Travelling while maintaining a steady income might be the dream but doing both can be precarious in reality.
Obtaining visas and work permits can make the process harder, particularly if your employer is in your home country. However, Barbados is temporarily doing away with such sanctions.
The Caribbean country is opening up to tourists for long stays in an attempt to boost the economy.
Bajan Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley announced a 12-month Barbados Welcome Stamp in a speech addressed at the reopening of bars in Christ Church. The new incentive will allow visitors to stay for up to a year while continuing their employment online.
The move comes after the pandemic saw many companies successfully operate virtually. Barbados is banking on people wanting to swap their sedentary home office life to one where they can work in front of a beach.
While short-term stays are currently difficult to arrange, the Bajan government hopes people will be enticed by longer stays that will make their trip worthwhile.
The government is still working out the details and Prime Minister Mottley has given little information about the scheme, saying the stamp will allow ‘persons to come and work from here overseas, digitally so, so that persons don’t need to remain in the countries in which they are’.
He also added: ‘We will continue to take a risk-based approach to the protection of our country, our people and our visitors.’
According to the John Hopkins website, Barbados has had 98 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and as the country open up to air travel yesterday, it hopes to keep the number low.
Within 72 hours prior to departure for Barbados, all travellers from high-risk countries (places with more than 10,000 new cases) are strongly encouraged to take Covid-19 tests.
Residents from low-risk countries (those with less than 100 new cases in seven days) will have up to one week prior to departure for Barbados to take their tests.
