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Long-term visa for remote workers
- mr90210 5y agoNo, thanks!
- derelicto 5y agoAny information if this can be turned to permanent residency?
- californical 5y agoAccording to the link, a prerequisite for the visa is explicitly not intending to stay long-term
- Maciek416 5y agoYes, there is information related to that: "The applicant does not intend to reside in Iceland for the long term." Mildly similar to the concept of "dual intent" in the US immigration system
- umeshunni 5y agoThe link says that a condition for approval is "The applicant does not intend to reside in Iceland for the long term. "
- shtopointo 5y agoMaybe if you meet someone there and get married?
- l0b0 5y ago> The applicant can show their monthly income is equivalent to 1,000,000 ISK, or 1,300,000 ISK if applying for an accompanying spouse, cohabiting partner, and children under the age of 18. 1M ISK is 8k USD, 1.3M ISK is 10.4k USD. That excludes, what, 99% of the world's working population, or basically anyone outside of tech/biomed/banking/etc in very rich countries?
- admjs 5y agoThat’s a feature not a bug, I think.
- sgjohnson 5y agoHow is it not? It’s not even a long-term visa, it’s a 180 day one. You can buy permanent residence in Costa Rica for $5000-ish. And all of this is for an activity that most countries would be fine with you doing on a tourist visa. It’s pointless.
- dahfizz 5y agoIs Iceland all that depserate for new residents / tourists? Being choosy about who you let move into your country is their prerogative. If they can attract a few high income people, that is a win.
- Scoundreller 5y agoI’d assume various covid requirements (vaccines and testing) have hurt tourism a bit. Their airline was quite popular as a cheap route between Europe and North America, and again, lots of otherwise passengers can’t/won’t make that journey.
- micromacrofoot 5y agoIt's twice as long as their standard visa
- lapetitejort 5y ago> The applicant can show their monthly income is equivalent to 1,000,000 ISK, or 1,300,000 ISK if applying for an accompanying spouse, cohabiting partner, and children under the age of 18. That comes out to about $96k USD a year. Totally reachable for a SWE-type job, however I know fully remote workers who are far from this amount. I guess they just want people to come and throw money around the bars.
- cko 5y agoI assume the reason is more banal - that Iceland is a high cost of living country. I can't imagine groceries to be very cheap. So after those high basic expenses, I'm sure there needs to be enough fun money left over to throw at the Icelandic economy.
- MattGaiser 5y agoI had a friend travel to Iceland. She was a student, so doing it on the cheap. Didn't eat a lot while there as the food was so expensive.
- ohashi 5y agoI went probably 5 years ago and found it to be one of the most expensive places I've ever been. I lived in the Nordics for years, I've been to around 50 countries. The only other country that I felt gave it a run for the money in terms of my spending was Norway. I was a tourist, so lots of eating at restaurants, no cooking, but average meal for a basic drink + entre out I was averaging ~$50. I think you're right about the costs, it's a very high COL place and they probably don't want to encourage cheap backpacker type nomads who don't add a whole lot to the economy.
- ajmurmann 5y agoI've been visiting regularly over the last 10 years or so and it's definitely gotten more expensive the last few years. Also much more tourist oriented...
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- shtopointo 5y agoA great migration will happen soon as more cash/resource-starved countries will open their doors like this to international talent. It will start a competition amongst countries to get the best talent in their borders. For Iceland this will be a net win. Even if the people coming in don't pay taxes, their mere presence in the local economy for a few extra months per year could mean the difference between Iceland building another road or not. Very impressive step from Iceland!
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- mathverse 5y agoIceland is an incredibly expensive place with nothing much to do. I wonder what kind of remote worker would even consider it.
- jonny_eh 5y agoIts nature is unparalleled. And I'm sure the people are lovely.
- afterburner 5y agolol unparalleled? Ask any Norwegian visiting Iceland what they think...
- CitrusFruits 5y agoIt seems beautiful, but saying unparalleled is a little hyperbolic. Western Norway, Switzerland, Northern Scotland, and the North American Rockies all appeal to similar sensibilities and arguably just as grand, if not more so in some cases.
- modernpink 5y agoThere are no trees in Iceland. It's fine to look at for a week and the northern lights are a novelty, but the US and Canada (even California alone) offer much much more in terms of nature.
- AlotOfReading 5y agoThere are definitely trees in Iceland. Not many, not everywhere, and not impressive ones, but they exist. However if you've been to Iceland and thought there wasn't much outdoors, I'm not really sure what to say. It's sparsely inhabited, beautiful, and gigantic. It's a totally different experience from something like the sierras.
- echelon 5y agoCold, too. It's worth a visit, but I don't think I'd stay for six months. I'd love to see this from Japan or Korea. I'd definitely go and spend my money. Incredibly smart business decision on Iceland's part, though. I'm sure they'll get some takers and enjoy that extra "long term tourist" income.
- acd 5y agoGood idea but why 1m isk monthly salary? Strange new world if only the ultra rich are welcome. Im sure Iceland would benefit also from average income remote workers.
- basisword 5y agoIs that not about £6k a month? It’s a lot but hardly the ultra rich
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- dharmab 5y agoI qualify and I consider myself a regular person living in a flyover state. Certainly neither average nor particularly rich.
- wvlia5 5y ago1m isk/month is not ultra rich, just high income, right?
- healsdata 5y agoUnfortunately, some people can't differentiate between six-figure salaries and billionaires.
- xeromal 5y agoThat's not really a high salary for the people of hackernews in the US and I'm sure most Euro countries.
- asiachick 5y agoIt's not a new world. Plenty of countries will only give you a visa, or rather make it easier for you to get certain kinds of visas, if you make over a certain amount.
- brimble 5y ago
- xeromal 5y agoFor people asking about the 1m isk limit, I'm ok with that limit. I visited Iceland a few years ago and the cost of living is pretty high. Food and petrol are expensive. I'm not sure if the person is allowed to use country services like healthcare, but I assume that also factors into the high-income requirement. This is an anecdote, but I remember meals easily being 20-30 USD for basics. A cup of soup (tiny) was 13-14 USD and it wasn't in a tourist area. I'm sure someone will reply with cheap food found somewhere in iceland but as someone from the US, the cost of food in proportion to the amount and quality, it was surprising. I hope someone chimes in with the rent cost. I'm not sure where that sits.
- birthday 5y agoThat's insane. I'd like to visit Iceland, but I think it's better to just go visit for a couple of weeks and then bail. Remote working in a cold and expensive country seems counter intuitive. Give me word class beaches, great weather and cheap cost of living....South East Asia here I come!
- xeromal 5y agoI've been to several countries, but not yet a world traveler. Iceland is beautiful, but I've had more fun in other countries. One of my favorite trips was riding motorcycles around in Peru's Amazon.
- ghaff 5y agoIceland isn't that cold but it is expensive. But I don't really disagree with your basic point. I'd mostly rather vacation someplace and work at home. (Mostly. I have remote worked when I've had some time between trips in the same general area and I've just stayed there in between.) Zero interest in working from a beach in SE Asia though, especially given the time zone difference from the eastern US. Though this comes from someone who has "free" lodging in my house in the US.
- xtracto 5y agoI would love to be able to work in SE Asia or in Iceland even... I am 100% remote, working for a US company in Mexico. The problem is Timezones, due to TZ restrictions, I can only opt to work in the Americas. So far I haven't found a country that would accept me for longish term (6 months would be the sweet spot for me) without a Visa
- throwaway22032 5y agoFor everyone discussing the 1M thing: The median Icelandic salary is approx 600,000 ISK for context. So it's higher than the median, but not insane by any means. It seems logical to me that you'd only want to grant visas to people who are "above average".
- nebula8804 5y agoDumb question...but is this considering income before or after taxes?
- mmstan 5y agoSince tax situation is usually very different for different people and in different tax jurisdictions, it would be safe to say that this is considered income before taxes.
- mmstan 5y agoSo this is long-term visa which: 1) Is not visa, you have to not need visa for Iceland to qualify 2) Is not long term, it's valid up to 180 days On the other hand, they recognize remote workers which kind of fit somewhere in between tourists and people who come to work, which many other countries don't.
- SkyPuncher 5y agoMost tourist visa's do not allow you to work (even remotely). I'm sure tons of people do it, but this is basically allowing people to legally "travel" the country for 6 months while explicitly working.
- digianarchist 5y agoTo my knowledge only the UK, Australia and Canada will allow remote work on a visitor visa with the caveat that the business must be based outside the country.
- SkyPuncher 5y agoLast time I read Canada's (several years ago), they allow you to travel for "business meetings" (including conferences), but I don't believe you can technically use it to "work" in Canada. Basically, you can travel to meet a Canadian business - but you shouldn't be planning to travel just to do your job.
- digianarchist 5y agoIt was an actual example of the CIC website. I’m paraphrasing slightly but they said work performed on the internet by someone not usually resident in Canada was permitted if the employer wasn’t a Canadian company.
- jzymbaluk 5y ago3) is only available to citizens of mostly EU nations [1] [1] https://utl.is/index.php/en/eea-efta-citizens-and-their-relatives/eea-member-countries https://utl.is/index.php/en/eea-efta-citizens-and-their-rela... Maybe this is my American ignorance shining through here, but I didn't realize Iceland was not a member of the EU
- vsskanth 5y agoSeems structured to attract remote workers mostly from other developed countries since you need to be from a place that doesn't need a visa to travel to Iceland. Not sure what this is intended to accomplish considering there's no pathway to permanent residency either.
- lotsofpulp 5y agoI presume the goal is to allow people to spend money on the Icelandic economy that otherwise would not be spent in the Icelandic economy.
- vsskanth 5y agoI think that makes sense. However Its odd because if they were enticed to become permanent residents they'll setup businesses and eventually create an ecosystem, which can create more spending in their economy.
- lotsofpulp 5y agoThey might simultaneously not want to let too many outsiders into their tribe, for whatever reason.
- basisword 5y agoSurely it’s intended to bring people with money to spend to Iceland? What other benefit do Iceland get from remote workers then injecting money into the economy?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- el-salvador 5y agoThere are many Latin American countries that don't need a visa for Iceland. What makes it harder to obtain is the salary requirement.
- asiachick 5y agoIf I can go to a bar every night and sing "Jaja Ding Dong" with Lars and Sigrit I'm in!
- paxys 5y agoNot really as big a deal as people are making it out to be. Iceland allows 90 day tourist stays, this simply doubles it to 180 days. Everything else is the same. In fact, if my options are to just jump on a plane without any thought and go for a 0-3 month trip vs file a ton of paperwork, get approved and go for a 3-6 month trip, I'll probably pick the former.
- verve_rat 5y ago
- bikamonki 5y agoIf a) I can work from anywhere, and b) many countries will let me stay 6mos with a tourist visa (no need for application and meet requirements). Why would I choose a friggin cold and expensive place?
- lbotos 5y agoBecause "technically being able to do work via the internet" is not the same as "being allowed to work in that country". I can spend 6 months in the UK per year, but I can work no more than something like 30. Here is an old chart: https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2016/01/statutory-residence-test-flowchart.pdf https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2016/01/statutory-r...
- jandrewrogers 5y agoIn most countries a tourist visa expressly prohibits working while in the country, even if the work is entirely remote. While you can get away with it much of the time in practice, it can become complicated if the local authorities become suspicious that you are violating your visa terms. Some countries monitor this more closely than others. A "tourist working remotely" visa fills this obvious gap, without the implication of a proper work visa that you are taking a job away from a local (what they local authorities are mostly concerned with).
- TMWNN 5y ago>In most countries a tourist visa expressly prohibits working while in the country, even if the work is entirely remote. I doubt there is any tourist visa that explicitly prohibits working for a company in another country. Were this true, everyone checking their work email, or taking a work call, while on vacation, would be breaking the law.
- el-salvador 5y agoSome countries migration control authorities won't accept the "I'm just here working remotely" answers when entering, exiting or re entering a country. Answering that could mean being sent back.
- demodifier 5y agoOne of the prerequisites is that the candidate does not otherwise need a visa to travel Iceland. Which means that foreign nationals who reside in the US and work in the kind of jobs that will meet the criteria Iceland is looking for will not be eligible for this.
- jwilliams 5y agoCypress, Portugal and Malta offer similar (arguably better) schemes for Digital Nomads [0]. Portugal has been particularly aggressive to the point they offer zero tax on crypto for their "Golden Visa" [1]. I know of a few people using Malta as a base to nomad around Europe. 0: https://www.mondaq.com/uk/employee-rights-labour-relations/1137708/working-anywhere-why-cyprus-malta-and-portugal-are-popular-jurisdictions-for-digital-nomads https://www.mondaq.com/uk/employee-rights-labour-relations/1... 1: https://getgoldenvisa.com/crypto-portugal https://getgoldenvisa.com/crypto-portugal
- codingkev 5y agoI guess they just want well off people who leave their $$$ in the local economy for half a year. Fair enough, but not a very impressive deal. For comparison: Georgia (the country) offers a 360 day visa free entry for almost every country out there, no paperwork required. While the standard of living in Georgia is certainly lower, the nature there is much more diverse and just many more things to do.
- floetic 5y agoThis is a pretty smart move. I believe Iceland is doing this to increase their diversity in their genetic pool https://www.brightfocus.org/alzheimers-macular-degeneration-glaucoma/news/after-1000-years-isolation-icelands-gene-pool https://www.brightfocus.org/alzheimers-macular-degeneration-...
- kylehotchkiss 5y agoWouldn't offering residential visas do a better job of that by giving marriages to foreigners a better chance of staying unified there?
- Ansil849 5y agoHonestly, what is the appeal of this? The minimum salary requirements are absurdly high. There are nice landscapes and environments available for much cheaper requirements, likely in one's own current country. The incentive for Iceland is pretty clear, they get rich foreigners' money. But the incentive for rich foreigners to temporarily relocate here is not at all clear. US citizens, for example, can also stay in Iceland as tourists for 90 days, so this sounds like an onerous amount of requirements to jump through to stay for 90 more.
- verve_rat 5y ago> tourists for 90 days Meaning not working. You can visit and live of you savings for 3 months, but not work. This new visa would allow you to work in Iceland for up to 6 months. That is a very big difference.
- Ansil849 5y agoUnder the long-term visa, you cannot work for an Icelandic employer. You can work for an international employer, just like you can when you're staying for tourism. There is no difference.
- verve_rat 5y agoFFS how difficult is this concept to grasp? A tourist visa means you are not allowed to work in the country. You might get away with doing so, but getting away with something and that thing being legal are two different things.
- Ansil849 5y agoNo, traveling as a tourist means you are not allowed to work in the country for any employer in that country. Not you are not allowed to work at all. If it were the latter, you would not legally be able to check your work emails while in another country.
- 5y ago
- Ansil849 5y agoBuried in the FAQ, but pretty significant: > An applicant for a long-term visa needs to show proof of health insurance coverage of 2,000,000 ISK as a minimum per person, which is 1) valid in Iceland | Schengen-area 2) valid for the duration of their stay in Iceland. If your insurance is not valid in Iceland, please see our Health Insurance page for a list of providers.
- jdrc 5y agoSounds like Iceland should be trying harder, there is a lot of competition for these things now. All of southern europe and even netherlands (nicer/easier place to live) offers incentives for remote workers. Also they should be more inclusive, these programs should be accessible to people from south america or india, not just be a longer tourist visa for people who can afford the shorter one.
- nnoitra 5y agoWork visa for iceland huh, how exciting. Climate so severe that even polar bears can barely survive. To do what? Shovel snow and take selfies with penguins? Even Bangladesh seems like a more interesting destination for work.
- tonfa 5y agoIf you've never been, Iceland is surprisingly not that cold during winter, there are many places that are much colder (e.g. US/Canada east coast). Is is also not warm in summer though :) (I guess the gulf stream is regulating temperatures pretty heavily).
- TMWNN 5y ago>Climate so severe that even polar bears can barely survive. Not because of the climate. Polar bears are not native to Iceland; all that swim there are shot.
- hekec 5y agoAre there other countries with good remote worker visas? I heard they have it in Portugal
- KorematsuFredt 5y agoWhy such sort of visas do not get popular beyond very hipster cases. 1. You are offering entry but not equal treatment (in terms of economic freedom). 2. In Europe citizens have taxpayer paid healthcare but as a visitor you are screwed, I mean private insurance exists but it is hard to have a good restaurant in town if another government funded restaurant is distributing food for free. If you can say we will give you 100% exemption from tax then it is a different story.
- isbvhodnvemrwvn 5y agoI mean there is absolutely no incentive to offer any of those to anyone. The sole reason for allowing workers is to collect taxes and not have them leech off your social programs.
- m00dy 5y agoWhy would a person go there to work remotely ?
- fnord77 5y agofor digital nomads, what's the advantage of this over the standard 90-day tourist visa? At least for me, 90 days in any one place is more than enough.