Destinations That Offer Long-Term Travel or Living Remotely Options
With the current Coronavirus pandemic protocols and new regulations, it has put travellers into an very interesting situation. You're probably quarantined in your house, daydreaming about tropical hubs, and wondering when on earth you can explore the world again?!
This travel guide features the best places to go for longer-term travel.
Hope one of these spots get you inspired and excited to travel once it’s safe to do so. As we all know how better we function with vacay plans ahead of us!
For many ‘older’ nomads, the idea of galloping around dozens of countries – as backpackers do in their 20s – is very unappealing.
I want to get to know the sweet places I call home for a short while. I can’t do that if I’m racing through it in two weeks. Here’s the best hubs for your 2021 travel plans offering visas for 3 months to 1 year.
Bali
Indonesia / Bali: tourist visa for 6 months
Although this visa is on hold for the time during COVID restrictions, it’s an option to consider for future travel..
You can arrive in Indonesia and stay for 30 days with an option of paying $35 and extending your visa for 30 days note this is 30 days NOT one month be careful not to exceed this or you’ll have to pay penalty of 1 million rupiah per day ($100 CAD)
This isn’t the ‘easiest’ tourist visa on this list, but if you love Bali it’s worth knowing…
Foreigners who want to enter Bali and stay up to 6 months need to apply in advance from their country of origin (or any other country where there is an embassy) for a Social Visa B-211. This visa allows an initial stay of 30 or 60 days, which can then be extended inside the country up to 4 times, up to a maximum stay of 180 days.
PRO TIP: No matter what Indonesian visa you apply for, you must have proof of onward travel and enough money in your bank to cover your stay.
Greece
visa free for up to 3 months
Greece is a traveller’s paradise and if you want to beach bum it, on the Greek Islands for a month or two, your options are endless. The internet is fast and the transport between islands is very clean and reliable.
You can enter Greece and stay for up to 3 months.
Panama
visa free for up to 6 months
Enter Panama with a visa free and stay up to 180 days (6 months).
Tourists receive a stamp in their passport upon arrival. After 180 days, you must leave the country, but after doing a quick border hop, you can return straight away.
You must have onward travel organized (flight booked + proof you have enough money to show you can cover your stay)
Argentina
Visa Free For Up To 6 months
Argentina visa-free for 90 days. Tourists receive a stamp in their passport upon arrival.
After this point, they can apply for an extension of a further 90 days through the Argentine Migration Office, for a cost of around $10 USD.
Mexico
visa free for 6 months
For those who want to explore the opportunity to live in Mexico part-time, 180 days is a key number for several reasons.
If you’re planning to be in Mexico for 180 days or less—and don’t intend to participate in any business activities that generate an income inside Mexico—then you don’t necessarily need to apply for a resident visa: you can live here on your visitor’s permit (FMM) for up to 180 days. BUT, if you are not, note that the FMM cannot be extended or renewed; you’d need to leave the country and reenter under a new visa.
Portugal
visa free for up to 3 months
A visa is not required for tourist visits to Portugal for a period of up to 90 days for U.S. and Canadian citizens. However, note that your passport should be valid for at least six months from the date of your entry into Portugal.
Two important points to bear in mind: First, while 90 days is about three months, it isn’t always exactly, as month lengths vary. Pay attention to the calendar so you are not caught a day or two late on departure.
Second, after you’ve lived part-time in Portugal for up to 90 days and are required to leave the country for 90 days before you return for a second 90-day period, you may not spend that interim in any other Schengen country.
Hungary
visa free for up to 3 months
After all, apart from the tourist area the city did offer some very nice architecture, green spaces, and some of the best views I had seen in a capital city so far. So is Budapest worth visiting? Yes it is. It would take a few days for me to find out that the city had changed much in the last couple of years
Canadian citizens can enter the Schengen Area without a visa. If you are on a short stay, you can even stay an extra 90 days in Hungary (not in the other Schengen countries during this extra period). This is under a bilateral visa waiver arrangement concluded between Hungary and Canada before Hungary’s Schengen accession.
Your Canadian passport’s validity must exceed the date when you intend to leave the Schengen Area by at least three months.
Barbados
visa free for up to 1 year
If you like the idea of switching your virtual Zoom beach background for the real thing then Barbados’s 12-month welcome stamp might appeal. The Caribbean nation has opened applications for its year-long visa that gives work tourists 12 months of unrestricted access to the island.
Applicants can bring their spouse or partner along, as well as any children or dependents under the age of 26.
Estonia
visa free for up to 1 YEAR
Nearly 1,800 persons per year could be eligible to apply for a digital nomad visa, according to preliminary estimates mentioned by the Ministry of the Interior of Estonia.
In an effort to entice more work tourists to the country, Estonian authorities plan to launch the visa to give travellers who are able to work remotely the right to stay in the country for up to one year.
The scheme isn’t up and running yet, but will launch in August. When it does, it will be open to all nationalities, as long as there are no Covid-19 entry restrictions on the country they are coming from.
Applicants for the visa will need to prove they can work independent of location and must earn the monthly income threshold for living in Estonia. That’s currently set at 3,504 euros (Dh15,000) and needs six months of bank statements as proof. All work tourists will also need valid health insurance.
Georgia
visa free for 1 year
Already a popular destination with digital nomads, Georgia is seeking to grow its appeal as a work tourism destination with a new visa aimed at remote workers.
The new remote worker visa will allow people from any country to live and work in the Balkan country for up to one year. Applicants must be able to cover the cost of their mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival.
More details are yet to be announced, but it is set to start in September when the country is also planning to reopen to international tourism. The online application system will be live here and will ask for personal information, a certificate of employment and proof of valid travel insurance for the duration of the visit.
If you can work remotely and are craving mountains, a climate that rivals the Mediterranean and a low-cost of living, Georgia could be a good pick. And since there’s no discrimination against travellers from countries that are grappling with high numbers of Covid-19, it could also be a safe haven for anyone currently living in an area with a high rate of the virus.
Remember to double check your visa requirements!
Whilst the list above applies to the majority of citizens across the world, they do not apply to all. In addition, visa policies change all the time.
All of this means you should simply use this post as a guide, and do your own detailed research, before booking those flight tickets!
