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Countries woo digital nomads with visas – but not Australia

Australia risks falling behind in an increasingly competitive global race to attract digital nomads who are turning work from home into work from abroad, an expert warns.

Jul 29, 2024, updated Jul 29, 2024
Photo: AbhiSuriyawanshi/Wikimedia Commons

Photo: AbhiSuriyawanshi/Wikimedia Commons

Thailand made headlines after the announcement of a new visa class aimed specifically at white collar workers who are taking their jobs overseas.

Thailand joins more than a dozen other countries internationally offering visas for digital nomads, including Brazil, Italy and Spain – although Australia doesn’t have one.

University of Sydney professor of digital work Daniel Schlagwein says the race to attract an estimated 73 million digital nomads globally since COVID-19 is heating up in Southeast Asia.

He warned that Australia risks missing out on a growing international revenue stream and the economic benefits of drawing young knowledge workers Down Under without its own visa class.

“Countries see this primarily as a new group within their visitor economies,” Schlagwein said.

“They might stay longer and bring in particular business knowledge.”

Rise of digital nomads

Digital nomads have existed for a while, but COVID-19 led to a sharp rise in remote work and that has led to a big surge of people seeking to live overseas.

The World Economic Forum estimated earlier this year that there are more than 73 million digital nomads, focused in industries like software development, data analysis and financial services such as accounting.

Schlagwein said that lifestyle is a key motivation for people to become digital nomads, but that economic factors play a role too, such as a higher cost of living in countries where they originate.

“You’re not locked into your home, you’re using that ability of working remotely to have an international travel life,” Schlagwein said.

“Typically it’s westerners; Americans, Europeans and Australians – places with strong passports and strong currencies – going to beautiful, tropical and lower cost countries.”

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Nations scramble to attract workers

The increase in digital nomads has kicked off an international race to attract them, with countries hoping to bolster their ranks of young knowledge workers and their spending.

Thailand is the latest example; its new visa will allow people to stay for up to 180 days to work and travel and is valid over a five-year period, with an added option to stay for another 180 days.

The Southeast Asian nation has become a destination for digital nomads in recent years, Schlagwein said, though many people are flying under the radar on typical tourist visas.

‘Coherent strategy’

Schlagwein said the same thing is happening in Australia, with digital nomads likely to be here on tourist visas in the absence of a dedicated travel designation.

And it could mean Australia falls behind in trying to boost tourism and the white collar workforce.

“We need to have a coherent strategy, both as a country that stands to lose in terms of brain drain of Australians leaving and one that on the other hand has the intention of being the biggest visitor economy in Asia Pacific,” Schlagwein said.

“We’re in a competitive situation, people want to come to Australia, but New Zealand is nice too – they might just type something else into TripAdvisor.”

-TND

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