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> While you’ll be responsible for getting proper work authorization, we’re actively partnering with local governments to make it easier for more people to trave

> While you’ll be responsible for getting proper work authorization, we’re actively partnering with local governments to make it easier for more people to travel and work around the world. Today, 20+ countries offer remote work visas, and more are in the works. While working from different locations isn’t possible for everyone, I hope everyone can benefit from this flexibility when the time is right. I think currently this is a big caveat. Getting a work permit in other countries is not that easy, even for Americans or other countries with more prestigious passports. Maybe with AirBnB clout it is easier than without but I'd say it's still quite an issue. That being said, I'm really excited for what the future could provide with AirBnB focusing on this. Maybe it will be easier not just for Americans and the like to work in other countries but I really hope it will be easier for others from places such as Africa and Latin America to work in Europe and the US as well.

digianarchist 5y ago
Caveat emptor indeed. Most folks will end up working on tourist visas which is explicitly not allowed around most of the world. I work at a remote first company and HR have given a nod and a wink to this, but with the requirement that you maintain a permanent address and pay taxes in a country where they have an office.
- jimkleiber 5y ago
  Haha yes, exactly. However, AirBnB figured out how to change culture (and law?) to rent our homes out to strangers, maybe they'll lead the way here as well.
- basisword 5y ago
  >> Most folks will end up working on tourist visas which is explicitly not allowed around most of the world. Are you sure this is the case? You’re not allowed to get hired locally but I believe you can work online for a company based in your country of residence provided you don’t stay long enough to become a resident of the new country (which you can’t on a tourist visa). I visited Canada for 6 months on a tourist visa. I had a full immigration interview at the airport when I arrived and they were perfectly happy with me working freelance/online for those 6 months. They were just clear I couldn’t become an employee of a Canadian company.
  - lostcolony 5y ago
    Yeah; I'm pretty sure that isn't the case. They don't care if you do work online while visiting, just that you're not looking to stay or to take a local job (that they'd prefer to go to a resident). The legal language may be a little fuzzy since I bet it was written before remote work (telecommuting if it even existed at the time :P) was as much a thing, but I'd challenge anyone to find a case of someone penalized for working for doing their job remotely from another country. That said, if you're working for a multinational company, you may want to be careful. Being hired in country A, for a company that has presence in both A and B, and then flying and working for a few months in B, could conceivably raise all sorts of flags if noticed.
    - kibibyte 5y ago
      > Being hired in country A, for a company that has presence in both A and B, and then flying and working for a few months in B, could conceivably raise all sorts of flags if noticed. My employer adopted a similar policy (just not as publicly announced as Airbnb's), and the way they work around this problem is by, assuming you reside in A, allowing you to travel and work in B but explicitly disallowing you from entering an office location in B.
  - digianarchist 5y ago
    Canada is one of the exceptions. If I as a Canadian tried to approach CBP with that intention then I wouldn’t be admitted.
  - umutseven92 5y ago
    Nope, unless your country has a special arrangement with the country you are visiting, you cannot work with a tourist visa, at all. Does not matter if the company is local or not. No work visa = no work.
tfehring 5y ago
I think a couple dozen countries offer digital nomad visas now, the ones I've looked into in detail just require you to be employed remotely by a company outside the country and earn at least a couple thousand USD per month.
- hirako2000 5y ago
  I do wonder which country would in effet cause troubles to travellers on a tourist visa, contributing to the local economy by renting a temporary home and other living expenses but happen to be working on their laptop every day of their 90 days trip.
  - jdrc 5y ago
    they would cause trouble to the company though. And the company would have troubles with the country where they are tax residents
Aeolun 5y ago
I find it hard to imagine any country actually cares, and even if they do, I find it hard to imagine they could reasonably check whether anyone is there for tourism, or just to work.
- mellavora 5y ago
  Self-imposed limits on imagination do not restrict the possibilities and imagination of government agencies, nor restrict what other people think is "fair and reasonable" Like you, I also wish the world worked in the way I like to imagine it should.
- Ekaros 5y ago
  They do. Actually the amount of taxes in some countries if you end up messing up and staying over 180 days is significant. And then there is health care. Maybe not an issue in those third world countries with private one, but with public systems real question for them.
  - mrep 5y ago
    Is health care really an issue? They'd really only need to cover emergency issues? Everything longer term I would assume you'd have to go back to your home country to get covered.
    - spaniard89277 5y ago
      Healthcare tourism is real. People come to Spain for that.
      - mrep 5y ago
        For lower prices, not free so why would the government care since the government wouldn't be the ones footing the bill.
- umutseven92 5y ago
  They don't care if you are visiting for a week, but for 90+ day stays they definitely care.
seer 5y ago
I don’t think they even try to get work visas. A lot of countries have tourist visas up to 90 days. And if you go to a country to work there, but are not paid by a local company, you are basically a tourist. I think this is what AirBnB are doing. A lot of countries have a requirement for you to reside in it for at least half the year to be able to be taxed there and be considered an employee. A lot of countries allow people to visit for limited time, as long as you don’t interfere with the local job market - e.g being a tourist. Those two are not in conflict and you can do what AirBnB are doing right now, without much more accounting difficulties. Though I’m not an accountant and take my words with a grain of salt.
- fnordian_slip 5y ago
  Maybe someone with more knowledge of the law could chime in, but >And if you go to a country to work there, but are not paid by a local company, you are basically a tourist. seems wrong to me. If I work in another country I'm still working, which means I need to pay taxes in my host country after a certain time (in Norway it's the first day afaik, in some European countries it's after a few months). It's annoying, of course, but I'm using the resources of the host country while earning money, so it feels understandable.
- umutseven92 5y ago
  Nope, unless your country has a special arrangement with the country you are visiting, you cannot work with a tourist visa, at all. Does not matter if the company is local or not. No work visa = no work.
  - eldenwrong 5y ago
    Makes sense. So everyone that works while traveling is doing so illegally Oh wait
    - verve_rat 5y ago
      Yes, unless they have the correct visa. No work visa, no working. It really is that simple.

digianarchist 5y ago

Caveat emptor indeed. Most folks will end up working on tourist visas which is explicitly not allowed around most of the world. I work at a remote first company and HR have given a nod and a wink to this, but with the requirement that you maintain a permanent address and pay taxes in a country where they have an office.

jimkleiber 5y ago
Haha yes, exactly. However, AirBnB figured out how to change culture (and law?) to rent our homes out to strangers, maybe they'll lead the way here as well.
basisword 5y ago
>> Most folks will end up working on tourist visas which is explicitly not allowed around most of the world. Are you sure this is the case? You’re not allowed to get hired locally but I believe you can work online for a company based in your country of residence provided you don’t stay long enough to become a resident of the new country (which you can’t on a tourist visa). I visited Canada for 6 months on a tourist visa. I had a full immigration interview at the airport when I arrived and they were perfectly happy with me working freelance/online for those 6 months. They were just clear I couldn’t become an employee of a Canadian company.
- lostcolony 5y ago
  Yeah; I'm pretty sure that isn't the case. They don't care if you do work online while visiting, just that you're not looking to stay or to take a local job (that they'd prefer to go to a resident). The legal language may be a little fuzzy since I bet it was written before remote work (telecommuting if it even existed at the time :P) was as much a thing, but I'd challenge anyone to find a case of someone penalized for working for doing their job remotely from another country. That said, if you're working for a multinational company, you may want to be careful. Being hired in country A, for a company that has presence in both A and B, and then flying and working for a few months in B, could conceivably raise all sorts of flags if noticed.
  - kibibyte 5y ago
    > Being hired in country A, for a company that has presence in both A and B, and then flying and working for a few months in B, could conceivably raise all sorts of flags if noticed. My employer adopted a similar policy (just not as publicly announced as Airbnb's), and the way they work around this problem is by, assuming you reside in A, allowing you to travel and work in B but explicitly disallowing you from entering an office location in B.
- digianarchist 5y ago
  Canada is one of the exceptions. If I as a Canadian tried to approach CBP with that intention then I wouldn’t be admitted.
- umutseven92 5y ago
  Nope, unless your country has a special arrangement with the country you are visiting, you cannot work with a tourist visa, at all. Does not matter if the company is local or not. No work visa = no work.

tfehring 5y ago

I think a couple dozen countries offer digital nomad visas now, the ones I've looked into in detail just require you to be employed remotely by a company outside the country and earn at least a couple thousand USD per month.

hirako2000 5y ago
I do wonder which country would in effet cause troubles to travellers on a tourist visa, contributing to the local economy by renting a temporary home and other living expenses but happen to be working on their laptop every day of their 90 days trip.
- jdrc 5y ago
  they would cause trouble to the company though. And the company would have troubles with the country where they are tax residents

Aeolun 5y ago

I find it hard to imagine any country actually cares, and even if they do, I find it hard to imagine they could reasonably check whether anyone is there for tourism, or just to work.

mellavora 5y ago
Self-imposed limits on imagination do not restrict the possibilities and imagination of government agencies, nor restrict what other people think is "fair and reasonable" Like you, I also wish the world worked in the way I like to imagine it should.
Ekaros 5y ago
They do. Actually the amount of taxes in some countries if you end up messing up and staying over 180 days is significant. And then there is health care. Maybe not an issue in those third world countries with private one, but with public systems real question for them.
- mrep 5y ago
  Is health care really an issue? They'd really only need to cover emergency issues? Everything longer term I would assume you'd have to go back to your home country to get covered.
  - spaniard89277 5y ago
    Healthcare tourism is real. People come to Spain for that.
    - mrep 5y ago
      For lower prices, not free so why would the government care since the government wouldn't be the ones footing the bill.
umutseven92 5y ago
They don't care if you are visiting for a week, but for 90+ day stays they definitely care.

seer 5y ago

I don’t think they even try to get work visas. A lot of countries have tourist visas up to 90 days. And if you go to a country to work there, but are not paid by a local company, you are basically a tourist. I think this is what AirBnB are doing. A lot of countries have a requirement for you to reside in it for at least half the year to be able to be taxed there and be considered an employee. A lot of countries allow people to visit for limited time, as long as you don’t interfere with the local job market - e.g being a tourist. Those two are not in conflict and you can do what AirBnB are doing right now, without much more accounting difficulties. Though I’m not an accountant and take my words with a grain of salt.

fnordian_slip 5y ago
Maybe someone with more knowledge of the law could chime in, but >And if you go to a country to work there, but are not paid by a local company, you are basically a tourist. seems wrong to me. If I work in another country I'm still working, which means I need to pay taxes in my host country after a certain time (in Norway it's the first day afaik, in some European countries it's after a few months). It's annoying, of course, but I'm using the resources of the host country while earning money, so it feels understandable.
umutseven92 5y ago
Nope, unless your country has a special arrangement with the country you are visiting, you cannot work with a tourist visa, at all. Does not matter if the company is local or not. No work visa = no work.
- eldenwrong 5y ago
  Makes sense. So everyone that works while traveling is doing so illegally Oh wait
  - verve_rat 5y ago
    Yes, unless they have the correct visa. No work visa, no working. It really is that simple.