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> You've probably already thought about this, but you might want to make sure clients understand the legal side of things. I doubt that for $1600 a month this

> You've probably already thought about this, but you might want to make sure clients understand the legal side of things. I doubt that for $1600 a month this includes all the legal paperwork in order to work in Portugal, Mexico and Indonesia. It's another abuse of the visa-free status many Westerners are given by countries that wish to attract tourists. This is the second one I've seen today. First is here - http://drrn.net/why-did-i-move-to-thailand-to-bootstrap-my-startup/ http://drrn.net/why-did-i-move-to-thailand-to-bootstrap-my-s... Edit: I'm not aware of any new Thai visas being announced. It definitely would have been mentioned on ThaiVisa.com. Please post a link.

brunooo 12y ago
Things are changing very fast atm, as most countries realize that it's a good group of people to have. Eg Thailands new 6 months Visa explicitly includes remote work.
- personlurking 12y ago
  Portugal, as of a few years back, allows one to (theoretically) continually renew their 90-day tourist visa. In a few other EU countries (like Denmark), it's possible to stay an extra 90 days per their own non-Shengen laws. http://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/1e83wv/extra_90_days_visa_free_in_denmark/ http://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/1e83wv/extra_90_days...
- wingerlang 12y ago
  Exactly which visa is this you're talking about?
toomuchtodo 12y ago
Can you explain how its visa abuse? I'm not working for a business in that country, I'm working for a business in my home country. As an accepting country, you're getting all of the benefits of me being there, spending money on services and goods, without having to provide me with employment or unpaid government services.
- dsl 12y ago
  In the same way a drivers license does not grant you the right to pilot a ship or aircraft, a tourist visa doesn't allow you to work. A government is allowing you in because you stated your intentions to be a tourist, spend money, and then leave. They are under no obligation to allow you in, so it is a privilege being extended to you. Working without the correct type of visa could subject you to imprisonment or deportation.
  - yourapostasy 12y ago
    In general, many nations' laws still remain blissfully unaware of the existence of remote work. But ask politicians of nearly any stripe the following question. "I'm already working a remote project that took away no jobs from any of your citizens, and can do this from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. Can I come into your country for a few months and spend some money there as a tourist while continuing my remote work?" And the vast majority will throw their arms open. While not realizing their nation's laws are written such that work, any work whatsoever, is disallowed by their visas, as these laws were written back when even the notion of remote work as we know it didn't exist. And even then, there were grey, murky areas; a trader could conduct his offshore business over telex and saunter around the hotel otherwise, and not run afoul of visa rules enforcement despite not meeting compliance, because it wasn't very obvious. Today there is much more transparency and outward manifestations of "work" like co-working spaces so many traveling coders can more easily run afoul of letter-of-the-law applications of the visa laws. If you are a traveling doctor/lawyer taking phone consultations and charging for them though, then technically you are also running afoul, even though it is extremely unlikely you would run into visa enforcement. You are technically correct, but more progressive nations like Thailand with their visa laws that reflect an acknowledgement of the existence of nomadic workers with remote work will continue to attract that small demographic until the comparative advantage is erased by adoption of similar legislation nearly everywhere else. In the meantime, it is such a small demographic, and generally relatively frugal, it is arguable that positions like yours are really worth the effort to act out into actual enforcement, or to get worked up over. That demographic's largest economic impact is likely the advertising and marketing benefits their glowing blog posts deliver to their host nations, and in aggregate they are not really adding all that much to the overall tourist industry nor taking jobs away from the local populace. And unless a significant fraction of the global population makes the highly unlikely shift to nomadic working, that demographic's immediate cash-value economic impact won't change all that much for the foreseeable future.
ics 12y ago
It's not a different visa, but according to this (http://chiangmaicitynews.com/news.php?id=4366 http://chiangmaicitynews.com/news.php?id=4366) you are allowed to do remote work on a tourist visa.
- hackerboos 12y ago
  Unfortunately that police colonel does not have the authority to change the law. He's simply stating that he won't enforce the law. That being said these individuals were deported: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/459553/online-business-taught-english-to-students-in-china http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/459553/online-busine... The situation is different no doubt but there are similarities.

brunooo 12y ago

Things are changing very fast atm, as most countries realize that it's a good group of people to have. Eg Thailands new 6 months Visa explicitly includes remote work.

personlurking 12y ago
Portugal, as of a few years back, allows one to (theoretically) continually renew their 90-day tourist visa. In a few other EU countries (like Denmark), it's possible to stay an extra 90 days per their own non-Shengen laws. http://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/1e83wv/extra_90_days_visa_free_in_denmark/ http://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/1e83wv/extra_90_days...
wingerlang 12y ago
Exactly which visa is this you're talking about?

toomuchtodo 12y ago

Can you explain how its visa abuse? I'm not working for a business in that country, I'm working for a business in my home country. As an accepting country, you're getting all of the benefits of me being there, spending money on services and goods, without having to provide me with employment or unpaid government services.

dsl 12y ago
In the same way a drivers license does not grant you the right to pilot a ship or aircraft, a tourist visa doesn't allow you to work. A government is allowing you in because you stated your intentions to be a tourist, spend money, and then leave. They are under no obligation to allow you in, so it is a privilege being extended to you. Working without the correct type of visa could subject you to imprisonment or deportation.
- yourapostasy 12y ago
  In general, many nations' laws still remain blissfully unaware of the existence of remote work. But ask politicians of nearly any stripe the following question. "I'm already working a remote project that took away no jobs from any of your citizens, and can do this from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. Can I come into your country for a few months and spend some money there as a tourist while continuing my remote work?" And the vast majority will throw their arms open. While not realizing their nation's laws are written such that work, any work whatsoever, is disallowed by their visas, as these laws were written back when even the notion of remote work as we know it didn't exist. And even then, there were grey, murky areas; a trader could conduct his offshore business over telex and saunter around the hotel otherwise, and not run afoul of visa rules enforcement despite not meeting compliance, because it wasn't very obvious. Today there is much more transparency and outward manifestations of "work" like co-working spaces so many traveling coders can more easily run afoul of letter-of-the-law applications of the visa laws. If you are a traveling doctor/lawyer taking phone consultations and charging for them though, then technically you are also running afoul, even though it is extremely unlikely you would run into visa enforcement. You are technically correct, but more progressive nations like Thailand with their visa laws that reflect an acknowledgement of the existence of nomadic workers with remote work will continue to attract that small demographic until the comparative advantage is erased by adoption of similar legislation nearly everywhere else. In the meantime, it is such a small demographic, and generally relatively frugal, it is arguable that positions like yours are really worth the effort to act out into actual enforcement, or to get worked up over. That demographic's largest economic impact is likely the advertising and marketing benefits their glowing blog posts deliver to their host nations, and in aggregate they are not really adding all that much to the overall tourist industry nor taking jobs away from the local populace. And unless a significant fraction of the global population makes the highly unlikely shift to nomadic working, that demographic's immediate cash-value economic impact won't change all that much for the foreseeable future.

ics 12y ago

It's not a different visa, but according to this (http://chiangmaicitynews.com/news.php?id=4366 http://chiangmaicitynews.com/news.php?id=4366) you are allowed to do remote work on a tourist visa.

hackerboos 12y ago
Unfortunately that police colonel does not have the authority to change the law. He's simply stating that he won't enforce the law. That being said these individuals were deported: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/459553/online-business-taught-english-to-students-in-china http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/459553/online-busine... The situation is different no doubt but there are similarities.