ROMANIA’S DIGITAL NOMAD VISA IS THE MOST ACCESSIBLE YET
Romania looks set to join the growing list of countries offering so-called digital nomad visas to remote workers. Its minimum income requirement, of just over 1,100 euros per month, will make it the most accessible in Central and Eastern Europe.
A draft law currently making its way through Romania’s parliament is looking to position the country as one of the most attractive locations in Central and Eastern Europe for the world’s ever-increasing number of digital nomads.
Long regarded as one of the best places for remote working in the region, thanks to its relatively low cost of living and superfast internet which reaches into even the country’s most remote rural areas, Romania now wants to become a leading destination for digital nomads, and the draft law looks just the ticket.
“We want international citizens to live in and enjoy our beautiful country, where innovation intersects with traditions and nature,” says Diana Buzoianu, a Romanian MP for the progressive USR-Plus party and the initiator of the digital nomad visa programme.
“I believe that the programme will help us build our country brand, becoming a leader in this area,” she adds, also saying that she has pushed for it to be passed as emergency legislation in order to speed up its adoption.
The Covid-19 pandemic has driven a paradigm shift in the way that people work across the globe, with physical location never less important. It has also offered a new opportunity for developing countries to attract money into their economies.
At present in Central and Eastern Europe, Croatia, Estonia and Georgia already offer digital nomad visas, which allow remote workers to live in the respective countries for up to 12 months at a time, usually on the proviso that they do not intend to provide services to firms in their host country.
The main conditions for applying to this visa are:
- proof of being an employee, or a owner of a company registered outside of Romania;
- proof that for 6 months before applying for the visa and for the period of time requesting the visa, the digital nomad has an income amounting to at least the equivalent average national income;
- proof of health insurance for the period of time for which the visa was obtained;
- proof of no criminal record.
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