Philippines to Start Issuing Digital Nomad Visas Without Tax Incentives

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has supported the proposal to issue digital nomad visas without tax initiatives.

The decision comes following requests from the Private Sector Advisory Council for Tourism (PSAC-Tourism) addressed to the President, calling him to permit the issuance of nomad or remote work visas without tax initiatives, VisaGuide.World reports.

Through a statement, the PSAC-Tourism confirmed that the President supported their proposal to increase tourism receipts from those coming to the country through the Digital Nomad Visa.

[President Marcos] supports this interim solution and has directed the Office of the Executive Secretary to draft the EO and select a pilot country for the initiative.

According to PSAC-Tourism official Lucio Tan III, issuing nomad visas would attract long-term foreign visitors.

We need to issue nomad visas quickly to attract long-stay tourists. Other countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia are already benefiting from this approach.

Philippines’ Digital Nomad Visa Announced in June 2023

The Digital Nomad visa allows internationals to live in the Philippines for up to two years in a legal way while working for clients or companies located outside this territory.

Unlike tourist or business visas, the Digital Nomad visa is designed for a long-term stay.

Among the requirements to benefit from the Philippines Digital Nomad Visa are:

• Obtaining a valid passport
• Confirmation of engagement in remote work in the Philippines
• Minimum income requirement
• Health insurance coverage
• Clean criminal record

The introduction of the Digital Nomad Visa was considered among the factors that would help the further economic growth in the Philippines. The launching of this visa was announced in June 2023 by the country’s authorities.

The Philippines has experienced a significant increase in the number of international visitors. According to the figures from the Department of Tourism (DOT) of the Philippines, for a period from January 1, until March 31 this year, the country saw more than two million international visitors.

The same reveals that the country’s tourism receipts in the first three months of 2024 have accounted for about PHP 157.62 billion which accounts for an estimated 120.70 percent recovery rate from the PHP 130.59 billion revenue gained from the same period in 2019.

Plans to attract 15 million to 16 million visitor arrivals, who would bring about $26 billion to $27 billion in tourism receipts throughout 2024, were unfolded by authorities in the Philippines last year.

The figures from the Department also revealed that as of April 24, 2024, the Philippines registered a total of 2,010,522 foreign visitors with 94.21 percent (1,894,076) of the country’s total international arrivals delivered by international visitors, while 5.79 percent or 116,446 are overseas Filipinos.

The figures reveal that a 15.11 percent increase was noted in the first three months of this year, compared to the figures from the same period last year with 1,746,630 foreign arrivals registered.