Where Nomads Rarely Go: Experiences of Digital Nomads in Unusual Locations
ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) recently ranked the best cities for digital nomads. Unlike other ratings that considered exactly the countries, this one includes cities and continents. The ETIAS’s experts analyzed 154 cities and ranked them on the basis of Internet speed, cost of living, crime rate, number of co-working spaces, and average cost of a job per month.
Madrid, Prague, Tbilisi and Berlin were at the top of the ranking. European cities have created the best conditions for life of digital nomads: they already took care of special visas, organized comfortable coworking centers and cultural events that often attract nomads from around the world.
Nomads prefer proven destinations. This is confirmed by the NomadList community, where travelers share their opinions. If you believe the information on the site, the most popular destinations now are Turkey, Georgia, Portugal and Germany.
Many articles and reviews and useful tips have already been written about the life of digital nomads in Europe. W But what can be said about new, little-studied areas?
I talked to Social Discovery Ventures employees who have chosen non-standard locations for their travels and asked them to share their impressions.
South Africa
South Africa is not going to stay away and also plans to open its borders for digital nomads. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced plans to create a remote worker’s visa. The corresponding law is already under consideration. We wrote about it in our previous article.
To enter the country now you can also use an ordinary tourist visa. Sophia Anorue, Customer Success Manager at Social Discovery Ventures, went there using just that kind of visa:
“South Africa has recently removed all restrictions on entry. Without a visa you can stay in the country for up to 90 days a year. And if after the first 30 days you like everything in the country, you can apply for an extension, that is, to extend his stay for another 90 days.”
What do I need for the trip?
- A passport (valid for at least 30 days after leaving South Africa);
- Negative PCR test in English;
- A completed health form;
- It is also recommended to have insurance.
The banking sector in South Africa is quite developed, so it is easy to open an account there. But there are problems of their own:
“Personally, I had trouble opening an account. I tried my luck in two banks, but the result was quite disappointing. I arrived in the country only at the beginning of April, and even then the local banks looked at your nationality and then made a decision about opening an account. All this slowed down the process: I had to collect a whole bunch of documents, constantly communicate with bank employees. Now the situation in the country has improved a bit and the process of opening an account has become more “pleasant”. In the end I was able to open an account, but there was a one-month delay.”
First of all Sofya recommended to look into the following banks:
A non-resident will need the following documents to open an account:
- Passport;
- Proof of address in South Africa (utility bill will do);
- Card statements for 3 months from the bank of the country where you lived before you came to South Africa in English;
- Statement with the balance from the bank of your country of residence, signed by an employee of the bank.
By the way, in South Africa you don’t have to carry a card everywhere, as almost all stores and cafes accept payment via Apple Pay and Google Pay. Cash is better to take only if you need to leave a tip.
An interview with Sophia Anorue about the advantages and disadvantages of living in South Africa appeared in my last article:
Brazil
Brazil is one of the first countries in South America that started giving visas to digital nomads. And it happened quite recently: the law, which regulates the rules for remote employees, was adopted on January 24, 2022.
However, the process of issuing visas has not been completely set up yet. For its registration you will need to collect the following documents:
- Passport;
- Health insurance;
- A filled out visa application form;
- Criminal Record Certificate;
- Certificate from employer, which confirms the possibility of remote work;
Employment contract or other documents that confirm a relationship with a foreign employer outside of Brazil; - Proof of monthly income of $1500 per month or total bank savings of $18,000 or more.
But there is another, simpler option. Vladimir Vecherko, Customer Success Manager at Social Discovery Ventures, spent 3 months in Brazil without even applying for a digital nomad visa:
“Brazil has a visa-free regime with a large number of countries. Thanks to this you can fly into the country and get a 90-day stamp, which I did. At the end of this period I was able to extend it again. It was enough to apply for an extension of your stay to the Brazilian Federal Police 30 days before the end of the stamp. This was much faster and easier than applying for a digital nomad visa. Using this method, you can live in the country for up to 6 months, and then simply change location to a new one.”
More information on entry rules and covid restrictions in Brazil you can find here.
But with the opening of a bank account in Brazil, things are more complicated. A non-resident can not become a bank client. To open an account, you must prove your legal stay in the country: a residence, work or student visa will do. There is a single RNM (former RNE) document for all three types.
To open an account, a resident will need the following documents:
- Passport;
- Proof of residency address (house rental contract or any electric bill);
- Proof that you have a job and/or some level of income from your activities;
So, digital nomads traveling on a tourist visa will not be able to get a Brazilian account. And despite the fact that Visa and MasterCard are accepted absolutely everywhere in Brazil, it is always better to be cautious and take cash with you:
“I got into a period when my card was blocked. And since it was not possible to open an account in Brazil at that time, I encountered a huge number of problems. I couldn’t afford to pay my rent or buy food!
And after a short time my laptop, my main working tool, broke down. And all this while I was 15,000 km away from home. But I was really lucky to meet kind people who offered to help. After hearing about my situation, three people offered to give me their old laptops. And that’s awesome!”
Countries such as South Africa and Brazil, which have only recently thought about introducing visas for remote workers, there are still many problems to solve in order to make the stay of nomads in their country more comfortable. In the meantime, digital nomads prefer to visit these countries on a regular tourist visa, which is much easier to obtain than the special one for remote workers.
