DIGITAL NOMAD VISA VS TOURIST VISA
(Reading time 6 min)
The paradigm shift with Covid-19 leads to global migration. How the allure and beneficial conditions of the Algarve offers the physical space to those who work in the virtual.
They are all over the country and they arrive from different countries of the world looking for a safe place to work.
Europe understands this concept and has already developed a special Visa to cater for them. If the Algarve region had many tourists, now we have many digital nomads. It's a whole new opportunity that arises from the pandemic.
How these people are characterized? As we can read on the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) website: “Citizens who can work from anywhere in the world have long been caught in a legal grey area. These are often professionals specialised in technology, but the pandemic has seen companies of all sectors start offering remote opportunities.”
ETIAS goes onto describe a special Visa for Portugal : “ Portugal has designed a temporary resident visa that can be used by freelancers and entrepreneurs. It allows its holder to stay in the country for longer than 1 year and can be extended. Unlike others mentioned on the ETIAS page, this remote work visa can be used as a pathway to permanent residency. The local government in Madeira launched the Madeira Digital Nomads project to attract foreign professionals to the archipelago. Participants will be able to live in the Nomad Village in Ponta do Sol in either independent villas or hotel accommodation and enjoy free wi-fi, coworking stations, and special events.”
The InterNations website provides some reports where Portugal is named one of the best countries to live in (2019 data).
In January 2021 TimesTravel ran the article “Portugal to have Europe's first digital nomad village” and Euronews.travel went with.
Portugal is offering:
- Good Network Communications (lots of Wi-Fi Connections with 4G and Cable connections)
- Great Co-Working Spaces
- Excellent Quality of Life for Expats & Digital Nomads
- The Best Weather for Digital Nomads
- A Country Rich In History & Culture
- Easy Access to Other Countries in Europe and Americas
For all these reasons the demand for properties by digital nomads is increasing and there is already an investment in the acquisition of properties for rent to this new type of people who usually have good economic capacity, want to be close to nature but connected to the world. These are professional freelance workers who are self-funded, self-sourcing, and aspiring to ‘Live the Dream’ in Portugal.
The community of Digital Nomads is expanding and there is a strong demand for properties that meet their needs. Typically Digital Nomads enjoy the company of other ‘ like-minded’ individuals from many different backgrounds. They are also starting to buy properties here for a permanent base, many working for large international companies. If you’re selling a property in the East Algarve, deliberately choosing to market it to this growing socioeconomic group could be a wise choice.
Purchasing a property as a long-term investment and advertising it as a rental is quite common in the Algarve, but what isn’t commonly thought about is the demographic of your ideal tenant. Specifically considering the requirements of Digital Nomad’s could ideally place your rental property in front of a growing community that already has over 10.5k individual members who converse online (online forums, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram combined). Receiving a positive recommendation or review shared in this community can exponentially boost your rental yield for years to come.
Russell & Decoz defines strategies and seeks to offer products that respect current requirements. It will always be a pleasure to talk to you.
