[0:00] hey I'm Cole marketing director at
[0:03] citizen remote
[0:04] and I'm Tim co-founder and CEO of
[0:07] Citizen remote and today we're going to
[0:09] talk to you about digital Nomad visas
[0:11] and we're going to tell you a few things
[0:12] about them and some things that you
[0:14] might want to know if you're curious or
[0:16] thinking of applying for one
[0:18] so first of all what is a digital Nomad
[0:21] Visa Tim a digital Nomad Visa is
[0:24] essentially a tool that people use to
[0:29] acquire long-term residency in another
[0:33] country so the first requirement of
[0:35] digital limit Visa as being a remote
[0:37] worker and then once you do that you
[0:40] leverage a digital Nomad visa to move
[0:43] from anywhere such as Portugal to Costa
[0:48] Rica Mexico to Bali and as long as you
[0:53] have that remote working job which is
[0:56] characterized as or defined as a job
[1:00] that is anywhere outside of the country
[1:02] in which you're applying then you can
[1:04] use this visa to get up to 12 months
[1:08] sometimes 24 months with the potential
[1:11] to extend for often five years
[1:15] um and and stay longer than what a
[1:17] tourist visa allows so what are some of
[1:20] the benefits to a digital Nomad
[1:21] lifestyle it's sounds like it could be a
[1:24] little hectic living on the road what
[1:28] are what are some things that should
[1:30] pull me into this lifestyle uh
[1:33] flexibility for one
[1:35] um you know a lot of the things that
[1:36] people say about working from home all
[1:40] the time is you know who do you talk to
[1:43] um and like in you know working at home
[1:46] all the time that must be terrible
[1:49] um and you know depending on your
[1:50] situation I can't say for everyone I
[1:52] personally love working at home but
[1:54] that's oftentimes because I get to walk
[1:55] outside
[1:57] um and I'm in the middle of Spain
[1:59] um sure and so you know that's kind of
[2:01] one of the benefits of of these these
[2:04] digital Nomad visas of the digital Nomad
[2:06] lifestyle is you know your day-to-day is
[2:09] always in flux it's always changing
[2:12] um and you get to experience these
[2:14] cultures that you would have never
[2:16] experienced known about you get to learn
[2:18] about uh other areas around the world
[2:22] um how how other governments work how
[2:25] other grocery stores operate I mean
[2:28] you'd be surprised in in the differences
[2:31] um of of the way the world works and it
[2:34] really opens your eyes into the fact
[2:36] that there's not just one way for a
[2:38] society to function
[2:40] um and so that Insight
[2:42] um just kind of that cultural Insight uh
[2:45] is beneficial to you know anyone who
[2:47] wants to kind of venture out into this
[2:49] into this digital limit lifestyle and
[2:51] then to kind of Full Circle you know the
[2:54] the amount of social capabilities I
[2:57] guess you can call it uh of going around
[2:59] and just talking to people and getting
[3:02] to know people when you are working at
[3:04] home all day when you go to the bar and
[3:06] start talking to people it's a lot
[3:07] different than going to the bar in your
[3:08] hometown
[3:09] um or going to the gym in your hometown
[3:11] and the conversations you have uh are a
[3:14] lot uh more exciting I I find
[3:17] um and so those are just a few of the
[3:19] benefits of being a digital Nomad or you
[3:22] know try around the world sure sure what
[3:25] are some of the challenges in your
[3:27] opinion challenges and what's it
[3:31] um so
[3:32] I mean living on the road not really
[3:34] having a solid place to call your own um
[3:39] not really having that sort of social
[3:42] fix of your job
[3:44] um what do you what do you see as the
[3:48] biggest challenges is it finding a place
[3:50] to live is it getting your Visa is it
[3:53] making friends
[3:55] um what are some challenges and how do
[3:57] you overcome yeah all of those
[3:59] um are are definitely definite
[4:01] challenges
[4:02] um of of traveling around the world you
[4:05] know you do have to kind of force
[4:06] yourself to potentially go out of your
[4:08] comfort zone if you're not familiar with
[4:09] that um you have to force yourself to
[4:11] understand you know what makes a rental
[4:14] contract legitimate and how do I acquire
[4:17] this accommodation in a country that I
[4:19] potentially don't speak the language
[4:21] um and so you know and then going into a
[4:24] Visa which is a whole nother can of
[4:26] worms that we're going to get into here
[4:27] in a bit there are a lot of challenges
[4:31] um and there are a lot of tools out
[4:33] there that kind of help with those
[4:35] challenges one of them being citizen
[4:37] remote
[4:38] um and the app that we've built
[4:39] specifically for this you know as being
[4:42] digital Nomads and remote Travelers
[4:44] ourselves uh working from home our whole
[4:48] careers as Peter uh CEO has done
[4:52] um David is an extensive World traveler
[4:54] another co-founder and myself a world
[4:56] traveler and working uh from technology
[4:59] companies to technology company
[5:02] um it's just we know the pain points
[5:05] that come with that and we've used our
[5:07] backgrounds to create
[5:11] um the best tool possible to to address
[5:13] those concerns and make it almost
[5:16] seamless to go from again the middle of
[5:19] the U.S to Portugal or from Portugal to
[5:22] Southeast Asia and back around again and
[5:26] so while there are you know a few
[5:28] potential issues such as accommodation
[5:31] visas potentially taxes
[5:34] um being able to meet people once you've
[5:37] relocated
[5:39] um you know we've tried it citizen
[5:40] remote to address all that within the
[5:42] technology and the platform that we've
[5:43] built sure so in your eye citizen remote
[5:47] is really
[5:49] four digital Nomads and remote workers
[5:52] but not just for them but by them
[5:54] absolutely absolutely and and that
[5:57] Insight is something that we will never
[5:59] uh that we never want to get rid of
[6:02] um because again you know it's something
[6:05] that only those who have lived that
[6:08] lifestyle can create the best technology
[6:10] to solve that lifestyle right because we
[6:13] ourselves have tasted kind of what
[6:16] remote work can do for your life and
[6:17] what travel can do for your life and how
[6:20] combining the two really opens up a door
[6:23] that wasn't really possible when we were
[6:27] growing up and now we've been given this
[6:30] amazing opportunity and we've seen the
[6:33] power it has and we want to make it more
[6:35] attainable for other people yeah so
[6:38] with that said what are some of the most
[6:40] popular digital Nomad locations in your
[6:42] opinion what are some easy visas to get
[6:45] what are some Trend Setters and along
[6:49] with that what are some of the harder
[6:51] digital Nomad locations to enter yeah so
[6:55] I think it kind of just depends because
[6:56] you know what makes a digital Nomad a
[6:59] hot spot as opposed to what is the best
[7:02] digital Nomad visa to acquire or two
[7:04] completely different conversations sure
[7:07] um you know and I'll I guess I'll speak
[7:09] more to what my expertise is which is
[7:12] the digital Nomad visas
[7:13] um something that we are you know
[7:15] heavily involved with at citizen remote
[7:17] and so I think some of the most popular
[7:20] digital Nomad visas out there today
[7:24] um I'll start with Europe Portugal is by
[7:27] far and away the biggest
[7:29] um which is funny because it's also the
[7:30] hardest
[7:32] um and and you know that comes from you
[7:35] know restrictions on how much you need
[7:38] to open up a bank account tax ID getting
[7:42] set up all before applying you have to
[7:44] be in your home country or a country in
[7:46] which you have residence there's a lot
[7:47] of these uh restrictions that make it
[7:50] more difficult to acquire a Visa as a
[7:52] place like Greece which is a very up and
[7:55] growing digital Nomad location from
[7:58] Athens one but also because of the ease
[8:01] of acquiring the visa for uh Greece it's
[8:04] very easy you can do it in country and
[8:07] so for Europe I think that's that's kind
[8:09] of the hardest also most popular and
[8:12] then kind of that dark course up and
[8:13] coming
[8:14] um very easy visa to obtain and then you
[8:17] have also places around the world like
[8:19] Brazil that doesn't necessarily have a
[8:20] digital Nomad Visa they kind of have
[8:22] something similar to the D7 scheme of
[8:24] Portugal
[8:26] um with without the hurdles that you
[8:28] would have to jump through
[8:30] um for for Portugal
[8:32] um and then you know bali's coming out
[8:34] with some new southeast Asia is kind of
[8:35] just now entering the territory but
[8:38] again they're they're Global when you
[8:40] talk about you know every continent
[8:42] besides Australia who's on the on the
[8:45] you know just around the corner South
[8:48] Africa is about to have one
[8:51] um there's a few three or four in South
[8:54] South America
[8:56] um I mean they're around the world so
[8:58] yeah right so with that said what are
[9:03] some of the personal challenges that
[9:05] you've experienced about being a digital
[9:06] Nomad or how much how much work does it
[9:09] take because I mean
[9:11] I'm working a job I don't know if I want
[9:13] to introduce the work of another job so
[9:16] what can I expect from this lifestyle is
[9:18] it is it going to drain me oh no I mean
[9:21] if you work remotely then the lifestyle
[9:24] I often find depending on the pace at
[9:27] which you travel
[9:29] um kind of reinvigorates you
[9:31] um I know if you go all the time
[9:33] depending on who you are you know
[9:34] sometimes you can go you know every two
[9:37] weeks and if that's your lifestyle then
[9:39] great if you can keep up with your work
[9:40] in the meantime fantastic
[9:42] um but I I very much enjoyed this
[9:44] lifestyle because
[9:46] um as we're talking now in the middle of
[9:48] the US
[9:50] um you know I'm still working every day
[9:52] visiting my family for the holidays and
[9:54] it's something that allows me to stay
[9:57] longer and not stress out that the
[10:00] company that we've created is not doing
[10:03] what it needs to
[10:05] um the other side of that is
[10:08] do people not know how to take a break
[10:11] and that's a conversation you know maybe
[10:13] I need to be uh discussing
[10:16] um or somebody needs to discuss with me
[10:18] but uh I mean I think that the ability
[10:21] to travel around the world
[10:24] and be able to work and stay longer in
[10:27] places is just the biggest bonus that
[10:29] there is sure and that's an incentive
[10:32] that people kind of may not consider
[10:35] right away about this is that you choose
[10:37] your pace just because the Visa lasts
[10:39] for one year does not mean that you're
[10:41] locked in that country for a year now it
[10:44] might not be a multiple entry Visa in
[10:46] which case the situation might get a
[10:49] little more sticky but in the end of the
[10:51] day you get to choose how you want to do
[10:54] this lifestyle you get to choose if you
[10:56] want to stay in a place for two weeks or
[10:59] for two years yeah because if it's
[11:01] within the allowance then you can make
[11:04] it happen absolutely yeah and the
[11:06] ability to extend a Visa past that
[11:08] 12-month on the ability to potentially
[11:10] get citizenship in places like Portugal
[11:13] which is why it's one of the most
[11:14] popular you know there are all these
[11:16] benefits to uh digital Nomad visas that
[11:21] people think that my goodness that's
[11:23] going to be so stress useful but it's so
[11:26] easy especially when you have you know
[11:28] the power of a community behind you to
[11:30] bounce questions off of or the
[11:32] technology that we built it makes it so
[11:34] easy to to craft that pace to craft that
[11:38] lifestyle
[11:39] um because just because someone lives on
[11:41] the beach you know if you're a mountain
[11:43] person or a lake person
[11:45] there are places in which you can move
[11:47] and live the lifestyle in which you want
[11:49] almost anywhere in the world right and
[11:52] so it's really kind of blown the door
[11:54] off this idea of finding a job in the
[11:57] place you want to be because now you can
[11:59] find a job and then go to the place you
[12:01] want to be exactly and that's that's the
[12:03] coolest thing and a lot of the questions
[12:05] we get we just had somebody reach out to
[12:08] us and say Hey I want to be a digital
[12:10] Nomad can you find me a good pain remote
[12:13] job and it's like well that's the first
[12:15] hurdle that you as an individual must
[12:18] solve unfortunately we can't find you a
[12:20] remote job for you
[12:22] um unless we give you a through citizen
[12:25] remote
[12:25] um but other than that you know that's
[12:27] the first hurdle people must get get the
[12:29] skills get that remote job and then
[12:32] pursue the lifestyle you want right so
[12:35] and then the world really opens up
[12:37] yeah the steps that it takes to really
[12:40] get to your dream life is seemingly
[12:43] reducing and at citizen remote I know
[12:47] that our passion really is to take those
[12:49] steps down even further and to make it
[12:52] so getting from A to B doesn't require
[12:55] all these steps in between absolutely I
[12:58] mean you used to have to be you know a
[13:00] multi-millionaire to be able to acquire
[13:03] long-term residency in another country
[13:05] and by that meaning invest you know 500
[13:09] 000 or buy a property and live there x
[13:11] amount of time whereas now you can make
[13:14] you know 3 500 a month sometimes as low
[13:17] as 2500 a month and be able to move to
[13:21] countries long term all around the world
[13:23] and so yeah the hurdles that used to be
[13:26] there are are are getting smaller and
[13:30] right exactly as you said hopefully
[13:31] hopefully we can continue to build out
[13:33] stuff to make it even easier for people
[13:35] yeah so I love that so with all that
[13:37] said what do you see as the future for
[13:39] remote work I mean remote work is
[13:42] definitely on the rise since before the
[13:44] pandemic maybe maybe dying a little down
[13:46] since the height of it but these digital
[13:49] Nomad visas they keep popping up day by
[13:51] day do you think that eventually every
[13:53] country is going to offer them or nearly
[13:55] every
[13:56] oh yeah absolutely
[13:59] um I think that
[14:00] eventually this will be
[14:04] there's gonna be two different kind of
[14:06] apps like avenues that people are going
[14:08] to take they're either gonna have their
[14:10] traditional job where they go in and you
[14:12] know their friends or their co-workers
[14:14] and that's absolutely amazing
[14:16] um there are a lot of great company
[14:18] cultures out there I know my brother
[14:19] works for one and he absolutely loves
[14:21] going into work he has the option and he
[14:23] prefers to go in you know 95 percent of
[14:25] the time he says and those people will
[14:28] continue to travel and you know go to a
[14:31] place for a few weeks uh you know at
[14:34] most and then come back home to you know
[14:37] their their setup in their life
[14:39] um and then there's kind of going to be
[14:40] that other aspect of
[14:42] you know these remote workers who have
[14:45] the ability in in only
[14:47] travel from place to place every you
[14:51] know not necessarily every few weeks
[14:53] every few months but every few years
[14:56] um that's something that I do the term
[14:58] is slow mads
[15:00] um you know call it what you will but
[15:03] essentially countries that don't create
[15:06] these visas will lose the huge potential
[15:11] that comes with you know the longevity
[15:14] of these digital Nomad visas this the
[15:18] longevity of this new form of Tourism if
[15:21] you call it um which I would not call it
[15:23] tourism because tourism
[15:25] implies that you're going to go
[15:27] somewhere you're not really gonna in you
[15:30] know engulf yourself in the culture
[15:31] you're just gonna visit some nice resort
[15:33] drink some nice drinks eat some nice
[15:35] food and then go home to your life sure
[15:37] whereas these digital Nomad visas and
[15:39] the future of remote work is really
[15:41] enabling this interconnectivity of an
[15:43] International Community uh in a way that
[15:46] we've never been able to have before not
[15:49] only for the speed of travel but the
[15:52] ability to sustain yourself while
[15:54] traveling it's not just again as we said
[15:57] for the elite few if you want to call it
[15:59] that but it's for the average worker and
[16:03] and it's it's it's a change that we have
[16:06] never seen before
[16:08] um and so I think countries with who
[16:11] don't Implement these visas they're only
[16:14] hurting themselves yeah yeah I never
[16:17] thought that below 30 I have the chance
[16:20] to travel the world without having to
[16:21] quit my job so it's definitely a crazy A
[16:25] crazy future and I'm excited to see
[16:28] where it goes absolutely and if you want
[16:30] to learn more about digital Nomad visas
[16:32] or anything about if you qualify for one
[16:34] you can book a consultation straight
[16:36] with Tim we offer plenty of info on our
[16:39] website and our app is now available in
[16:41] the Apple App Store as well as the
[16:43] Google Play Store so check it out to
[16:45] meet any digital Nomads near you can I
[16:48] do that yeah that's fine perfect
[16:51] or if you just want to see what your
[16:53] next location might be what it might
[16:55] take to get there or need a little help
[16:57] getting there we're here to help you so
[16:59] again I'm Cole marketing director and
[17:01] this is Tim co-founder
[17:03] and thank you for choosing citizen
[17:05] remote