Namibia welcomes first digital nomads since visa launch in October 2022
By Jaenique Swartz.
The Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) through the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration and Security on 09 May announced the welcoming of the country’s first digital nomads.
This comes after the launch of the Digital Nomad Visa in October 2022. The scheme is an initiative put in place for digital nomads around the world to work and experience Namibia for up to six months.
So far, Namibia has welcomed nine out of 20 applications on this visa. The rest of the applicants however fell short when they were not able to meet the income requirement of USD2,000 per month which is equivalent to N$37,260 at the current exchange rate.
Other applicants were either already in the country on another legal status such as a Tourist Visa while the remainder faced rejection when they entered the country before their visa approval.
The investment board stressed that these new endorsements would not usurp jobs meant for Namibians, but would rather help foster opportunities for local entrepreneurs and professionals to expand their networks and learn from their global counterparts.
Namibia is one of five African countries that offers this visa option. The other four are Cape Verde, Seychelles, Rwanda and Mauritius.
The programme has received international attention as far as Germany, the United States of America, and Australia. The country’s neighboring country South Africa is also on the list of countries that showed their interest in the programme.
The programme has a long list of benefits for locals and for the successful applicants as it opens doors for tourism opportunities. The investment board said it has since seen a surge in applications and queries pertaining to the programme.
