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Am I allowed to work there? No, not really. But they’re not checking. Places like Southeast Asia are chock full of expats living there, doing silly things lik

Am I allowed to work there? No, not really. But they’re not checking. Places like Southeast Asia are chock full of expats living there, doing silly things like “visa runs” to the next country and back every couple months to remain a tourist for years on end. Even in Europe, where you wouldn’t be able to get a self-employment working visa (if such a thing existed) with less than six months effort and a good lawyer, you’ll find that they’re really a lot more interested in keeping the various people coming in from the South from doing so than they are in messing with you. Given the level of effort required to find somebody at the Santander ferry port to even stamp your passport, it’s unlikely that anybody is conducting a multi-month surveillance of your AirBnB “office” up in the hills above the Cote de Azur. Uh, what? No. Don't do this. Just because you might be able to get away with it in certain Southeast Asian countries doesn't mean you can get away with it in Europe. Sure, you might be "fine" for a couple months after your Schengen visa expires, but good luck if you ever need to, say, fly back to the US for a few days, or even hop over to the UK. When you try to get back in, you will almost definitely face consequences.[1] (EDIT: It's worth noting that you don't even have to attempt to re-enter to risk getting caught. Even a routine traffic stop can get you in trouble. In addition, they check your passport at most airports before boarding a flight that leaves the Schengen zone.) Yes, self-employment visas do exist (though admittedly only in some EU countries), and no, they do not require "six months effort and a good lawyer". In Germany for instance, a freelance visa is a pretty straightforward process, and the vast majority of people who apply for it do so without hiring a lawyer or even spending much money. If you're going to work in a foreign country, at least try to do so legitimately. You might find that it's not as difficult as you think, and you won't have to live with the vague fear of serious legal action hanging over your head. OP, please don't recommend this to people. [1] http://travel.stackexchange.com/a/13697 http://travel.stackexchange.com/a/13697

jasonkester 12y ago
Yeah, yikes. Definitely don't overstay a Schengen Visa. I'm not sure where you got that from the article but you're right that it's not a good plan. Beyond that, I can only speak from personal experience. 15 years and counting without running into any issue working from the road.
- peterjmag 12y ago
  Ah, it seems I misinterpreted that paragraph. You mean to say that you're unlikely to get caught working while you're there on an otherwise legal tourist visa, right? I agree that it's less risky, but I'm still not sure I'd recommend it. Either way, sorry to jump on you.
  - jasonkester 12y ago
    Hey, do you have a link handy for that easy German freelance visa? I'd love to update the article if there has indeed been such a major change in the last couple years and it's now easy to get a visa to stay in the EU. For me back in 2007, several hours on the phone with Spanish immigrations got me no further than that I'd have to travel back to Los Angeles and deal with the embassy there for as long as it took, and that the best hope of an end result would be a visa that was valid for 6 months (instead of the 3 you get for just turning up). Anything better than that would be a really pleasant thing to know about!
- mr_luc 12y ago
  Yeah, I don't see where in your article you encourage overstaying visas! I spent the last 7 years living in pacific South America, during the last 4 of which I hacked remotely several months each year. In the rare event that someone is targeted for working in-country, it's almost always because they are doing local work. The infamous example are some of the hippy burnouts 'teaching English' in the cities along the coast. Sometimes those types have a) overstayed their visa, and b) are working illegally in the country in a job that lots of Ecuadoreans would prefer to have. And so they get blackmailed by the owner of the English school! (This actually happens). You would have to be pretty brazen to tempt investigation for working over the internet. Like, if you painted a giant logo on the side of your house with your business name or something. But re: the visa issue, and visa runs: Many countries that allow US citizens to come in as tourists on their passports have totally legal extensions that you can file to the automatic passport visa. In the case of Ecuador, for instance, this lets you legally spend 9 months of every year there without doing more than filing a paper and paying $180 a couple of months after coming into the country. So you take a 3-month trip each year, and otherwise have a stable home base to work out of. :)
hn_user2 12y ago
I don't think the author is suggesting anyone overstay their visa. I also work remotely in Thailand at the moment. Leaving and coming back every 30 days. Its a great excuse to go see nearby countries and to disconnect and take a break every month. I can say for sure there is no "vague fear or serious legal action hanging over my head". There are many people working here illegally in actual jobs, taking money from the Thai economy on improper visas (English teachers, etc), which the Thai government is not too happy about. When they find out they deport them. The last thing that is on their radar is a tourist at the beach doing a little remote work, getting paid outside of the country. So if that type of situation would be something that makes you nervous, then obviously don't do it. But if you are keeping everything mobile, worst you face is a deportation (have yet to hear any instance of it happening to a digital nomad) in which case you setup shop in the next country over.

jasonkester 12y ago

Yeah, yikes. Definitely don't overstay a Schengen Visa. I'm not sure where you got that from the article but you're right that it's not a good plan. Beyond that, I can only speak from personal experience. 15 years and counting without running into any issue working from the road.

peterjmag 12y ago
Ah, it seems I misinterpreted that paragraph. You mean to say that you're unlikely to get caught working while you're there on an otherwise legal tourist visa, right? I agree that it's less risky, but I'm still not sure I'd recommend it. Either way, sorry to jump on you.
- jasonkester 12y ago
  Hey, do you have a link handy for that easy German freelance visa? I'd love to update the article if there has indeed been such a major change in the last couple years and it's now easy to get a visa to stay in the EU. For me back in 2007, several hours on the phone with Spanish immigrations got me no further than that I'd have to travel back to Los Angeles and deal with the embassy there for as long as it took, and that the best hope of an end result would be a visa that was valid for 6 months (instead of the 3 you get for just turning up). Anything better than that would be a really pleasant thing to know about!
mr_luc 12y ago
Yeah, I don't see where in your article you encourage overstaying visas! I spent the last 7 years living in pacific South America, during the last 4 of which I hacked remotely several months each year. In the rare event that someone is targeted for working in-country, it's almost always because they are doing local work. The infamous example are some of the hippy burnouts 'teaching English' in the cities along the coast. Sometimes those types have a) overstayed their visa, and b) are working illegally in the country in a job that lots of Ecuadoreans would prefer to have. And so they get blackmailed by the owner of the English school! (This actually happens). You would have to be pretty brazen to tempt investigation for working over the internet. Like, if you painted a giant logo on the side of your house with your business name or something. But re: the visa issue, and visa runs: Many countries that allow US citizens to come in as tourists on their passports have totally legal extensions that you can file to the automatic passport visa. In the case of Ecuador, for instance, this lets you legally spend 9 months of every year there without doing more than filing a paper and paying $180 a couple of months after coming into the country. So you take a 3-month trip each year, and otherwise have a stable home base to work out of. :)

hn_user2 12y ago

I don't think the author is suggesting anyone overstay their visa. I also work remotely in Thailand at the moment. Leaving and coming back every 30 days. Its a great excuse to go see nearby countries and to disconnect and take a break every month. I can say for sure there is no "vague fear or serious legal action hanging over my head". There are many people working here illegally in actual jobs, taking money from the Thai economy on improper visas (English teachers, etc), which the Thai government is not too happy about. When they find out they deport them. The last thing that is on their radar is a tourist at the beach doing a little remote work, getting paid outside of the country. So if that type of situation would be something that makes you nervous, then obviously don't do it. But if you are keeping everything mobile, worst you face is a deportation (have yet to hear any instance of it happening to a digital nomad) in which case you setup shop in the next country over.