The important parts people will probably look for:
- No right of citizenship or permanent residence in Estonia or EU
- Get to live in Estonia for up to 1 year
- Must make more than 3500 eur/mo gross from remotely earned income from sources mostly outside of Estonia
Pretty sure no work visa in the world grants the right of citizenship or permanent residence. I imagine for a lot of freelancers though demonstrating a sustained 3500 EUR/month income for at least 6 months prior to the application might be difficult.
Overall this is very encouraging though, and I hope more countries start to realize the net gain in attracting such people who will contribute to the economy by paying taxes and potentially starting their own companies down the line.
North Asia has too much problem by themselves already. They don’t need more foreigners money as they are already rich and would rather prevent Eternal September.
Not all South East Asian countries are welcoming to foreigners as well. I.e., Indonesia. They have too many digital nomads causing trouble and contributing nothing locally.
Interesting footnote from the Wikipedia article on Malaysia My Second Home:
"On July 2, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Nancy Shukri announced that the MM2H programme has been temporarily frozen until December 2020 for review and further improvement."
How much taxes do I have to pay with this visa? As far as I know, Georgia (country) provides almost tax-free residency as long as the income is from foreign territories.
Either this is completely not for me, or i don't get it.
I contract from my US C corporation.
That corporation pays me, at my US address.
I pay taxes accordingly. In the US.
Is Estonia trying to horn in on those personal earnings, claiming I earned them while being a tourist in their country? (illegally? gasp) What if I don't pay myself while in EE and just pay myself later?
Are there services I might consume over and above a tourist visa as a remote worker, and those need recouped? Will this remote worker visa get me better access to those services?
I didn't understand their digital citizenship thing a decade ago either.
Befuddled. I love Estonia too, so I want to understand. :)
For most countries, visiting with a tourist visa means that it’s illegal to work while inside the country. The intent is to prevent you from entering the local job market, so most countries will turn a blind eye to tourists who don’t completely cut themselves off from their employer back home.
The actual laws haven’t been updated to officially allow that, though, so you’re operating in a legal grey area; especially if you have some non-vacation days in-country. This makes it unambiguously legal to take an extended vacation where you support yourself by continuing to work remotely.
US citizens only get up to 90 days at a time (out of a sliding 180 day window) in the Schengen zone (of which Estonia is a part) on the tourist allowance. If you are there for 90 days, you have to leave the whole Schengen zone for another 90 days before you can come back on another tourist allowance.
This offers a 1 year residence visa in Estonia, and makes it legal to work remotely while you are there.
Presumably they would also expect some income taxes while you are resident there (and working) during that year.
Always keen for new developments in government services and especially mobility for people, I hope this won't end up just one more class of visa with a little branding thrown on top. I think there's a massive opportunity right now for countries who want to attract groups of employees from the US tech scene especially that can cater to their needs and provide a safe operating environment for long term offsites without crazy new tax implications for the remote workers (although small island nations in the US time zones or even specific states in the US may be better positioned)
[+] [-] owenversteeg|5 years ago|reply
- No right of citizenship or permanent residence in Estonia or EU - Get to live in Estonia for up to 1 year - Must make more than 3500 eur/mo gross from remotely earned income from sources mostly outside of Estonia
[+] [-] paxys|5 years ago|reply
Overall this is very encouraging though, and I hope more countries start to realize the net gain in attracting such people who will contribute to the economy by paying taxes and potentially starting their own companies down the line.
[+] [-] jake_morrison|5 years ago|reply
Right now it's easy to be a digital nomad or retiree in Thailand. Malaysia has My Second Home: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_My_Second_Home
I expect things will get easier in North Asia as the effects of the aging population hit.
I would love to be able to move to a small town in Japan to live the Totoro life with fast Internet. And no virus problems.
[+] [-] christiansakai|5 years ago|reply
Not all South East Asian countries are welcoming to foreigners as well. I.e., Indonesia. They have too many digital nomads causing trouble and contributing nothing locally.
No skin in the game.
[+] [-] nmfisher|5 years ago|reply
"On July 2, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Nancy Shukri announced that the MM2H programme has been temporarily frozen until December 2020 for review and further improvement."
[+] [-] splintercell|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wef2323tg23|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] schmookeeg|5 years ago|reply
I contract from my US C corporation.
That corporation pays me, at my US address.
I pay taxes accordingly. In the US.
Is Estonia trying to horn in on those personal earnings, claiming I earned them while being a tourist in their country? (illegally? gasp) What if I don't pay myself while in EE and just pay myself later?
Are there services I might consume over and above a tourist visa as a remote worker, and those need recouped? Will this remote worker visa get me better access to those services?
I didn't understand their digital citizenship thing a decade ago either.
Befuddled. I love Estonia too, so I want to understand. :)
[+] [-] kd5bjo|5 years ago|reply
The actual laws haven’t been updated to officially allow that, though, so you’re operating in a legal grey area; especially if you have some non-vacation days in-country. This makes it unambiguously legal to take an extended vacation where you support yourself by continuing to work remotely.
[+] [-] sneak|5 years ago|reply
This offers a 1 year residence visa in Estonia, and makes it legal to work remotely while you are there.
Presumably they would also expect some income taxes while you are resident there (and working) during that year.
[+] [-] atlasunshrugged|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|5 years ago|reply
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