It is the dream of many a freelancer to fly around the world working wherever they lay their hat and laptop. While the Covid-19 crisis has restricted international travel, it has also highlighted the possibilities of remote working. But local employment and visa laws restrict options for freelancers.
“There’s no legitimate way to work as a digital nomad,” said Karoli Hindriks. She is chief executive of Jobbatical, a talent relocation company, wrote in Sifted. On June 2020, Estonia passed a law offering one-year visas to freelancers. It is for who spend part of that time working from the Baltic state. That is particularly tempting for those fond of romantic medieval cities and song festivals.
Visa For Digital Nomad
While for those who prefer the sun, Barbados is also offering year-long welcome stamps for working holidays. Estonia is hoping that 2,000 people might take advantage of its scheme. “Through our e-residency programme we give them a corporate entity,” says Siim Sikkut, Estonia’s chief information officer.
The tiny country of 1.3m people claims the record for the highest number of tech unicorns per capita with companies such as Skype, TransferWise and Bolt. All those companies achieving valuations of more than $1bn. Hailed as the Silicon Valley of digital government, Estonia has also won international acclaim for digitalising almost all public services. It is enabling people to vote, pay their taxes, order prescriptions and sign contracts online.
Despite this progress, Mr Sikkut says the digitalisation of public services is a never-ending process. “The pandemic crisis provides new challenges and gives us a kick in the butt to innovate,” he says. Now Estonia is rethinking how it delivers online healthcare services as a result of the pandemic.
E- Residency Programme
The Estonian government is also exploring how it can best apply artificial intelligence technology to public services. Estonia also doing its best to welcome foreign entrepreneurs.
Estonia e-residency programme, which enables individuals to establish a legal presence in Estonia, has already been taken up by 70,000 people. Entrepreneurial refugees from Brexit Britain are high on Estonia’s target list.
Rainer Kattel, a professor at University College London, says the efficiency of Estonia’s public services has become a source of competitive advantage. “You can export public services beyond your own country,” he says.
Although Estonia scores highly in digital governance, it only ranks seventh overall in the EU’s Digital Economy and Society Index as the public dissatisfaction with healthcare and education services remains high.
Source : https://www.ft.com/
