Explained: What is Indonesia’s nomad visa which allows tax free living for travellers

Digital Nomads are those people who work remotely while travelling to different places and spending their earned income in the country they travel to

New Delhi, July 11: Indonesia has announced Digital Nomad Visas for travellers to attract more foreign tourists. The decision was taken t deal with the economic impact of COVID-19.

While Bali is already famous for its beaches and bars, Indonesia through this new policy is trying to promote the spiritual element. Let us take a look who are digital nomads.

Digital Nomads are those people who work remotely while travelling to different places and spending their earned income in the country they travel to.

"Digital nomads are defined as people who choose to embrace a location-independent, technology-enabled lifestyle that allows them to travel and work remotely, anywhere in the Internet-connected world. Unlike regular remote workers, who tend to stay in one geographic area, digital nomads travel and explore while working," a 20202 State of Independence in America by MBO Partners said.

The Digital Nomad Visa will allow remote workers to stay in Indonesia tax free. This would be applicable to Bali as well. The announcement was made by Indonesia's Tourism Minister, Sandiaga Uno and is aimed at boosting tourism. This visa would be applicable for five years thus making it the longes digital nomad visa when compared to other countries.

Indonesia aims to bring in over 3.6 million overseas travellers into the country over the next year to explore spiritual retreats as well as the eco-tourism of Indonesia. A Bloomberg report quoting Uno said that eco-tourism along with sporting events and the five year visa should bring in millions of travellers and create over a million jobs for Indonesians as the borders are now open to tourists.

In the past the three S was-sun, sea and sand. We are moving into serenity, spirituality and sustainability. This way we are getting better quality and better impact to the local economy, Uno told Bloomberg.

As long as the remote workers earn from companies outside Indonesia, they can live tax free inside the country, including on islands like Bali. Indonesia aims to attract employees of organisations like Airbnb, Twitter and others who have allowed remote working for all.

In a survey that was conducted, 95 per cent of digital nomads responded that Indonesia especially Bali was the remote working destination that was top on their mind.

The plan was originally supposed to come into effect in 2021, but it got cancelled. However with the pandemic handled, Uno said that he believed that this is an opportune time to relaunch the idea.

Other countries that provide nomad visas:

Antigua and Barbuda offers a digital nomad visa for two years where the travellers will be required to maintain their own health insurance.

Barbados offers a one year remote working visa which can be extended further. Italy in March released a new permit for non EU-nationals or digital nomads. They can stay in the country for up to 90 days without a visa.

Croatia, Georgia, Costa Rica, Hungary, Spain, Norway, Mauritius, Norway are among the other countries that offer nomad visas.