legal grey area; especially if you have some non-
vacation days in-country. This makes it unambiguously legal to take an
extended vacation where you support yourself by continuing to work remotely.

~~~
blaser-waffle
I've worked remotely in several countries (Australia, UK, Canada, parts of the
EU) in short stints (2-3 weeks to ~6 months), and for the most part the
governments don't care much. As long as you're not conducting business related
to that country -- like selling to locals or trying to get a local job -- no
one will dig too hard. If they ask, you're just there to do an extended
vacation or backpack.

Parent comment is right, though: it is sort of a legal gray area. If you plan
on having a long-standing relationship with that country it's probably worth
doing things legally, if possible.

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atlasunshrugged
Always keen for new developments in government services and especially
mobility for people, I hope this won't end up just one more class of visa with
a little branding thrown on top. I think there's a massive opportunity right
now for countries who want to attract groups of employees from the US tech
scene especially that can cater to their needs and provide a safe operating
environment for long term offsites without crazy new tax implications for the
remote workers (although small island nations in the US time zones or even
specific states in the US may be better positioned)

