Digital nomad visas for freelancers and the self-employed

The official sources we check accept freelancers, the self-employed or client work for 10 verified programs: Ecuador Temporary Residence Visa – Remote Work, Colombia Digital Nomad Visa, Spain Digital Nomad Visa, Greece Digital Nomad Visa, Malta Nomad Residence Permit, Portugal D8 Digital Nomad Visa, Barbados Welcome Stamp, Latvia Long-Stay Visa for Remote Work, Estonia Digital Nomad Visa and Uruguay Digital Nomad Permit. Partly verified: Bahamas BEATS, @HOME in Curaçao and Seychelles Workcation Retreat Program. The wording differs, so read who qualifies for each one.

Yes. Spain Digital Nomad Visa: employees, or freelancers with a 3+ month contract with a foreign company; Greece Digital Nomad Visa: employees or freelancers with employers or clients outside Greece; Malta Nomad Residence Permit: employees of a foreign-registered employer, partners/shareholders of a foreign-registered company, or freelancers with foreign clients; Portugal D8 Digital Nomad Visa: employment or self-employment for entities outside Portugal; Latvia Long-Stay Visa for Remote Work: employees of an employer registered in an OECD country (6+ months with that employer), or self-employed people registered in an OECD country; Estonia Digital Nomad Visa: employees of a company registered abroad, owners of a company registered abroad, or freelancers whose clients are mostly outside Estonia. Each program page links the official source.

Among verified programs with a fixed figure, the lowest are Ecuador Temporary Residence Visa – Remote Work (about $1,446/month; official rule: USD 1,446 per month: 3× Ecuador's 2026 Unified Basic Salary (SBU USD 482) for each of the 3 months before applying, or USD 17,352 a year (36 SBU)), Colombia Digital Nomad Visa (about $1,655/month; official rule: COP 5,252,715 per month: 3× Colombia's 2026 legal monthly minimum wage (SMMLV COP 1,750,905), shown in bank statements for the last 3 months) and Spain Digital Nomad Visa (about $3,196/month; official rule: €2,849 gross per month (€34,188/yr): 200% of Spain's 2026 minimum wage (SMI €17,094/yr). Some consulates calculate it on the 14-payment monthly SMI (€1,221), which gives €2,442/month, so plan for the higher figure). USD amounts are approximate, at exchange rates of Oct 20, 2026.

Brazil Digital Nomad Visa: the consulate asks for proof of employment with the foreign employer (gov.br, checked Oct 23, 2026); Indonesia Remote Worker Visa: needs a work contract with a company outside Indonesia (imigrasi.go.id, checked Oct 25, 2026); South Africa Remote Work Visa: must work for a foreign employer under a contract signed by both (dha.gov.za, checked Oct 23, 2026); South Korea Workation Visa: employees with 1+ year at their current foreign employer; freelancers are not eligible (overseas.mofa.go.kr, checked Oct 23, 2026).

Mostly no. Colombia: no paid work for Colombian companies; Spain: freelancers may bill Spanish clients for up to 20% of their work; Greece: you cannot work for a Greek company, as an employee or freelancer; Malta: must work for an employer/clients outside Malta; Latvia: no right to work for Latvian employers; Curaçao: local work not allowed. Spain is the one exception we can confirm, capped at 20% of a freelancer’s work.

We only list a program as open to freelancers when the official source says so in writing. For 23 open programs, the pages we check don’t say whether freelancers qualify (listed below), so we don’t guess. Ask the authority or consulate before you apply.