Like many other destinations hit hard by the pandemic, Barbados — which depended on tourism for an estimated 60-80% of its income — has found a way to entice tourists with a special visa for remote workers.
Launched on July 18, the Barbados Welcome Stamp Visa requires applicants to fill out an online form, upload their birth certificate, confirm their salary (which must be over $50,000), and pay a $2,000 fee.
The visa is popular so far. By the end of October, Barbados had received 1,693 applications for the Welcome Stamp (a mix of groups and individuals), accounting for 2,796 people in total, the Barbados Tourism and Marketing team told Insider. The top country for applications is the US (675), followed by Canada (283), and the UK (231), though they come from all over the world.
Meanwhile, others arrive in Barbados on tourist visas to work remotely there for up to six months at a time.
Last month, I traveled to Barbados (following the necessary safety protocol and quarantining on arrival) to meet some of the country's new digital nomads, from a Canadian schoolteacher to an attorney from New York City.
Most were lured by Barbados' beaches and low number of coronavirus cases — the country has had 250 coronavirus cases and seven related deaths to date, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine — while many Americans wanted to escape tensions at home. And more than a few plan to stay.
Editor's note: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that "travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19."