Immigrant Invest’s Digital Nomad Visa Index 2026

Summary

Spain tops the chart thanks to quality of life and a visa offering up to 5 years with a path to permanent residency, plus the “Beckham Law” with 0% tax on foreign income and a 24% flat rate on local earnings for up to 6 years[3].

Portugal scores as the 3rd: its D8 visa can be renewed up to 5 years and can lead to permanent residency, and applicants need about €3,680 per month, which is four times the 2026 minimum wage.

Hungary’s White Card stands out for low day-to-day costs of living in Hungary and a €3,000 per month income bar. The card lasts 1 year, can be renewed once, allows Schengen travel, and attracts no local tax if you stay under 183 days.

Italy offers a renewable 12-month visa for “highly skilled” applicants earning €32,400 a year, with permanent residency possible after 5 years of continuous residence.

Malta provides a 1-year Nomad Residence Permit, renewable up to 4 years in total; it does not lead to permanent residency, but a flat 10% tax on locally sourced work and a 12-month tax holiday strengthen its case despite higher costs.

Overall, the landscape splits between low-tax, simple-entry options, and European visas that trade on lifestyle and clearer residency pathways. Our findings rely on official government sources, legal texts, and current 2024—2025 expert reports to ensure accuracy.

​About the Digital Nomad Visa Index 2026

The Digital Nomad Visa Index 2026 is a clear, no-frills ranking of countries for people who work online and want to live abroad on dedicated Digital Nomad Visas or permits.

The Index borrows the basic logic of long-running investment-migration benchmarks, such as the CBI Index for citizenship by investment programmes, and compares destinations using measurable pillars like living costs, taxes, legal rules, and day-to-day quality of life. 

Purpose

We intended to cut through the sales talk and present solid, comparable facts so readers can see which places match their priorities — lower living costs, fair tax treatment, or a genuine route to longer-term residency. 

Scope

Every country running a Digital Nomad Visa in Q4 2025 is included, with 50+ visas across Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. New arrivals launched in 2024, like Italy’s Lavoratore da Remoto visa, are in the mix. 

Standard visas not designed for remote workers — tourist stays or generic freelance permits — are left out unless, in practice, they work like a nomad visa. Each country appears once, even if it offers several routes.

How we did the research

1. Rank. We rank the best destinations in 2026 by combining scores across the factors remote workers actually care about. 

2. Comparison. Next, we show each country’s strengths and trade-offs in plain language, with extra attention to five consistently strong examples — Hungary, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Malta — to illustrate the range of benefits on offer. 

3. Analysis. Then, we demystify the rules: income thresholds, what work is allowed, how long the visa lasts, how renewals work, and whether there’s a path to residency. 

4. Finalisation. We present the results with straightforward visuals — bar charts for overall scores, radar charts for pillar performance, and simple graphics for key features like maximum stay and tax rates — so the comparisons are easy to grasp at a glance.