Compare digital nomad visas

Last checked: September 2026. Sorted by income required, lowest first.

Every figure below links to a fuller page with the official source. Income is the headline filter; insurance is the step that quietly rejects the most applications.

Two columns most comparison tables get wrong. Thresholds are not all the same kind of number — some countries set the bar on gross income, others on net, so a €3,500 salary clears one and fails the other. And "insurance required" hides three very different rules: a €30,000 travel policy passes in Portugal, gets refused in Bulgaria, and was never in the running in Spain. Both are spelled out below.

Country	Income / month	Insurance rule	Duration	Residency path	Tax note
🇮🇹 Italy	€2,333 basis not stated	€30,000 min Travel/nomad policy OK details →	Up to 1 year, renewable annually for up to 5 years	✅ Yes	Tax treatment depends on residency status; Italy has separate incentive regimes worth checking individually.
🇧🇬 Bulgaria	€2,583 basis not stated	€30,000 min Health plan — travel cover refused details →	Type D long-stay visa (up to 6 months), then a residence permit of up to 1 year, renewable for a second year	— Limited	Bulgaria levies a flat 10% personal income tax — the lowest headline rate in the EU. Stay past 183 days and you are generally a Bulgarian tax resident, so this route is as much a tax decision as a lifestyle one.
🇪🇸 Spain	€2,849 gross	No fixed minimum Full private, no co-pay details →	1-year visa from a consulate, or a 3-year residence permit if you apply from inside Spain	✅ Yes	An optional special regime allows a flat 15% tax on income up to €600,000 for the first four years, instead of the progressive scale.
🇬🇷 Greece	€3,500 net	€30,000 min Travel/nomad policy OK details →	12-month visa, renewable as a 2-year residence permit	✅ Yes	New tax residents can qualify for a 50% reduction on Greek income tax for up to seven years.
🇲🇹 Malta	€3,500 gross	€100,000 min Health plan — travel cover refused details →	1 year, renewable up to three times — four years in total	— Limited	A flat 10% tax applies to qualifying remote-work income for permit holders who become Maltese tax residents — one of the few nomad schemes with a purpose-built rate rather than an exemption.
🇨🇾 Cyprus not Schengen	€3,500 net	€30,000 min Health plan — travel cover refused details →	1 year, with a possibility of renewal for a further two years	— Limited	Spend more than 183 days in a tax year and you are treated as a Cypriot tax resident, provided you are not tax resident elsewhere. Cyprus's non-domiciled rules are generous on dividends and interest and are worth costing out with an adviser.
🇭🇷 Croatia	€3,623 net	€30,000 min Travel/nomad policy OK details →	Up to 18 months, not renewable back-to-back — you must leave for at least 6 months before reapplying	— Limited	Income earned from foreign clients is generally not taxed in Croatia under the nomad scheme — a notable advantage, and it holds even if you pass 183 days.
🇵🇹 Portugal	€3,680 gross	€30,000 min Travel/nomad policy OK details →	4-month entry visa, then a 2-year residence permit, renewable for a further 3 years	✅ Yes	After becoming tax resident you may qualify for incentive regimes; rules changed recently, so confirm the current scheme before relying on it.
🇪🇪 Estonia	€4,500 gross	€30,000 min Travel/nomad policy OK details →	Up to 1 year (Type D long-stay)	— Limited	Long stays can create Estonian tax residency; Estonia's e-Residency is separate and does not grant the right to live there.

⚠️ This is general information, not legal, immigration, tax or insurance advice. Rules change often — always confirm the current requirements with the official government source before you apply.

Reading the table

Gross vs net. Greece, Croatia and Cyprus set their bar in net income; Spain, Portugal, Estonia and Malta work from gross. Italy and Bulgaria don't state a basis, so assume the stricter reading.
Travel/nomad policy OK. A €30,000 travel-medical certificate that names the Schengen area and covers your full stay normally passes. This is the cheap case.
Health plan required. Bulgaria, Malta and Cyprus want genuine health insurance — outpatient and routine care, not emergency-only cover. Malta additionally wants €100,000 of cover paid a year in advance, which rules out monthly subscriptions.
Full private, no co-pay. Spain alone: an insurer authorised in Spain, cover equivalent to the public system, no co-payments, no waiting periods.
Not Schengen. Cyprus is in the EU but outside Schengen, so it sits outside the new Entry/Exit System and days there don't burn your 90/180 allowance. Why that matters now →

Check which of these your income qualifies for →
Check what your policy has to say →
Several of these figures changed in 2026 — see the change log →