How long each nomad visa actually lasts
A one-year visa is not a year. It is a year minus the processing time you spent waiting for it, minus the weeks at the end you spend either leaving or applying for the next thing, and in several countries it is a year that cannot be followed by another one.
This page sorts every nomad visa in our dataset by how long it actually grants, keeps the issuing country's own wording alongside the number, and flags the ones where the wording is doing more work than the number.
The longest is Thailand at 5 years. Next are South Africa (Up to 3 years) and the two-year group: Colombia, Ecuador, Montenegro, Norway.
The overwhelming majority — 28 of the 49 visas with a stated period — are one year. Six months is the second most common.
| Country | Months | As published | Income floor | Processing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 60 | 5 years | — | 5–15 days |
| South Africa | 36 | Up to 3 years | $3,000/mo | 4–8 weeks |
| Colombia | 24 | Up to 2 years | $1,000/mo | 1–4 weeks |
| Ecuador | 24 | 2 years | $1,410/mo | 1–2 months |
| Montenegro | 24 | Up to 2 years | $1,470/mo | 3–6 weeks |
| Norway | 24 | Up to 2 years (independent contractor permit) | $3,250/mo | 1–3 months |
| Croatia | 18 | Up to 18 months (not renewable back-to-back) | $3,580/mo | 3–4 weeks |
| Georgia | 12.17 | 365 days visa-free for 95+ nationalities | — | See below |
| Albania | 12 | 1 year | $820/mo | 2–4 weeks |
| Bahamas | 12 | 1 year | — | 5 days |
| Barbados | 12 | 12 months | $4,200/mo | 1–2 weeks |
| Brazil | 12 | 1 year | $1,500/mo | 2–4 weeks |
| Costa Rica | 12 | 1 year | $3,000/mo | 2–6 weeks |
| Cyprus | 12 | 1 year | $3,800/mo | 5–7 weeks |
| Czechia | 12 | Up to 1 year (Digital Nomad Program) | $2,700/mo | 1–2 months |
| Estonia | 12 | Up to 1 year | $4,900/mo | 15–30 days |
| Greece | 12 | 1-year visa | $3,800/mo | 10–30 days |
| Hungary | 12 | 1 year | $3,250/mo | 3–4 weeks |
| Indonesia | 12 | 1 year (E33G Remote Worker KITAS) | $5,000/mo | See below |
| Italy | 12 | 1 year | $2,530/mo | 1–2 months |
| Kazakhstan | 12 | 1 year (Neo Nomad visa) | $3,000/mo | 2–4 weeks |
| Kenya | 12 | 1 year | $4,600/mo | 4–8 weeks |
| Latvia | 12 | 1 year | $3,450/mo | 1 month |
| Malaysia | 12 | 3–12 months | $2,000/mo | 4–8 weeks |
| Malta | 12 | 1 year | $3,800/mo | 1–2 months |
| Mauritius | 12 | 1 year | $1,500/mo | 1–2 weeks |
| Mexico | 12 | 1 year | $4,200/mo | 1–4 weeks |
| Peru | 12 | 1 year | — | 1–2 months |
| Philippines | 12 | 1 year | — | See below |
| Portugal | 12 | 1 year | $3,480/mo | 2–4 months |
| Romania | 12 | 1 year | $4,300/mo | 2–4 weeks |
| Slovenia | 12 | 1 year (not immediately renewable — 6-month gap) | $3,550/mo | 1–2 months |
| South Korea | 12 | 1 year | $5,000/mo | 2–4 weeks |
| Spain | 12 | 1-year visa | $3,000/mo | 15–45 days |
| Turkey | 12 | Up to 1 year | $3,000/mo | 1–4 weeks |
| United Arab Emirates | 12 | 1 year | $3,500/mo | 2–4 weeks |
| Panama | 9 | 9 months | $3,000/mo | 1–2 months |
| Argentina | 6 | 180 days | — | 5–10 days |
| Armenia | 6 | 180 days visa-free for many; easy residence via business registration | — | See below |
| Belize | 6 | 6 months (Work Where You Vacation) | $6,250/mo | 2–4 weeks |
| Cape Verde | 6 | 6 months | $1,600/mo | 2 weeks |
| Curaçao | 6 | 6 months | — | 2 weeks |
| Iceland | 6 | Up to 6 months | $7,300/mo | 3–4 weeks |
| Japan | 6 | 6 months (not renewable back-to-back) | $5,600/mo | 2–4 weeks |
| Namibia | 6 | 6 months (not renewable) | $2,000/mo | 2 weeks |
| Taiwan | 6 | 6 months | $3,330/mo | 2–4 weeks |
| Uruguay | 6 | 180 days | — | Days — online |
| Seychelles | 1 | 1 month to 1 year (Workcation Program) | — | 1–2 weeks |
| Uzbekistan | 1 | 30 days visa-free for many; e-Visa up to 30 days; longer residence available | — | See below |
Every nomad visa in the dataset with a stated validity period, longest first. The "as published" column is the country's own wording, because the caveats live there.
Processing time is not free
Read the last two columns together. Portugal grants 1 year and takes 2–4 months to issue. If the process runs to the top of that range you have spent a third of the visa's length waiting for it, usually while paying rent somewhere else. Uruguay, by contrast, grants 180 days and processes in days — online — a shorter permission that you get to use almost all of.
The visas where this arithmetic hurts most are the six-month ones with month-plus processing. all fall into that shape.
Where the wording matters more than the number
Four entries carry a caveat inside the validity field itself, and it is the caveat rather than the month count that should decide anything:
- Croatia — “Up to 18 months (not renewable back-to-back)”
- Slovenia — “1 year (not immediately renewable — 6-month gap)”
- Japan — “6 months (not renewable back-to-back)”
- Namibia — “6 months (not renewable)”
Namibia is the bluntest: six months, not renewable, full stop. Japan and Croatia both bar back-to-back renewals, which in practice means the visa is a season rather than a life. Slovenia imposes a six-month gap before you can hold it again. None of these are bad visas. They are just not what a one-year or eighteen-month figure implies if you read the number alone.
The long ones, and what they cost
Thailand's five-year permission is the longest anything in this dataset grants, at a $280 fee and 5–15 days processing, with no published monthly income floor in our record — the qualifying test is structured differently. South Africa grants up to three years at $3,000/mo, which against $1,200 a month in Durban is one of the better length-to-difficulty trades available.
Common follow-up questions
Which nomad visa lasts the longest?
Thailand — 5 years. After that, South Africa at up to 3 years.
How long is a typical nomad visa?
One year. Of the 49 visas in our dataset with a stated period, 28 grant twelve months.
Which nomad visas cannot be renewed?
Namibia is not renewable at all. Japan and Croatia bar back-to-back renewals, and Slovenia requires a six-month gap before you can hold the permit again.