Tropical workcation: how to get a digital nomad visa in Southeast Asia

Currently, however, only two countries in Southeast Asia offer visas specifically for digital nomads: Malaysia and Thailand.

Here’s what you need to know if you’re seriously thinking about applying for a digital nomad visa in Southeast Asia.

How to get a digital nomad visa in Malaysia

Applications for Malaysia’s DE Rantau Nomad Pass opened on October 1. Applicants to Malaysia’s digital nomad visa are required to have an annual income of at least US$24,000 and it costs US$215 to apply for the visa.

The Nomad Pass allows remote workers to stay in Malaysia for up to 12 months, with a three-month minimum stay requirement, according to the Malaysia Digital Economy official website. It can be extended for up to 12 additional months, and the spouse and children of remote workers are also allowed to live in Malaysia during the course of the visa’s validity.

However, not all digital nomads are eligible for the visa: only freelancers and independent contractors who work in digital industries like IT and online marketing, and remote workers who are employed by non-Malaysian companies, are eligible.

How to get a digital nomad visa in Thailand

Thailand launched the Long-Term Resident programme in September, which is meant for four categories of foreign applicants: “Wealthy Global Citizens,” “Wealthy Pensioners,” “Highly-Skilled Professionals” and “Work-from-Thailand Professionals”, according to the visa’s official website. Remote workers can apply under the last category.

Applying for Thailand’s visa from inside the country will set you back around US$1,320.

The visa includes tax exemption on income earned overseas, but it comes with strict requirements. Remote workers need to have an annual income of at least US$80,000 for two years before application, according to the visa website.

If applicants do not meet this criteria, they must have at least a master’s degree, intellectual property, or in the case of business owners, received Series A funding.

Applicants must also be employed by a company that is publicly listed on a stock exchange, or if employed by a private enterprise, it must have a combined revenue of at least US$150 million in the three years before the visa application.

And that is not all – remote workers need to have a minimum of five years working experience in the “relevant fields of the current employment”.

Indonesia plans to offer a remote work visa too

Indonesia has also announced plans to launch a remote work visa.

In September, Indonesian Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno said in an Instagram post that digital nomads could work remotely under the B211A visitor visa, as cited by Reuters.

But remote work does not officially appear as a valid activity under the visitor visa, according to Indonesia’s immigration website. There are currently no visas that are officially dedicated to remote work in Indonesia.

The report did not specify which visas these digital nomads were holding.

According to Indonesia’s immigration website, the B211A visa restricts visitors from taking up employment in Indonesia, but it remains unclear if this includes remote or digital work.