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What's the most stress-free cheap company setup to pay yourself a salary to be eligible for Digital Nomad visas?

DSoz

New member
Dec 31, 2023
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Most of my income comes from crypto trading and investments but I don't have a company.

Most digital nomad visas ask for a steady salary of USD 2000 or more/business income for 6 months with bank statements.

What's a good company formation setup in this case? I won't mind taking my trading under my own company to pay myself a salary. However, getting a bank account that way is quite hard from what I've seen.

Don't want to deal with heavy paperwork or taxes for this simple setup. Ideally would just have to pay some setup and renewal fees such that this company sustains itself for years.
 
Don't want to deal with heavy paperwork or taxes for this simple setup. Ideally would just have to pay some setup and renewal fees such that this company sustains itself for years.
=> Mission impossible, I am afraid. It's 2024. (This is not eligible for a simple setup, that's it.)
 
Can't you go with Estonia? You should be able to take out approximately 10k euros per month tax free as a salary. You could then reinvest the rest within the company.
Can that company be used to trade crypto? I think Estonia has taxes on salary and dividends.

You'll really want to check the visa rules. I believe many countries don't allow you to be a shareholder in the company.

From the nomad visa site:

Applicants must prove they fall under any one of the following 3 categories:

  1. work for an employer registered in a foreign country and have a contract of work;
  2. conduct business activities for a company registered in a foreign country and of which applicant is partner/shareholder; or
  3. offer freelance or consulting services, to clients whose permanent establishments are in a foreign country, and with whom the applicant has contracts. Persons contracted by a foreign company and giving services to the company’s Maltese subsidiary are not eligible for the Nomad Residence Permit. Moreover, an applicant must have a minimum gross yearly income of €32,400.

Bhamas baby
After FTX I doubt they'll want to touch anything related to crypto..
 
Yes, and there are no taxes or contributions if you are not a resident of Estonia
However, without a crypto trading licence such a company will face heavy problems with banking, even if trading only own funds – but with no other business activity. And to dig a licence is anything but simple. AFAIK, some are trying to solve this e.g. by Polish VASP registration but I do not know how successfully.
 
Yes, and there are no taxes or contributions if you are not a resident of Estonia
So basically with an Estonia company and a residency in UAE, I can trade crypto via the company and pay myself $10K salary and no pay any income tax in UAE and if I keep doing this for more than 6 months, become eligible for all the digital nomad visas around the world? Am I missing something?
 
So basically with an Estonia company and a residency in UAE, I can trade crypto via the company and pay myself $10K salary and no pay any income tax in UAE and if I keep doing this for more than 6 months, become eligible for all the digital nomad visas around the world? Am I missing something?

Obviously "eligible for all the digital nomad visas around the world" is impossible to answer as every country has its own rules for its digital nomad visas, and some will not allow you to be a shareholder of the company that employs you.
 
I haven't looked much into this unfortunately, but I faintly recall that some countries explicitly don't allow self-employment for digital nomad visas. But others may allow this. It's just important to check the terms. Typically the company also needs to have been in business for a certain time.
 
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