What Will It Take to Create a Global Digital Nomad Passport?

Dozens of countries established digital nomad visas during the pandemic, with the special passes designed to help remote workers cross borders as smoothly as possible.

Now one pan-European community wants to create a little more harmony, and has proposed a single visa for use across the European Union. Sounds like a great idea, but given the current state of geopolitical tensions, with immigration on the agenda, not to mention tax issues, it will have its work cut out.

Scale-Up Europe, a group of 150 founders, investors, researchers, business leaders and civil servants, has recommended public authorities implement the new digital nomad visa to allow employees to work legally anywhere across the European Union on a remote basis.

The group was set up by French president Emmanuel Macron in December 2020, to improve European technological sovereignty.

Its report, “How to build global tech leaders in Europe,” report was published in the summer, with the president set to review its recommendations in January next year.

Such a visa would have the potential to unlock vast amounts of travel, as well as knowledge exchange, enabling remote workers to travel freely through Europe. While travel through the Schengen region of 26 European countries is already fairly straightforward, this type of visa could appeal to international companies that allow employees to work remotely.

“It’s a good idea,” said Job van der Voort, CEO and co-founder of human resources platform startup Remote.com, which recently raised $150 million in funding. “In general, borders are a pain for anybody wanting to live and improve their lives. Countries should make it as easy as possible for you to live, work, and pay taxes.”

He agrees with the report that there’s a lot of work to be done to attract talent from outside of Europe. “But there’s a million other things to do as well,” he added.

Europe’s politicians are probably more focused on navigating their respective countries through the financial crisis caused by the pandemic, not least ensuring they have enough vaccines. But one entrepreneur believes the process would be too complicated, considering a range of other issues that aren’t related to coronavirus.

“On a priority scale, it’s probably 101,” said Andreas Wil Gerdes, whose first company in the late 1980s helped form pioneering global telecoms company Orange. “I don’t think this will work on a European level, and it shouldn’t. They should be more focused on corruption or law enforcement, this is essential … We have ample European jurisdictions that have still failed to introduce or implement European law.”

He also argues the concept risks ending up as something for the privileged few. Holders of passports that aren’t issued by countries like the U.S. or UK, for example, can face stricter immigration checks.

“Two thirds of the planet are not born with a silver spoon in their mouth … they’re not easily able to travel to the U.S. or Schengen area,” he said.

However, from a global perspective, he believes it’s this two thirds that potentially make up the most interesting persona of digital nomad. “Imagine the brain power that comes from here, they are nowadays running firms like Microsoft, or Google,” he said. “They are the core, and already the intellectual leadership in so many areas. But in practice, for them to study, get an apprenticeship, it’s a nightmare.”

So What’s Needed?

The entrepreneur, and self-confessed digital nomad, wants to see a global visa created, where people have a credit rating-type of score, based on how well they interact with people, or share knowledge, when they travel.

“I know people from Venezuela who spend four months here, six months there, they are paid in bitcoin and have a great life. Wherever they are they share their knowledge with local people. This is what we need,” said Wil Gerdes.

In the 1980s, Wil Gerdes identified early on that it would be useful to not have to return to the office each time you wanted to make a phone call, or listen to a voice message. Now he envisages blockchain as a solution for a future global digital nomad visa.

“We have 200 million people using cryptocurrencies, because they trust that more. Power to the people always works,” he said.

Above all, he believes that nomad visas should not be coordinated by politicians and tourism ministries. “They’re not clever,” he said. Nor should it be in the hands of other entrepreneurs or technology companies. “You need a decentralized mentality, you don’t want someone who’s driven by a 10x exit strategy.”

Perhaps Scale-Up Europe’s team of 150 experts isn’t so bad an idea after all.

Sidenotes

Top 100 lists can be a dangerous affair. Now there’s a new one out from Remote.com which risks alienating entire countries.

It has just published a report called “Best Destinations for Remote Work,” which it claims is an in-depth analysis of the top 100 global destinations.

To be fair, there’s some element of methodology. The rankings are informed by 25 sets of data, which span seven components: internet infrastructure; attractiveness (including natural, urban, cultural or any other type of attraction); cost of living; incentives for remote workers; safety, quality of life; and openness (is there a societal willingness to accept the other, as well as a degree of government transparency?).

But it comes with a few surprises.

First, the U.S. fails to make the top 10, although Salt Lake City, in the state of Utah, comes in close at number 11. Just a little north of the border, however, we discover Remote’s number one spot for the remote worker: Toronto, in Canada.

“Without making any societal judgement, I think in terms of quality of life, versus cost of living, versus safety, the U.S. just doesn’t do very well on average,” Job van der Voort, Remote.com’s CEO and co-founder, told Skift. “It’s a big place.”

Moving on. Croatia, often perceived as being at the vanguard of the digital nomad movement, comes in at a lowly 49th place.

Van der Voort is on the back foot now: “It really depends on how you measure it. We took a few measurements … look, these are interesting places, not necessarily a comprehensive list of every place in the world. It will probably anger some people about the absence of their particular country or location, but that’s inevitable. I do hope we can spark some interest.”

Jerusalem, for example, scores 74th and doesn’t appear to be a typical nomadic work destination, but the CEO said he’s more surprised by Svalbard, in Norway, entering the list at number six. “It’s probably the most outstanding place on the list, because it’s very cold.”

And what about London at 78? “London is very expensive. Let’s be honest, the cost of living is incredibly high,” he said. 

10-Second Corporate Travel Catch-Up

Who and what Skift has covered over the past week: Accor, Avianca, BCD Travel, CWT, Emirates, French Bee, Google Flights, JP Morgan, Oyo, PwC, Trip.com, TruTrip, United Airlines.

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