Known quite erroneously as one of the most difficult countries to enter, the winds of change here have been heating up when it comes to travel. This has led to the Kingdom taking a much pragmatic attitude to tourism, numbers shooting up, and now perhaps the chance to live.
This is because Bhutan have now launched a visa programme that allows foreign remote workers, entrepreneurs, and digital professionals to live and work in the country for an extended period (initially 12 months, renewable up to 24 – 36 months), under the framework of its Gelephu Mindfulness City Authority (GMCA) initiative – yeah we will explain about that later.
But, unlike other so called “digital nomad” visas, Bhutan are taking a different tact, with it being linked to blockchain powered system using a gold backed token called TER on the Solana blockchain. Once again we will get onto the technical jive a bit later.
Table of Contents
What is a Digital Nomad Visa?
A digital nomad visa is exactly what it sounds like, a permit that lets you live in a foreign country while you make money in your pocket. You don’t need to find a local job, you don’t need to prove sponsorship by some random business, you just need to be earning from wherever you are already earning, usually online. The idea is that you can wake up in Kathmandu, work a few hours, have a beer on the roof in the afternoon and still tick your boss free life box.
Some of the more successful ones in the world include Thailand’s SMART Visa, Portugal’s D7, and of course Estonia’s e Residency programme. Thailand’s version, for example, lets you stay up to four years if you tick certain income brackets and qualifications, and it’s been a massive pull for bloggers, remote developers, and consultants wanting sun, cheap food and a scooter. These visas have been a breath of fresh air for long term travellers who were sick of leaving every 30, 60 or 90 days and who want to actually plant some roots without being tied to a desk in London or LA.
How does the Bhutanese Digital Nomad Visa work?
So here’s the deal with Bhutan’s version. It’s not like the new Thai or Croatian visas where you just show some bank statements and sign a few forms. Bhutan’s flavour is very specific. You have to interact with a blockchain system yes the dreaded blockchain and you have to deposit a minimum of USD 10,000 worth of TER tokens. TER is some fancy token backed by gold on the Solana blockchain and once you’ve parked that in a Bhutanese bank account it shows you can support yourself financially while living there. There’s also a non refundable programme fee of around USD 2,800 per year just to play the game.
That’s basically your cost line, you don’t have to prove you earn X per month technically, but you do have to put that money up front and leave it there for the duration. Once you’re in, you are free to live anywhere in the country, work online, open a local mobile data SIM and enjoy local festivals, monasteries, hikes, and the world’s cleanest air without being shooed out. It’s very different, very Bhutan, and very much not like any other visa on the planet.
Summary of how it works:
- You must deposit ~USD 10,000 worth of TER tokens in a Bhutanese bank account
- You must pay a USD 2,800 per year programme fee
- You apply through the official portal and go through a vetting process
- Initial stay is 12 months, with renewals possible up to 36 months
- You must hold the funds for the duration and maintain basic good conduct
- You can live anywhere in Bhutan and work remotely.
In theory at least this would also mean being able to stay in the border areas that have been subject to a Nepalese/Communist Insurgency.
Why have they launched the Bhutanese Digital Nomad visa?
Why has the Kingdom launched the Digital Nomad Visa? Well the short sharp and easy answer to this is money. Despite the view of the western world that Bhutan is so happy it measures “Gross National Happiness” and restrict tourism, the actuality os somewhat different as this is not a country without problems.
Economically the country is struggling, with there being a particular brain drain among the youth of the nation. This in turn leads to a people that are not actually all that happy at all. Touristically it is now pretty much a myth that the Kingdom restricts number. The reality on the ground is that the ruling politicians want to increase numbers drastically.
And this has now led to something that would have been completely unfathomable as little as 5 years ago and this is foreigners being allowed to live in Bhutan. This actually makes this a huge deal. Who though will actually spend such a large amount of money to move to a country that is already pretty darned expensive is yet to be seen.
Click to see our tours to Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim and the wider world!
About Post Author
