Being attached to your hometown doesn’t seem to be an issue for millennials as new research as found that over 80% of the generation would love to relocate abroad in the pursuit of work. Breaking free from the traditional 9-5 culture and embracing the digital nomads culture has become a lot more common amongst the new generation as they are keen to broaden their horizons. The majority of millennial tend to develop transferable skills that will enable them to work anywhere, at any time and it’s the emerging digital start ups that are peaking their interest the most.
Traditional ways are over
For digital nomads – people who use technology to live, work and travel -the process of obtaining a visa can be confusing and complicated,therefore many people who are working abroad are doing so illegally. As times are changing and technology is developing starting a new career or business can be as easy as a simple tweet or a click on a Linkedin job profile. This means global governments need to adapt and embrace the new age of digital nomads.
The traditional way of taxing is processed when a person has lived and worked in one place over a period of time. But now that there’s a rise of millennials moving easily from one place to another, governments are missing out on an opportunity to tax these would be legal workers. Many millennials or digital nomad tend to travel and work avoiding the government tax and or even not obtaining work visas. The digital nomads are quickly becoming the most skills and growing community so countries worldwide should want to attract them and tax them.
Many of them fly under the radar as some governments don’t recognise the way they work, thousands of nomads can travel on a tourist visa or work for a local company and governments often turn a blind eye. However Estonia is about to accommodate to digital nomads as they plan to launch a Digital Nomad Visa in the early 2019.
The Digital Nomad Visa
This new visa for e-residents could potentially bring more then 1,400 remote workers to the country per year. This visa will allow digital nomads to work for up to 365 days in Estonia including 90 days travel in the Schengen area. European citizens can move and work freely in Europe, so this visa is aimed at people from further outside the EU and potentially post-Brexit Britain. Click here to see how immigration laws will change after Brexit.
Currently Estonia is the only country that understands the necessary need for visa to be revolutionised in the 21st century. Thailand has recently introduced its smart visa which allows workers to travel and work in Thailand without a permit. However unlike Estonia;s e-visa which is available for all industries, the smart visa is only available for those who work in the ‘S-curve’ industries such as automation, robotics, biotech and next gen automotive. This visa will allow workers to to stay for four years compared to one year previously.
As technology develops we may see more and more countries adopting new visas that allow digital nomads to work and travel wherever they want freely.