We looked last week at the Bali Digital Nomad Visa and the benefits that you can receive from this. If it isn’t enough to live on a beautiful, sun-drenched island with friendly locals and an incredible variety of wildlife, there is also a preferential tax rate and we will look into this further in today’s article.
People from most countries will automatically have their visa stamped for 90 days when they enter Indonesia, and it is possible to leave and re-enter if you would like to be able to stay for a longer period of time.
If you enter Bali on a tourist visa, you should be able to work from there on your laptop without too many issues for the duration of your visa without having to register to pay tax in the country.
If you are able to stay for more than half of any calendar year, they may make the case that you are a resident for the purposes of tax and should therefore pay taxes in Indonesia.
If you intend to stay for longer than this time, you should apply for a new visa called the E33G Remote Worker Visa.and this will allow you to stay for a year without paying any taxes within the country, even though you would normally be considered tax resident if you remained in the country for such a long amount of time.
It is not possible to extend the visa while you are in Bali, but if you leave and then apply for a new one from outside the country, with all of the same documents that you applied for the original one with, it is likely to be granted if you still meet the same requirements.
There is not a limit on how many times you can do this but it does require you to leave the country each time you want to apply for another visa, which is not as simple as being able to stay there continuously and simply renew.
Malta is considered by many to be the “gold standard” when it comes to remote worker and digital nomad visas. The Malta Digital Nomad Visa allows remote workers to live in Malta and not pay any tax for the first year of their stay.
This has helped Malta to rapidly increase the number of technology startup companies and it also has a flourishing igaming sector which has over 300 companies and employs over 10,000 people. In addition to the business side it is also a hot spot for an amazing community of digital nomads, who typically stay at Evolve Coliving.
After the first year, the Malta temporary residence permit charges 10% taxation per year and considers those that are there on the visa to be resident in that country for tax purposes. Malta has treaty agreements with many countries that mean you will avoid double taxation on earnings, so all of your earnings while living in Malta on this visa will only incur a rate of 10%.
The financial entry requirements for the Malta digital nomad visa are considerably lower than the Bali Remote Worker Visa with the amount you have to earn being set at 42,000 euros per annum if you are a new applicant. To compare like with like, this is around $47,000 compared to Bali’s $60,000.
A lower threshold allows more people to take advantage of being able to work from a beautiful, warm island. Malta has the added benefit for many people that one of the main languages is English. This can help some nomads to integrate and settle much more easily into daily life than having to learn Balinese from scratch.
The cost of both visas is very similar, with 300 Euros for the Malta digital nomad visa being roughly equivalent to the $350 US Dollar amount for the Indonesian Remote Worker Visa.
There is absolutely no reason why you can’t try them both for a year and see which you would prefer to spend time in going forward. They both have their merits, and if ease of access to continental Europe is a major factor in your work then Malta makes more sense.
If you decide to come to Malta, we can make it easy for you by providing an amazing place to live and integrate with other remote workers at Evolve Coliving. We have super fast and reliable internet access, a coworking space and excellent leisure facilities including a gym, swimming pool and jacuzzi.
If you are looking for a tropical adventure somewhere new for a year then Bali would be an excellent choice. There is no wrong decision and this is the very essence of digital nomad life. Amazing destinations to choose from that make it difficult to decide where to spend time next.
There are some amazing destinations for digital nomads in Bali and if you decide to take out the e33g Remote Worker Visa for Bali, you will be able to choose which of them suits you the best. Canggu is an amazing place if you want to pursue connections with fellow digital nomads and there are large numbers of coworking spaces and remote worker friendly cafes that facilitate this.
If you are looking for a more spiritual retreat to work on yoga and meditation then Ubud would be a better location as it is set in lush green vegetation amid incredibly scenic rice fields.
Whichever option you choose you will quickly understand why Bali is such a favourite for the digital nomad community worldwide. The friendly locals haven’t yet decided that the presence of digital nomads is a burden and they welcome the annual influx from all around the world with open arms.
The cuisine in Bali is beautiful and you will crave some of the food from there long after you have left. The white sand beaches are eminently instagrammable and if you are a travel blogger or have an interest in becoming one, you should absolutely take the opportunity to visit.
Typically replies within an hour
I will be back soon
