3 ms·
I've often seen suggested in forums that tourist visas forbid any kind of work while visiting a country. I've yet to see a single article of the law that actual
by mekoka 3y ago
I've often seen suggested in forums that tourist visas forbid any kind of work while visiting a country. I've yet to see a single article of the law that actually points to this. So, I'm inclined to think that when people repeat this, they actually haven't checked. I have looked at the clauses on many tourist visas, as given to me by various consulates, and seen no evidence of this new interpretation. A tourist visa often forbids working or doing any kind of local business, other than volunteering and the likes (i.e. taking a local job, selling stuff locally, meeting with local businesses, etc). That this new interpretation coincides with the emergence of nomad visas just tells me that nomads have been questioning their appeal and it's been suggested that they might be infringing some law, if they keep using tourist visas instead.
Think of the ramifications of trying to regulate all the fuzzy definitions of what constitutes "work". What about someone writing their memoir? What about any kind of opus you're working on while on vacation (electronics, code, writing, etc)? What about needing to manage your business at home for an hour everyday? What about being on-call for work emergencies? What about meetings? Such a visa would easily make anyone an outlaw, which many people think is a non-issue, because the country doesn't enforce it, but is actually a big deal.
- unnah 3y agoVisa rules were typically set up at a time when there was no such thing as remote work to speak of. When they mention working, they don't make any distinction between remote or local work. For example, a US B-2 visitor visa allows "tourism" and also specific business purposes such as "consult with business associates" or "attend a conference". What is prohibited is simply "employment", without making any distinction between remote or local employment. Source: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-...
- mekoka 3y ago"Employment" on that list is among other items of "Not permitted travel purposes" that hint at an obvious implied context for the said purposes, i.e. the United States. You are not allowed to visit the United States for the purpose of employment while on a visitor's visa. A digital nomad typically is already employed and doesn't visit countries for that purpose. Having traveled to the US a number of times and been asked by border agents, I've explained that although employment not being the purpose of my visit, I often work on my computer for my own business, in my own country. After a brief exchange to clarify that my activities in no way involved US businesses or clients, I was cleared. I agree with you that the rule might seem fuzzy, but based on the questions asked, the intent has never been. In the many years that I've traveled, it's historically been the same in any countries that I've visited. Even the ones where it's currently suggested that the issue might be blurrier (coincidentally after they start issuing nomad visas). Meanwhile, no one can tell you specifically what exactly constitutes a "digital nomad" and what makes them "not a tourist". I think it's unfortunate that instead of asking for more clarity from regulators, travelers are playing along by repeating the suggested tropes.
- unnah 3y agoIf you are open in your visa application about what you're going to be doing, then it's obviously all above the board. However, somehow I got the impression that many digital nomads would rather not to mention their work to any officials, and present themselves as just normal tourists. An intentionally misleading visa application can be used as grounds for revoking the visa even if the actual activities were legal.