[aunty_helen]

"Digital nomad visas" are starting to become more common as countries realise they bring in low impact wealthy online based 'tourists.'

Currently, it's very possible to travel on a 3-6 month basis between countries under tourist visas and to work remotely in a somewhat illegal fashion. These nomad visas are an attempt to capture that market offering legitimacy for a fee.

Unfortunately, Barbados hasn't really hit the sweet spot here. It's possible to exist in Barbados for 6 months purely as a tourist and do the usual remote working gig where you just don't walk up to a tax official and start telling them you're working in an illegal manner. Or, you can now apply for this visa, stay the whole year, be legit, but you have to meet some conditions and hand over 2k USD which is pretty steep.

[dzhiurgis]

Yeah seems there needs to be something provided in return. Healthcare probably pays off itself compared to US.

[aunty_helen]

I don't think you're going to save on healthcare with visas like this. You're still required to be fully covered with your own health insurance as one of the visa conditions.

This removes the possibility of you being a burden on their public health system, which is common amongst not just these new 'nomad' visas but also the working holiday visas that have been around for decades.

[dzhiurgis]

Maybe. I'm guessing health insurance is still going to be cheaper to buy in any country outside US. A lot of time it's not worth to get insurance at all and just pay out of your pocket (because you aren't ripped off by hospitals).

But going back to point - why would anyone get this permit when they can stay on tourist visa. I guess complacency is one reason.

[dmitrygr]

Pro tip: being lucky and getting away with tax fraud is not the way you want to live in any country. You will eventually get caught.