Wednesday 22 June 2022 03:56 PM Bali offers TAX-FREE status to anyone who moves there to permanently 'work from ... trends now
Indonesia will soon offer a visa that will allow remote workers to live there tax-free as long as their earnings come from outside the country.
It would mean freelancers would be able to work from popular destinations like the island of Bali.
The proposed five-year 'digital nomad visa' was announced by Indonesia's tourism minister, Sandiaga Uno, this week.
Mr Uno hopes the scheme will help bring 3.6 million overseas travellers to the archipelago in the next year, combined with an increased focus on spiritual retreats and eco-tourism.
The decision is also predicted to create up to create one million jobs without taking away any from local residents.
Indonesia's new digital nomad visa will let remote workers live in places like Bali (pictured) tax-free
The scheme is part of a plan to bring millions of visitors to Indonesia and bring jobs for residents (pictured: tourists on a beach in Bali)
Mr Uno revealed that the decision was based on research that showed Indonesia was 'top of mind' for 95 percent of the remote workers that took part in the survey.
Similar plans for a digital nomad visa were in the works last year, however had to be put on pause due to the pandemic.
Mr Uno said: 'Now with the pandemic handled and all the ministries getting involved and cooperating from the health side to the immigrations office, we believe that this is an opportune time to relaunch this idea.'
There are currently a variety of visas available to remote workers wanting to visit Indonesia, including the Visa on Arrival (VoA), Tourist or Cultural Visa and the country's Free Visa, but these only last between 30 and 180 days.
There are other countries which offer similar visas, such as Georgia, Croatia and Portugal.
VisaGuide lists a total of 26 countries that currently accept digital nomad visas, and those are: Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cabo Verde, Cayman Islands, Croatia, Curaçao, Dominica, Dubai, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Montserrat, Norway, Seychelles, Spain, Taiwan, and The Czech Republic.
Working as a digital nomad has become increasingly popular as significantly more people started working from home in the past few years.
At the start of 2020 an American couple made international headlines when they were deported from Bali after working as digital nomads without the correct visa.
An American couple who moved to Bali from Los Angeles to be 'digital nomads' were deported after calling the island 'queer friendly' and possibly violating immigration laws. Kristen Gray and
