What is a digital nomad visa and how do you apply for one?

Have you ever wanted to live in another country and work remotely? Certain countries offer a visa that will allow you to do so, called the "digital nomad visa" (DNV). But before you trot off overseas with your laptop, there are a few things you should know.

DNVs were introduced during the pandemic to boost local economies and give people the chance to live in another country while working remotely for either a company or clients, or their own company established outside of the country where they wish to apply for the visa.

Nomads Embassy COO Brittany Loeffler said Estonia, Croatia and Malta were some of the first to introduce these visas and now more than 40 countries have jumped on board including South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan.

Loeffler said the visas are growing 20 per cent every year and most Aussies who enquire want to move to Europe - particularly Greece, Spain, Portugal, Malta and Croatia - along with Thailand and Malaysia.

According to Loeffler, understanding how each country's DNV works is key to applying, a process the website describes as sometimes "daunting and overwhelming". Individuals must apply via their chosen country's official government website and each country has its own set of criteria that applicants must meet, such as a stated monthly or annual income.

While the main benefit is living and working abroad for an extended period of time, some DNVs also come with reduced tax rates, or no requirement to pay local taxes at all, such as in Croatia, Costa Rica, Curacao and Ecuador, Loeffler says.

"Many digital nomads work in digital marketing, finance, IT, and software. However, we do also see many online therapists, life coaches, personal trainers, content creators, teachers/language tutors, and translators applying for digital nomad visas," she says.

Aussie business owner and mum Emma Maidment has relocated to Greece with her family and is waiting to hear if her DNV application is successful. She has written a book called Find Your Flow about building a business as a digital nomad, after 11 years of travelling and working remotely.

"I wanted freedom, flexibility, and the ability to design my life around my values. Becoming a digital nomad gave me all of that, and I've never looked back," says Maidment, whose work involves business and mindset coaching.

But the process has been more complex than she expected. She hired an immigration lawyer to help her which she said was "invaluable" to handle translations and paperwork.

Aussie Wayne Schmidt, a mentor, became a digital nomad with his wife in 2017, but the duo haven't applied for a visa because they "prefer to travel for a maximum of one to three months in each country".

"It's a great opportunity to experience life abroad, meet new people and travel on weekends to places that you simply couldn't visit over a weekend if you lived in Australia," he said.

Interestingly, "digital nomad visa" searches online exploded by 170 per cent worldwide amid US President Donald Trump's election win in 2024, according to Google search data analysed by Centus.