‘What is your purpose in entering this country?’ It’s not an uncommon question when you’re going through customs, but it’s one that I’ve been thinking about an awful lot lately. It’s a question that definitely has right and wrong questions — and some serious ramifications for anyone who works from wherever they happen to be this week.
A couple months ago, I heard a story in passing about a British journalist who was on vacation to the U.S. Coming through questions, he was asked if he was planning to work while he was in the States. This journalist thought about it and answered yes — it was possible he might work on an article or two, or perhaps post to his employer’s website. That honest answer almost got him landed on a plane back home: he was traveling on a tourist visa, which does not allow a traveler to work at all.
I haven’t been able to dig up much more on this story, but I can easily picture it happening. It has some major ramifications for the location independent lifestyle: the grand majority of folks I’ve talked to travel on tourist visas. There’s a lot more paperwork necessary for a work visa, you can end up owing extra taxes and as long as you don’t work for anyone inside the country you’re visiting, no one will really notice. But a tourist visa isn’t often the legally correct paperwork for a digital nomad to travel with.
So far, it hasn’t been much of an issue. There aren’t so many people wandering through customs with enough computer equipment to stock a small office to worry custom agents. But I don’t see that remaining true for the long term. I hate to be pessimistic, but it feels like a matter of time before some catches wise to the fact that an awful lot of ‘tourists’ have open ended stays and laptops. Just the same, applying for work visas isn’t the answer, especially in countries that try to limit competition for the local workforce. I’d love to see a separate visa established for location independent individuals established, but we’ll see how fast bureaucrats move on that one.
In the short term, the best advice I can offer is read up on exactly what your visa officially allows you to do and stay on the good side of any custom agents you have to deal with.
Hmm. A thought-provoking post seeing as I am a digital nomad several times a year. I would be ver interested to learn more about this as you or your readers find other resources.
@Nicole, I think one of the best resources is the State Department (or the equivalent) of wherever you’re headed next. At the very least, they can tell you what you’re not supposed to do — and you can often find out if you can push the limits a little.
I have never thought of a location-independent work visa…until then we all have to lie: Nahh I’m not going to be typing on my Blackberry in taxis, or retiring to my hotel room early to work on some articles. Not at all, officer.
On the other hand, I’ve never, as many times as I’ve dealt with customs, been asked that quetion. I must have an innocent, touristy face.
@Allena, I think part of the issue with visas comes with the U.S.’s relations with other countries, unfortunately. We have a relatively open border with Mexico — especially if you hold a U.S. citizenship. But I’ve been asked about my reasons for visiting a lot more in Europe and the Mediterranean.
I usually find the “don’t ask – don’t tell” policy works best when traveling. Being location independent is not something that is commonly recognized yet and so mentioning anything anything about “working’ when entering a foreign country is sure to lead to more questions and possible trouble. It’s best just to say you are there for pleasure and not open the can of worms that can be easily misunderstood when crossing borders. Since most of us are continuing our work with clients who reside in our home countries we are not taking jobs from others in our country of destination nor burdening the destination country with a new foreigner who can’t support themselves. Basically we are earning money in our home country that is then spent in our destination. This is a winning situation for the destination country as well.
Carmen, I enjoyed you’re “don’t ask – don’t tell” approach
How long do you guys think should a person stay in a country (or how many visa runs) before the goverment or whatever start asking more questions? As a graphic designer I have a bit more stuff to haul around than, let’s say, a writer. So it would be nice to have a stationary place for longer periods of time. An idea I came across was to maybe go on a student visa or something which allows for a longer visa and lets you get more comfortable and you could learn something cool in the process – whether it be a new language or whatever. Could that work? Good idea, bad idea?