Digital Nomads

The way we work and where we work from has changed dramatically over the last decade and has been spurred on by that thing that we fear to mention (yes, you know…the pandemic). For many people, whose work day revolves around a high-definition screen and a keyboard, the ability to work practically anywhere has become not only an option, but a necessity. Employers are now having to consider the remote-working option as a part of standard employment terms and adapt to the fact that many people (particularly in certain sectors and age brackets) see remote working as the new normal.

Remote-working also extends well beyond shaking off the four walls of the office and for some means, being able to work in an entirely different country. Images, like the one that heads this article are becoming the ideal of an entire generation of workers, looking for that ultimate lifestyle balance. If you live in Europe and would prefer to juggle spreadsheets on a beach in Bali, remote work has opened up that exact opportunity.

The pandemic (sorry I had to say it), helped to energise this move, given we had little choice but to work remotely when countries rolled out ongoing lockdowns. For many businesses, the ability for people to carry on at home, meant they were able to survive…that survival has now been turned on it’s head, because now some businesses can only survive if they offer their staff the ability to remote-work (or at least hybrid work). There is obviously push-back to this and the digital transformation of work hasn’t yet entirely taken place, but it has created some unique challenges for countries and their visas systems. New Zealand has admittedly been very slow to adopt to this change in work culture and while there is discussion of a visa that caters for this, we have yet to see any tangible move towards it. It also raises questions as to how our current visa system considers remote workers and what people can and can’t do whilst they holiday in this little patch of paradise. This week, we take a look at what the current rules allow for (or don’t) and how that might all have to change in the future.

The Changing Nature of Work

From early 2020 the world and the way we work changed significantly - sure up until then, the concept of remote or hybrid working wasn’t exactly revolutionary but it had not really been tested as a mainstream concept. The pandemic created the perfect situation for that idea to put through its paces and arguably it worked pretty well. In fact an entire industry grew around it, with better tools to manage remote work access, the rise of Zoom and other online meeting tools and a change in the way employers viewed the regular nine to five. Across the globe people could be heard shouting “you’re on mute” as a large portion of the work force gave up the daily commute for couch. Of course not everyone was able to enjoy this shift as there are plenty of jobs that require you to be in a particular place for a particular period of time.

You’re on Mute

The way we work and the tools we have used have changed significantly over the last decade, but will visa rules keep up?

The ability to work remotely, became a necessity and then as the pandemic restrictions eased, many people woke up to the idea that there was no need to actually go back to the office at all. People claimed they were more productive, achieved better work-life balance and were able to do more, without having to struggle with the daily commute. Of course not everyone agreed with this sentiment and for some, being in the office allowed for a greater separation of work and life, not all employers were convinced that this was productivity nirvana and traditional retail and commercial sectors were left without their daily flow of commuting customers. While the debate over the merits or otherwise of the remote work solution, one thing is pretty clear - the way we work has changed and their is no going back.

The question then is for those that take the remote work to the extreme and decide to do this from an entirely different country, what options exist in terms of visas. Most countries operate a system where to work in that country for a local employer, you need to have the appropriate status (usually in the form of a Work or Resident Visa). However what happens if you work for a company based in your home country, but just happen to do that work somewhere else? This change in the way we work and the flexibility that many people seek out, has created a bit of a minefield for those that manage and deliver visa rules. New Zealand is no exception and the reality is that what people assume is okay (when they travel here as visitors) might actually land them in some hot water, and not the Rotorua, thermal resort kind.

Current Rules

So what do the current rules say about working remotely whilst you are in New Zealand - it might surprise you to know (or it might not) that we dont really have specific rules for this situation and largely because our “Operations Manual” is essentially a patch-work quilt of very old policy held together by bits and pieces added on over the years. The concept of remote working has not really made its way in to that space yet, although there is talk that it might.

Remote Work on a Visitor Visa

There is an assumption that you can remote work whilst being in NZ on holiday, but it is never that simple.

However, even though there is no specific rule, INZ does have a view on this and that view is largely formed by the more general rules we have that define what work is (in the visa context) and how that relates to a visa.

The key thing that the rules do clarify, is that work, for INZ’s sake, is considered to be any activity undertaken for any form of gain or reward (not necessarily money) and an employer is not necessarily defined as one based solely in New Zealand. So if you are are employed by an American company and come here to install machinery for a New Zealand client, you are considered to be working in New Zealand - the fact you are paid and employed by a company in another country doesn’t actually make any difference. But what happens if you are here as a visitor, on vacation but your home country employer, asks you to do some urgent work, or you check your emails? Technically you are then working here and in breach of your visa. Technically.

The reality is that most people do this and it would be pretty farcical for INZ to try and track each and every one of those people down. Given that changing nature of work, there is of course some acceptance that people will “work” occasionally while they are on holiday and if that holiday happens here in NZ, no one is going to be concerned.

However, if you decide to come here, park up on the beach and work nine to five for an offshore company, without having the valid visa, there is a very good chance that you could be pinged for this. You might be tempted to ask how? Well if you applied for a further visa or a different visa, INZ could ask you to prove how you have been supporting yourself in the months prior and of course if you then showed your activity and the fact you were working remotely, you would potentially have breached your visa conditions. This was something that popped often during the pandemic with people stuck here, who then worked remotely without much choice. Very few people were actually penalised, but INZ certainly raised the concern.

There are differing views within INZ as to how to treat this, but the most common sense approach I have heard, is that it all comes back to your “primary purpose”. If you come here as a visitor and your primary purpose is to visit and take in the sights and on the odd occasion you do some remote work, then that is probably okay - because you are still primarily a visitor. However if you come here as a visitor but you spend the majority of your time working remotely, then your primary purpose is really to work (albeit whilst doing some hobbit spotting).

The logic behind having this sort of criteria is to ensure that locals are not being done out of a job, which is a bit silly, given they would not have access to those jobs anyway.

The short answer to what is a very grey and vague aspect of the policy is that we dont really have an answer. However anyone considering packing up their laptop, heading over here to remote work, whilst enjoying a change of scenery, should probably think twice, before zipping up their back-pack. Better to be safe than sorry and end up on the wrong side of the ledger.

Digital Nomad Visa - Pros and Cons

An estimated 66 countries have already adopted the idea of a “Digital Nomad Visa”, one that allows people to work in that country, for an offshore employer for a set period of time. These include the popular locations such as Indonesia (Bali) and Thailand and some rather unusual ones like North Macedonia. They generally all work on the same principle - you must be employed by a company in your home country, able to work remotely, earn a certain amount and be able to support yourself. Some require medical insurance or work in a specific sector and others are quite liberal. The common theme is that these countries have realised that this pathway, often leads to those individuals moving permanently and bringing their skills, and also there is a significant amount of spending revenue to be gained from those people who effectively become long-term tourists.

Digital Nomad Visas

Some countries have adopted a more flexible approach to remote workers, the question is will NZ follow suit?

However there are also more complex considerations such as taxation, access to vital services and the increased pressure that these people put on infrastructure without actually paying for it. Then there are more fuzzy issues, such as when does the remote working actually become working locally - despite being paid by an offshore company, your work here could end up disadvantaging local candidates.

In it’s run up to the 2023 election, the National Party referred to the Digital Nomad Visa and a plan to potentially offer a 12 month visa to work remotely, whilst based here, with an option to later move to a Work Visa or Residence. This was primarily aimed at the tech-sector where the bulk of the digital nomads are coming from, although in reality a much wider selection of jobs can now work remotely, even those people self-employed as social media influencers (often earning good money). The key considerations for whether this would work are the tax treatment approach and also our cost of living. Many people looking at the Digital Nomad option are doing so, to earn in a strong currency and live somewhere with a much weaker one, thereby increasing their disposable income and lifestyle.

Whether it is a good idea or not is probably irrelevant, because its the way the world now works. I think that a Digital Nomad Visa would remove the existing ambiguity that applies to people on Visitor Visas or even those partners who hold visas that don’t allow work for just anyone. However we could achieve the same result, by simply clarifying the definition of work under the instructions as they stand and in fact we wouldn’t actually need a new Visa at all - people could enter as Visitors, under this new work definition, without being penalised for working for their home country employer.

What is probably more important in all of this and applies to almost every visa category we have, is that our rules and requirements are often several years (possibly decades) behind the way the world works. That gap between how the world works and how our rules are written can often mean people end up in situations they didn’t want to be in (or know were possible), particularly if they visit here, whilst carrying on with their day job.

If you are considering life as a Digital Nomad in New Zealand, think very carefully as to whether that might be the right solution or instead whether coming here to work for someone locally might be a smarter move (at least until our rules have caught up with the modern world).

Until next week!