Why Asian countries are a big hit among digital nomads
6 min readThe office is passé. Even working from home is so 2022-23. Wonder what is better than
WFH.
Working from a new country – one of your choice. 2024 is the year of digital nomads and Asia is a popular destination for professionals on the move. Japan is the latest nation to hop onto the bandwagon, introducing a new visa programme for those who work remotely and travel from one country to another.
What is a ‘digital nomad’ visa?
A digital nomad is a person who works remotely and stays in a country for a short period. A digital nomad or “workation” visa allows such people the legal right to work while staying away from their country of permanent residence.
This visa “is a cross between a tourist and a temporary migrant visa – a working-on-holiday visa”. “Instead of the visa giving you the right to work in the country, it’s allowing you to stay so long as you’re gainfully employed and bringing money into the local economy,” according to an essay in The Conversation.
The period of stay varies but several nations offer a 12-month visa with the option to renew it.
Close to 50 countries offer this visa, which gained popularity during the pandemic, with many Asian countries opening their doors to remote workers. Japan is the latest entrant.
What do we know about Japan’s ‘digital nomad’ visa?
Japan plans to launch a digital nomad visa by the end of March 2024. This would allow a person to legally live and do remote work from anywhere in the country for six months.
Those with an annual income of ¥10 million (Rs 55.16 lakh) or more and avail of this visa. Citizens of 49 countries including the US, the UK, Australia, and Singapore, among others, can stay in Japan. However, India is not on this list of countries.
The visa is open to self-employed individuals.
Applicants must have private health insurance and can bring their spouses and children to Japan. It’s also non-renewable, with a mandatory six-month wait outside Japan before reapplying, according to a report in Business Today.
“The authorities do not permit the visa holder to apply for a residence certificate in Japan. Though India is not on the list of the 49 countries like the US, Europe and others, but sooner or later India will make it to the list,” Alay Razvi, partner at Accord Juris LLP, a Hyderabad-baed law firm, was quoted as saying by Business Standard.
Which other Asian countries offer such visas?
Last month, South Korea introduced the
“workation” visa
. Foreign nationals who earn double the country’s per capita gross national income of $33,000 (Rs 27 lakh) can apply for it. They must also have a medical insurance cover of Rs 63 lakh and must be able to meet medical treatment and repatriation fees.
Families of such individuals are also granted visas.
South Korea’s justice ministry says the digital nomad visa will make remote work and vacations smoother for visitors, according to a report in the Korea Herald.
Thailand is also a popular destination for digital nomads. Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand, is often referred to as the “digital nomad capital” of the world.
The country introduced a 10-year long-term visa residence for foreigners with a multiple re-entry permit and permission to work in September 2022. The requirements for Thailand include showing proof of income of at least $80,000 (Rs 66.28 lakh) annually for the two years before the visa application date and a minimum of $1 million in assets, according to a BBC report.
Last year, the Philippines introduced its digital nomad visa which allows travellers to spend 12 months in the country. It is now considering extending it to 24 months. People who have an income of $24,000 (Rs 20 lakh) a year and proof of health insurance can avail of the service.
Malaysia has similar rules for foreigners with an annual income of $24,000, who can stay for 12 months. Applicants must work remotely and in the digital domain like IT, content creation and digital marketing.
Taiwan does not have a digital nomad visa but a “Gold Card”, which allows entry for three years, along with working and residency rights.
Also read: Why Japan is staring at a ’now or never’ situation on its shrinking population
Why Asia is so popular among digital nomads
Asian countries are a big draw for digital nomads. A report last year pointed out that out of 10 the fastest-growing destinations for such travellers, nine are from the continent.
Even before Japan offered the visas, Tokyo ranked as the fastest-growing remote working hub in 2023, according to data shared with CNBC by Nomad List, a website for remote workers, which analysed more than 300,000 check-ins on its database.
The reason for its popularity is attributed to the lower cost of living compared to a Western city like New York – the Japanese capital is 47.9 per cent less expensive than the American city without rent. Besides a lower cost of living, Tokyo also offers digital nomads the opportunity to work in one of the largest urban economies in the world, Bloomberg reports.
The other cities on the Nomad List included Da Nang (Vietnam), Seoul (South Korea), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Penang (Malaysia), Manila (Philippines), Hanoi (Vietnam), and Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam).
Brittany Loeffler, the head of operations at Nomad Embassy, a website that helps nomads obtain the proper visas, told BBC that Southeast Asia has become an especially popular destination for digital nomads “due to the affordable cost of living, reliable wi-fi and great weather”.
How do nations benefit from digital nomads?
Welcoming foreign work with spending power brings great benefits to the host countries.
“Even countries with relatively strict immigration policies are seeing the advantages of attracting individuals who work remotely and have disposable income, to stimulate their economies,” Vipul Jai, partner, PSL Advocates & Solicitors told Business Standard.
Loeffler has similar views. “There is huge potential for digital nomads to help local economies – think tourism spending, but for weeks or months at a time,” she told BBC.
Foreigners who come to work in South Korea spend an average of $2,050 (Rs 1.7 lakh) every month to live in Seoul, as per Digital Nomad, a website that tracks trends of remote workers. This includes housing, food, transit and co-working spaces.
But that is not all.
South Korea is also looking at the bigger picture. Experts say that these visas are a “possible avenue” for increasing the workforce in a country with a dismal
birth rate
, according to CNN.
Professor Jungho Suh, project director of the Korean Management Institute at George Washington University, is quoted by the publication as saying that the “workation” visa is a “soft launch” for a bigger plan to bring more foreigners into Korea – and not only for career reasons. “Maybe by enforcing this new visa policy, the government is trying to lead the agenda or to lead the discussion to normalise social mix between ethnicities or between Koreans and non-Koreans,” says Suh.
The Japanese initiative is part of the broader strategy to attract more remote workers and boost its tourism economy. The government hopes digital nomads will drive innovation and energise the country’s rapidly
ageing workforce
, according to a report in The Strait Times.
It is a two-way street.
Digital nomads are growing in numbers. And with more and more nations offering them visas, the world is their playground. Or should we say office?
With inputs from agencies
