Description:
I have been working remote for 3 years now and want to start traveling while working. Some countries offer digital nomad visas, but they all have different requirements and durations. Has anyone navigated this successfully? Looking for real experiences, not just Google results. Specifically interested in balancing multiple country stays without visa issues.
9 Answers
I must respectfully disagree with FreeBird44's approach. Working on a tourist visa is technically illegal in most countries, even if enforcement is lax. I've been remote working internationally since 2019, and I strongly recommend doing things properly. I use a service called Nomad Immigration Services that handles all my visa applications for about $300 per country, which saves me enormous headaches. The best long-term strategy I've found is establishing tax residency in a country with nomad-friendly policies (I chose Portugal), then using that as your base while traveling on shorter stints. This provides stability while still allowing flexibility.
Hey there! I have been doing the digital nomad thing for about 5 years now. The visa situation is honestly a mess, but there are workarounds. What I typically do is rotate between countries with friendly tourist visas (usually 90 days) and digital nomad visas. Places like Estonia, Croatia, and Portugal have pretty straightforward applications. Pro tip: keep ALL your financial docs super organized - tax returns, proof of income, health insurance, etc. Makes visa apps WAY easier. Also worth joining nomad communities on FB or Reddit where ppl share latest visa changes.
Look into the Estonia e-Residency + their digital nomad visa. Been using it for 18 mo now & its fantastic. You can run EU business remotely + stay legally. Costs about €120 for e-residency & then visa fees extra. Worth every penny for peace of mind.
- D. W.: E-Residency doesn't grant residency or visa
- TechGypsy: Hey D.W., you're totally right—e-Residency itself isn't a visa or residency permit. What I meant was using Estonia’s e-Residency in combination with their digital nomad visa. E-Residency lets you set up and run an EU-based business remotely, while the digital nomad visa covers your legal stay. Sorry for any confusion!
Its really depend on your nationality too. As US passport holder, I have way more options than my colleague from India. We travel together but have totally different visa experiences. Some counties have quotas or special restrictions based on your passport. I recommend the Atlys app to check requirements based on your specific situation. Also worth mentioning that some countries (like Thailand) are cracking down on people who do constant border runs to refresh tourist visas while secretly working. Don't risk deportation and bans.
digital nomad visas are overrated imho. Most countries let you stay on tourist visa for 30-90 days, and nobody asks what you are doing on your laptop. Just don't tell immigration your working. I've been nomading for 2 yrs across SEA and South America without special visas. Save your money, less paperwork!
- Mateo Kim: Risky and illegal, get proper long stay visas
- Free-- -Bird: you're right that it can be risky. I spoke from personal experience in places that rarely enforce tourist rules for remote work, but that doesn't make it legal everywhere. Consequences can include fines, deportation, bans, or tax headaches. If you plan to stay long-term, work with local clients, or want certainty, get the proper long‑stay/nomad visa.
my earlier comment was about short stays and keeping things simple, not advising people to break local laws.
Yes. I did this for about three years and learned the hard way that planning beats last minute scrambling. I used a mix of official nomad visas, long-stay visas and tourist stints, always mapping a 12 month calendar so Schengen 90/180 limits and other rules never surprised me. Proof of income, solid health insurance and clean bank statements were constant requests. Sometimes I applied from home, sometimes in-country with help from a visa agent. Avoid relying on visa runs. Keep digital copies of everything and build buffer days between moves. It takes work. But with a calendar and backups it is doable. Good luck.
I’ve helped several nomads and have done a fair bit of navigating myself.. the short, blunt takeaway is: map calendars and treat visas like project deadlines. Start by listing each country’s permitted stay, entry rules (Schengen 90/180 is non-negotiable), income and insurance proof, and expiration dates in a simple spreadsheet - weirdly practical, but it works. Rotate stays so that visa windows don’t overlap, uuse longer-term nomad visas as anchors and fill gaps with short tourist stays where allowed. Keep meticulous records, stamped entries, employer letters and international health cover and track tax residency thresholds (183 days, center-of-vital-interests tests). When situations get thorny, get local immigration or tax advice: a small-planet problem deserves professional help. Plan buffer days. Trust but verify.
That’s a great question! I’ve been traveling and working remotely myself, and it can definitely be tricky when it comes to visas. I remember a few years back, I decided to take a leap and start working from different countries. I found that researching each destination’s visa requirements was key.
For example, when I was in Portugal, their digital nomad visa had specific income requirements and a bit of paperwork, but it was so worth it. I also kept a spreadsheet of my travel plans, noting the visa expiry dates and required documents for each country I intended to visit. This way, I could easily plan ahead to avoid overlaps.
Another tip is to connect with other digital nomads in online forums or groups. They often share valuable insights and tips based on their experiences. It’s all about planning and being aware of each country’s rules! Happy travels, and enjoy the journey!
👋🏼Juggling all those visa requirements feels like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded sometimes, right? But here’s a little twist that helped me: instead of just hopping from one digital nomad visa to another or tourist stint after stint, I started thinking about the borders as more than just lines on a map-kind of like chapters in my travel story. So I paced my stays not only by rules but also by how much time I actually want to sink into experiencing each place without rushing for the next stamp in my passport. It turned travel into something way richer and less stressful. And surprisingly, this mindset eased anxiety about overstays because I was genuinely aligned with where I was staying rather than always playing catch-up with deadlines. Just a thought!
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