Compare digital nomad visas

Last checked: 29 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.

Three things 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. Bringing a partner or a child moves the bar too, by amounts that range from €145 a head to over €1,000, and in four of these nine countries no uplift is published at all, which is its own kind of answer. 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. On top of that, only one of these countries actually legislated its insurance figure; everywhere else the €30,000 is the Schengen number consulates fall back on, which is why each row says where its figure comes from. All three are spelled out below.

Country	Income / month (+ family)	Insurance rule	Duration	Residency path	Tax note
🇮🇹 Italy	€2,125 basis not stated no family uplift published	€30,000 min practice benchmark 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	€2,584 basis not stated no family uplift published	€30,000 min disputed 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 +€1,068 partner / +€356 child	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 +€700 partner / +€525 child	€30,000 min practice benchmark 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 no family uplift published	€100,000 min official figure 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 +€700 partner / +€525 child	€30,000 min practice benchmark 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 +€145 partner / +€145 child	€30,000 min practice benchmark 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, which is a notable advantage, and it holds even if you pass 183 days.
🇵🇹 Portugal	€3,680 gross +€460 partner / +€276 child	€30,000 min practice benchmark 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 net no family uplift published	€30,000 min practice benchmark 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, so 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 →