Governments publish the rules. Nobody publishes what changed.
Every visa page on the internet tells you what the rule is today. Almost none of them tell you it was different last month — which is the only part that costs you a flight. This is a dated record of what actually moved, checked against the government's own page rather than against another visa site.
15 schemes · every figure re-checked 14 August 2026
What you need
Pick where you're going. You get the scheme, the current fee, how long it lasts, and a direct link to the government site that issues it. Nothing here is a booking form and nothing is sold.
The visas for working remotely from somewhere for months rather than days. This matters more than it used to: now that Europe's EES counts your days at the border automatically, quietly running past 90 is no longer something you get away with.
Read this first
We publish what the government published, with a link to the page it came from. We don't assess your situation, we don't tell you which visa to apply for, and we're not immigration advisers — that's regulated work in most countries and this isn't it. Requirements below are the published minimums, not a prediction that you'd be approved.
Portugal — D8
Visto de residência para atividade remota
Remote employees and freelancers working for clients outside Portugal.
Income required€3,680 / month4 × minimum wage — moves each January
Government feeNot published
How longNot published
Leads to residence5 years
Tax resident at183 days
Worth knowingThe income test is an average of your last three months of actual earnings, not a forward salary. The threshold is four times the national minimum wage, which rose to €920 in January 2026 — so the bar moved from €3,480 to €3,680 without the visa page changing at all.
Commonly got wrongTwo things almost every relocation site still gets wrong. Citizenship is no longer five years — it moved to seven years for EU and Portuguese-speaking-country nationals and ten for everyone else, in force 19 May 2026, and only applications already filed by that date keep the old rule. And the tax break everyone associates with Portugal, NHR, was repealed in 2024; its replacement requires a qualifying Portuguese employer, which a remote worker with foreign clients does not have.
Remote employees, freelancers, and company owners with effective control.
Income required€34,188 / year gross200% of minimum wage — moves each January
Government fee€73.26 permit, visa fee set per consulate
How long1-year visa, then a 3-year permit renewable in 2-year blocks
Leads to residenceNot published
Tax resident atNot published
Worth knowingThe annual figure is the one to work from. You'll see €2,442 and €2,849 quoted as the monthly requirement and both are correct — Spanish salaries are often paid in 14 instalments rather than 12, so it's the same money divided differently.
Commonly got wrongRegistering for Spanish social security is mandatory unless a bilateral certificate covers you. Miss it and the permit is extinguished — for your dependants too. You also cannot switch to this from a non-lucrative visa.
Remote workers and freelancers serving clients outside Greece.
Income required€3,500 / month net
Government feeNot published
How longVisa up to 12 months, not extendable
Leads to residenceNot published
Tax resident at183 days
Worth knowingFixed amount rather than a formula, so it only moves when a new ministerial decision says so. Add 20% for a spouse and 15% per child. The visa and the residence permit are two separate things applied for in different places, which trips people up constantly.
Commonly got wrongThe €3,500 is net, not gross — a detail dropped from most write-ups, and it's a large difference. Note also that we could not read anything Greek dated after September 2024, so treat this entry as the least current on the page.
Highly qualified remote workers with at least 6 months of prior remote experience.
Income requiredNot published3 × the healthcare exemption floor
Government fee€116 visa
How long1 year, renewable annually
Leads to residenceNot published
Tax resident at183 days, counting part-days
Worth knowingWe're publishing the formula rather than a number because Italy's own sources disagree on what it produces — several consulates say around €25,500 a year while an embassy document from July 2025 says roughly €27,000. The decree itself names no figure. Check with the consulate you'll actually apply at.
Commonly got wrongA permit is required even for stays under 90 days, which is unusual. Freelancers must register for an Italian VAT number. And the impatriate tax break is now 50% with a €600,000 cap — the 70% and 90% figures still circulating are the pre-2024 regime.
Remote employees and business owners serving clients outside Japan.
Income required¥10,000,000 / year
Government fee≈¥15,000 single entry
How long6 months, non-renewable
Leads to residenceNo — nothing accrues
Tax resident at183 days
Worth knowingSix months means six months. You cannot extend, and you must wait a further six months after leaving Japan before applying again. Holders get no residence card and cannot join the public health insurance system.
Commonly got wrongThe fee went from about ¥3,000 to about ¥15,000 on 1 July 2026, so most sites are quoting a figure that is five times too low. Also, the eligible-country list for you is not the list for your family — the main applicant needs a country with both a visa waiver and a tax treaty, which is a much shorter list than the one covering a spouse or child.
Remote workers, freelancers, and people here for Muay Thai, cooking or medical treatment.
Income requiredTHB 500,000 in savings
Government feeSet per embassy — around US$340–400
How long5-year visa, 180 days per entry
Leads to residenceNo
Tax resident atNot published
Worth knowingThe five years is validity, not a stay. Each entry gives 180 days, extendable once by another 180, after which you have to leave and come back. The savings requirement is an ending balance for each of the last three months, not a one-off snapshot.
Commonly got wrongThe THB 10,000 fee quoted almost everywhere is out of date — embassies now charge in local currency at roughly three times that, and the amount differs by mission. The DTV also does not permit work for Thai employers; that still needs a work permit.
Remote employees and freelancers. Not open to Israeli nationals.
Income requiredUS$24,000 or US$60,000 / year
Government feeRM1,080 processing, plus pass and visa fees
How long3–12 months, renewable once. 24 months maximum
Leads to residenceNo — the 24-month ceiling forecloses it
Tax resident at182 days
Worth knowingThe income requirement depends on your field: US$24,000 for tech and digital roles, US$60,000 for everything else — marketing, finance, legal, consulting and so on. Your contract must have started at least three months before you apply.
Commonly got wrongThere are three separate fees, not one, and the RM1,080 to MDEC has been non-refundable on rejection since May 2025. Since 1 August 2026 rejected applications can no longer be appealed. The pass also covers peninsular Malaysia and Labuan only, not Sabah or Sarawak.
Employees and company owners with a year in the same industry. Freelancers are not eligible.
Income requiredNot published2 × Korea's GNI per capita for the previous year
Government feeSet by reciprocity — around US$45
How long1 year, extendable once
Leads to residenceNot published
Tax resident atNot published
Worth knowingThe requirement is a formula that re-bases every year against Bank of Korea figures, so it is not a number you can memorise. We're leaving the won amount blank because every Korean government page we could reach still quotes a 2022 or 2023 base — including the one your own embassy will hand you.
Commonly got wrongFreelancers are excluded, which several sites get wrong by grouping this with Thailand's and Malaysia's schemes. Health insurance registration becomes mandatory once you've been in Korea six months.
Remote workers employed by a company outside Indonesia.
Income requiredNot published
Government feeNot published
How longNot published
Leads to residenceNot published
Tax resident atNot published
Worth knowingIndonesia's immigration site was unreachable throughout our checks, so every field here is blank. The figures circulating — a US$60,000 income requirement and a US$2,000 balance — come only from agency sites, and we don't republish those.
Commonly got wrongCheck the official portal directly. If a site quotes you confident numbers for this visa, ask where they got them, because the government's own pages were not serving them.
Newest first. Each entry links the government page it came from. Where a fee moved, the old figure is shown struck through — because the old figure is what you'll find nearly everywhere else.
1 August 2026Malaysia
Malaysia stopped accepting appeals on rejected nomad passes
A rejected DE Rantau application can no longer be appealed. Combined with the processing fee becoming non-refundable in May 2025, a rejection now costs RM1,080 with no recourse.
Single-entry visa fees went to around ¥15,000 and multiple-entry to around ¥30,000, paid in local currency. This applies to the digital nomad visa along with everything else. Because the digital nomad page itself hasn't been touched since March 2024, anyone watching only that page missed this entirely.
Japan's entry authorisation became law — but has no start date
JESTA passed the Diet on 29 May and was promulgated as Act No. 32 of 2026. It is not in force. Commencement is left to a Cabinet Order that has not been issued, with a statutory outer limit of 31 March 2029. Immigration Services aims for the 2028 financial year, which is an aspiration rather than a commitment. The fee was delegated to the same unissued order, so no amount exists.
Indonesia and Malaysia added to Canada's eTA route
Citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia who have held a Canadian visitor visa in the past ten years, or hold a valid US non-immigrant visa, can now apply for a CA$7 eTA instead of a visitor visa. It only covers arrival by air — entry by car, bus, train or boat still needs a visa.
Naturalisation now takes seven years for EU and Portuguese-speaking-country nationals and ten for everyone else. The clock also changed: it used to run from the date you applied for your permit, and now runs only from actual legal residence. Only applications already filed by 19 May keep the old rule — being resident on that date does not protect you. Permanent residence is still five years, so the two have now decoupled.
EES became fully operational at every Schengen border
After a phased start in October 2025, the Entry/Exit System now runs at all external crossing points. Your face and fingerprints are recorded, and the system counts your 90-days-in-180 for you rather than relying on passport stamps. There is nothing to apply for and no fee. Holders of residence permits issued by Cyprus or Ireland are still registered.
The increase took effect at 9am, set by statutory instrument made three weeks earlier. This is the second spring rise in a row — it went from £10 to £16 in April 2025 — which makes mid-March the moment to watch for next year's figure.
Airlines must now refuse boarding without a UK ETA
The requirement had been in force since April 2025, but carrier enforcement began now. In practice this is the date the rule acquired teeth: previously an oversight might be resolved at the border, and now it stops you at the gate.
Spain's nomad visa income bar rose with the minimum wage
The requirement is 200% of the national minimum wage, so it moved automatically when the 2026 wage was set — no announcement, no change to the visa page. This is the pattern to watch: pegged thresholds move every January or February while every guide keeps publishing last year's number.
Both were added to the unilateral visa-free policy, allowing stays of up to 30 days without a visa — currently stated as running until 31 December 2026. The 30 days is counted from midnight on the day after you arrive, not from landing.
Four times the national minimum wage, which went to €920. Same mechanism as Spain — the visa rules didn't change, the wage did, and the bar followed it up.
Three months after the jump to $40, an inflation adjustment took it to $40.27. The odd cents are correct — the law doesn't round. Because the adjustment is annual and mandatory, expect another change around 1 January 2027. A denied application still costs $10.27.
The temporary exemption covering the US, UK, Canada, Australia, most of western Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Macao was extended to 31 December 2026. It has been rolled forward every year so far, and each decision has landed in late December — so the 2027 answer should arrive around then.
The €20 ETIAS fee became law — though nothing is collected yet
The delegated regulation setting the fee at €20 entered into force, replacing €7. But it only takes effect once ETIAS is operational, and ETIAS is not: no applications are being collected, and the Commission has published no launch date. Under-18s and over-70s will pay nothing.
Portugal added a two-year wait before family can join you
A permit holder must now hold their permit for two years before applying to bring family — fifteen months for a spouse who lived with them for eighteen months before entry. Previously it could be done immediately. The D8 visa itself was untouched by the reform, which is why this change is easy to miss when reading about it.
Biometric registration began at selected crossings under a temporary derogation allowing a progressive start, ahead of full operation the following April.
The increase implemented a provision of the July 2025 budget act. It held for three months before the inflation adjustment superseded it — which is why $40 is still quoted so widely and is no longer right.
A $250 visa fee was enacted — and still isn't being collected
The budget act created a “visa integrity fee” for nonimmigrant visa holders. More than a year on, no implementing rule has been published and the State Department's fee page doesn't mention it. The $250 is a statutory minimum rather than a price, and the “refundable” description is generous: reimbursement would be discretionary, only after the visa expires, and no mechanism exists.
Indonesia became the 55th country for 240-hour transit
China's visa-free transit allows up to 240 hours — ten days — through 65 ports, provided you hold an onward ticket to a third country. Pages still describing a 144-hour allowance are describing the old rule.
The final phase of the rollout. Every eligible non-visa national now needs one, though British and Irish citizens are exempt — and dual British-Irish citizens cannot obtain one at all.
The conservation and tourism levy went from NZ$35 to NZ$100 per person, charged alongside the NZeTA. With the NZeTA itself that makes NZ$117 through the app or NZ$123 through the website. Transit NZeTAs carry no levy.
What's wrong out there — including on government sites
The case for tracking changes isn't theoretical. These are live pages, checked on 14 August 2026, publishing figures that are simply no longer true. Three of them belong to governments.
EU
An official EU page still says ETIAS costs €7
The fee became €20 in July 2025. The European External Action Service page advising visa-free travellers still states €7 three times, and tells readers it “will only cost EUR 7 if you use the ETIAS official website.” The same page says the launch is “mid-2026” in one paragraph and “late-2026” in three others.
The actual fee is $40.27. The Code of Federal Regulations was superseded by statute in 2025 and never amended, so the most authoritative-looking source available gives a figure that is wrong by nearly twenty dollars.
gov.uk news pages still quote £16 and £10 for the ETA
The fee has been £20 since 8 April 2026. A Home Office news story from February 2026 still says £16 and has never been corrected. Only the main ETA page and the current fees table are reliable — news stories are dated snapshots that nobody goes back to fix.
Two US government pages disagree on who needs an ESTA
Customs and Border Protection lists 41 Visa Waiver Program countries; the State Department lists 42. The CBP page was last modified before Qatar joined. Separately, Romania was designated in January 2025 and the designation was rescinded that May — sites that caught the first announcement and not the second are telling Romanian travellers they can fly without a visa.
The K-ETA fee is repeated everywhere as KRW 10,300
The official fee is KRW 10,000. The extra 300 comes from misreading the payment processing charge, which Korea describes as a percentage of around 3% collected by the payment provider — not a flat addition. The same pages usually claim five-year validity; it has been three years since July 2023.
A Spanish consulate is still publishing the 2023 minimum wage
Spain's nomad visa threshold is 200% of the minimum wage, so the wage figure is the requirement. One consulate's official requirements document still states the 2023 figure of €15,120 — three annual revisions out of date, on the single number an applicant most needs to get right. The 2026 figure is €17,094, making the requirement €34,188.
Korea's own embassies quote a four-year-old income base
The F-1-D requirement is twice Korea's GNI per capita for the previous year, so it re-bases annually. Every readable official page still cites a 2022 or 2023 base — one Canadian mission page dated January 2024 is still serving the 2022 figure. A site that hardcodes a won amount here is wrong by construction within a year.
Japan's nomad visa page and its fee page disagree by design
The digital nomad page hasn't been edited since March 2024. The visa fee page changed on 24 June 2026, taking the fee from about ¥3,000 to about ¥15,000. Neither page is wrong — but watching only the one that describes the visa means missing a fivefold fee increase.
Two Italian government sources give different nomad income figures
The decree sets the requirement as three times a healthcare exemption threshold and names no euro amount. Several consulates publish about €25,500; an embassy document from July 2025 says about €27,000. We publish the formula and the disagreement rather than picking one, because we have no basis to pick.
We're not telling you Thailand's exemption dropped to 30 days
You'll see it widely: 60 days cut to 30 for “93 countries” from May 2026. We could not confirm it on any Thai government domain, no two sources agree on the country count, and the change appears to still be awaiting publication in the Royal Gazette — after which it takes 15 days to bite. It may well happen. It is not something we're willing to state as fact yet.
Thai government domains unreachable on 14 August 2026
Apply on the government site. Never anywhere else.
Every scheme on this page is applied for directly, by you, on a government website, for the fee shown. There is no step a middleman is needed for.
Lookalike sites buy the top search results and charge a markup on top of the real fee — sometimes several times it. They are usually legal, and they are always unnecessary. Two governments say so themselves: Canada's IRCC banners "It only costs CAN$7", and Korea's Ministry of Justice states it "has not delegated the service of the K-ETA application to any agencies."
One that isn't merely a markup: ETIAS is not open yet. No applications are being collected anywhere. Any site accepting an ETIAS application or payment today is taking money for something that does not exist.