Best Digital Nomad Visas

I've lived in Japan for nearly three years now and although I love it, I'm looking to see more of the world. I have a good remote design job and am not looking to go back to teaching English as a way to get a visa. So, I've started researching the in vogue digital nomad visa.

A wide variety of countries have begun a digital nomad visa program, but with all the options, which is the best? I decided to break it down by cost, freedoms, quality of life, and anything else I could find that ranks countries.

Monthly Income Requirements

If you're maybe new to freelancing or have a variable income, I'd consider this as one of the most important factors. When determining whether to accept your visa application, the country will look at your bank statements and past income for the last 3 - 12 months. If your average isn't above the minimum, I'd look into asking for a raise or getting a side hustle.

Most countries monthly income requirements seems to be around 2 - 4x the local minimum wage or average income. If you're reading this beyond 2025, I'd double check income requirements, as they've been rising with inflation every year.

Also note: minimums for couples and families are generally more. This list is for a single person.

The below is a list of the top 10 digital nomad countries with the lowest income minimum:

Columbia - $900
Ecuador - $1,275
Brazil - $1,500
Cape Verde - $1,500
Mauritius - $1,500
Uruguay - $1,500
Seychelles - $1,650
Montenegro - $1,740
Argentina - $2,000
Indonesia - $2,000

No Minimum Income

Armenia, Anguilla, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Curaçao, St. Lucia, and New Zealand all have no minimum monthly income, but they do require applicants to have sufficient funds to support themselves. So, you will most likely be denied if you make less than $1,000 a month or a bank account of $0. Double check what the cost of living will be where you plan to live in one of these countries, and make sure your income is enough. Minimum wage in Toronto is very different from the Hrazdan.

Cost of Living

The most expensive places for digital nomads to live would be Bermuda, Norway, Iceland, Netherlands, and Cayman Islands.

It comes as no surprise that Central and South America countries tend to be more affordable and Caribbean and European nations are some of the most expensive.

If you're balling on a budget, you could try:

Sri Lanka
Indonesia
El Salvador
Cape Verde
South Africa
Ecuador
Georgia
Colombia
Thailand
Albania

Gender Equality

As a woman, this is definitely an index I think about when traveling. The Global Gender Gap Index ranks countries by "the extent of gender-based gaps among four key dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment."

Below are the top 10 digital nomad countries with the smallest gender based gaps:

Iceland
Norway
Germany
Namibia
Spain
Equador
Portugal
Costa Rica
South Africa
France

LGBT+ Freedoms

Any LGBTQIA+ people should take this into account when traveling or moving abroad. Unfortunately, not every country is as accepting as others. The LGBT Equality Index ranks countries out of 100 on the legal rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ people.

Below are the top countries with digital nomad visas highest ranked on the Equality Index:

Iceland - 94
Norway - 87
Spain / Uruguay - 83
Germany - 81
Canada / Netherlands - 78
Colombia / Malta / Portugal - 76
New Zealand / Argentina / Brazil - 75

Digital Nomad Countries where being LGBTQ+ is potentially dangerous:

UAE - 13
Malaysia - 16
Grenada - 20
St. Lucia - 22
Indonesia - 24
Armenia - 25
Georgia - 29
Sri Lanka - 31
Bahamas - 33
Dominica - 34
Türkiye - 36
Panama - 39
El Salvador - 39
Albania - 46
Namibia - 46
Romania - 46
Latvia - 49
Serbia - 48
South Korea - 50
Hungary - 51

If you are LGBTQ+ do not go to the United Arab Emirates. It is illegal and punishable by death.

Global Peace Index

The Global Peace Index from the Institute for Economics & Peace "measures the state of peace across three domains: the level of Societal Safety and Security; the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict; and the degree of Militarization."

Below are the top 10 most peaceful countries with digital nomad visas.

Iceland
Ireland
New Zealand
Portugal
Japan
Canada
Czechia
Croatia
Germany
Cape Verde

Happiness Index

The World Happiness Report ranks countries on wellbeing, life satisfaction, citizens feelings, and if citizens think their life is worthwhile. The top 10 happiest digital nomad countries are:

Iceland
Netherlands
Norway
New Zealand
Canada
Germany
Ireland
Czechia
France

Digital Nomad Index

The Digital Nomad Index is a relatively new index which ranks countries with digital nomad visas on Internet speed, taxation policies and tax-free length, income requirements for visa applications, cost of living, healthcare score, and tourism popularity.

Below are the top 10 "Best Countries for Digital Nomads"

Spain
UAE
Montenegro
Bahamas
Hungary
Canada
Romania
Portugal
Brazil
Curaçao

Most Walkable Cities

The Top 50 Most Walkable Cities in the World ranks cities on the walking distance between the top five attractions in said city.

Florence, Italy
Venice, Italy
Riga, Latvia
Athens, Greece
Hamburg, Germany
Madrid, Spain
Porto, Portugal
Tallinn, Estonia
Rome, Italy
Bordeaux, France

Considering 3/10 of these cities are in Italy, I'd have to say they win out. But, this could also mean Italy's cities are very good at putting all the best attractions very close to one anther.

Citizenship

If your goal is eventual citizenship of your chosen country the following countries have the shortest residency requirements to naturalization. Note; there may be other requirements, this is simply the soonest you can apply.

Argentina - 2 years
Armenia / Canada / Serbia - 3 years
Brazil - 4 years
Albania / Anguilla / Barbados / Belize / Bermuda / Cape Verde / Cayman Islands / Czechia / Ecuador / El Salvador / France / Germany / Indonesia / Malta / Mauritius / Mexico / Montserrat / Namibia / Netherlands / New Zealand / Panama / Portugal / South Africa / South Korea / Sri Lanka / Taiwan / Thailand / Türkiye / Uruguay - 5 years

TLDR

The countries which show up most frequently at the top of these lists are: Canada, Germany, Portugal, Iceland, Spain, New Zealand, Norway, and France.

You'd think from this list Iceland would be the place I'd choose to go as it tops the list Global Peace Index, World Happiness Report, LGBT Equality Index, and the Global Gender Gap Index but with a sky high cost of living and the second highest minimum income requirement, it's a no from me.

Spain at the top of the Digital Nomad Index seems like a great choice. But, with the anti tourist protests last summer, perhaps it's better to move to someplace more welcoming. Spain also requires 10 years residency for naturalization.

New Zealand would be an amazing place to live, but is a little more isolated than some of the other countries on this list. New Zealand, Canada, and Germany also have higher costs of living at around $4,000+ for 1 person per month.

This is why I've decided on either France or Portugal. France has a "long stay visa" which allows non EU citizens to work remotely as a freelancer. Portugal is a little more tempting with its lower cost of living, but is a little less central than France for those wanting to travel around the EU. However, both allow you to apply for citizenship after 5 years, granted if you can gain fluency of French or Portuguese.

Disclaimer: like any study attempting to quantify something as difficult to measure as "happiness" or "peace" these rankings should be taken with a grain of salt. I wouldn't necessarily cross off a country I feel drawn to simply because they rank low on one of these rankings.