Digital nomad visas for founders: which ones let you run your own company (2026)

Yes, you can run your own company on several digital nomad visas, but not on all of them, and the difference sits in the fine print. Most of these visas were written for remote employees of foreign companies. A founder needs three answers the marketing pages skip: does the visa accept a company you own, can you take local clients, and will they accept company accounts and invoices instead of payslips?

This guide compares nine visas founders actually consider, using only official government pages checked on 25 October 2026. Where an official page doesn't answer a question, the table says "not stated" rather than guessing.

The short answer for founders

The visas that most clearly fit a founder are the ones whose official pages name business owners or company documents. On that test, five stand out:

• Croatia says the work can be for "his own company that is not registered in the Republic of Croatia" (Croatian Ministry of the Interior).
• Greece has a section for applicants who are self-employed in their own company, which must be established outside Greece (Greek Embassy in Lima).
• Estonia lists business owners running their own company registered abroad (e-Residency).
• Thailand's DTV has a separate document list for business owners (Royal Thai Embassy, Budapest).
• Malaysia's DE Rantau lists "Chief Executive Officer (Founder/ Managing Director/ President)" as an eligible role (MDEC FAQ v10).

Portugal accepts a company or services contract for independent workers. Spain accepts self-employed people with a commercial contract with a foreign company. The UAE and Japan are framed around employment or selling abroad, so check the founder angle before you apply.

Digital nomad visas for founders compared

Income figures are as each official page states them, in the original currency.

Country notes for founders

Portugal

Portugal's remote-work residency visa has a route for "independent professional activity", where you show a society (company) contract, a services contract, or a document showing services provided to one or more entities (Vistos MNE). You need average monthly income over the last three months of at least four times the minimum monthly wage. Portugal's minimum wage for 2026 is EUR 920 a month (DGERT), so four times that is EUR 3,680. Residency visas allow two entries and are valid for four months, then you apply for a residence permit with AIMA (Vistos MNE, types of visa). The MNE page also asks for a document showing your tax residence.

Spain

Spain's international teleworker route covers employees and self-employed people. A self-employed applicant needs a commercial contract with the foreign company of at least three months (Spanish Unidad de Grandes Empresas FAQ). The foreign company must have been active for at least a year, and you need a degree or three years of professional experience (Spanish Consulate in Sydney).

The income test is 200% of the minimum wage (SMI) a month, plus 75% of the SMI for a second family member and 25% for each extra one. The 2026 SMI is EUR 1,221 a month, or EUR 17,094 a year (BOE, Real Decreto 126/2026). On the monthly figure, 200% is EUR 2,442, but ask your consulate how they calculate it. The visa lasts up to a year, and a residence permit applied for in Spain can run up to three years. The UGE's fee for an initial permit application is EUR 73.26. Self-employed holders must register for Spanish social security (RETA), and the FAQ warns the permit can be cancelled if you don't.

Spain doesn't say directly whether the foreign company can be one you own. If it is, expect questions about whether the role can really be done fully remotely.

Thailand

The Destination Thailand Visa is valid for five years, with stays of up to 180 days per entry, and costs EUR 350 at the Budapest embassy (fees differ by embassy) (Royal Thai Embassy, Budapest). You need at least 500,000 THB in funds. Business owners apply with a cover letter, a certificate of incorporation and a corporate tax return. Holders can't get a Thai work permit, work for companies in Thailand or freelance for Thai clients.

Malaysia

Malaysia's DE Rantau Nomad Pass is the only visa here that names founders outright. "Chief Executive Officer (Founder/ Managing Director/ President)" sits in the non-tech list, which needs USD 60,000 a year; tech roles need USD 24,000 (MDEC FAQ v10, 28 August 2026). The pass runs 3 to 12 months and can be renewed once for 12 more, so 24 months at most.

The processing fee is RM1,080 per applicant and RM540 per dependant, and it isn't refunded if you're rejected. Since 1 August 2026, rejected applications can't be appealed. Most Malaysian banks don't accept the pass for opening an account, so keep your foreign banking.

Estonia

Estonia's digital nomad visa covers employees of foreign companies, business owners with their own company registered abroad, and freelancers whose clients are mostly outside Estonia (e-Residency). It lasts up to a year and you apply at an Estonian embassy. That page puts the income bar at EUR 4,500 net a month, and says standard visa rules apply, so ask the embassy which documents they want as proof. An Estonian e-Residency company with clients mostly abroad can fit the freelancer route.

Croatia

Croatia is the clearest fit for a founder with a company outside Croatia. You can stay up to 18 months (Croatian Ministry of the Interior). If you were granted less, you can extend by up to six months, applying at least 60 days before expiry. After it ends, you wait six months before a new application. The income test is 2.5 times Croatia's average net monthly salary, currently EUR 3,622.50 a month. You can instead show a lump sum of EUR 43,470 for 12 months or EUR 65,205 for 18 months. Fees at a police station come to EUR 46.45 for the stay, EUR 9.29 admin and EUR 31.85 for the residence card.

Greece

Greece's Z1 digital nomad visa needs EUR 3,500 a month, assessed monthly or as a yearly average, and for employment income that figure is net (Greek Embassy in Lima). Independent workers need more than one contract. Owners give details of their company, which must be established outside Greece. Everyone signs a sworn statement that they won't provide work, services or projects to an employer based in Greece. The national visa runs for up to 12 months (Greek Embassy in London).

UAE

The UAE's remote work visa needs at least USD 3,500 a month, shown by six months of bank statements, and is for people who work remotely for an entity outside the UAE (Abu Dhabi DED). Dubai's GDRFA says it gives one year of residence, extendable, at AED 200 plus 5% VAT, with extra fees if you apply from inside the country (GDRFA Dubai). Neither page mentions business owners, so ask before applying with your own company.

Japan

Japan's digital nomad status needs at least 10 million yen a year and is only open to nationals of countries with both visa exemption and a tax treaty with Japan (Immigration Services Agency of Japan). It lasts six months with no extension and no residence card, and you wait six months before reapplying. Founders fit through the second activity: providing services for a fee, or selling goods, to people in a foreign country. You can't work under an employment contract with a Japanese organisation.

What income proof works for a business owner

Payslips are the employee route. As a founder, use the business-owner or freelancer route on the official page, and give them documents that tell one consistent story:

• Thailand: cover letter, certificate of incorporation and corporate tax return, plus the 500,000 THB statement.
• Malaysia: client contracts, three months of invoices, proof of payment from PayPal, Stripe, Wise or bank transfer, and three months of bank statements. Contracts must have started at least three months before you apply, and names and amounts must match across documents.
• Croatia: a copy of your company's registration and proof you do the work through it, plus bank statements of regular income or six months of payslips.
• Greece: your company's business register entry, website or public sources and articles of association, plus a personal or business bank account.
• Portugal: a company contract, services contract or proof of services provided, showing the three-month average income.
• Spain: your commercial contract and a registry certificate showing the foreign company has traded for a year.
• Japan: a tax certificate or income certificate from the country where you worked.
• UAE: six months of bank statements showing the income or deposit.

If you pay yourself irregular dividends, the three- and six-month windows matter. Several countries look at regular monthly income, so a steady monthly salary or distribution from your company is easier to prove than one big payment. If you're setting up a company to invoice through, our guide to a US LLC for non-US founders covers formation, banking and the paperwork that produces these records.

Can you work for local clients?

Mostly no, and this is where founders get caught. Thailand bars freelance work for Thai clients. Croatia excludes Croatian employers. Greece makes you swear you won't serve Greek-based employers. Japan bars employment with Japanese organisations and frames business activity as selling to people abroad.

Two visas are looser. Spain lets a self-employed teleworker work for Spanish companies, as long as it's a professional relationship (never employment) and no more than 20% of total activity. Malaysia's FAQ says freelancers "may also serve Malaysian clients", though remote employees need an employer not registered in Malaysia.

If local customers are core to your plan, a nomad visa is probably the wrong tool. Look at that country's business or investor routes instead.

Tax: a visa doesn't settle where you pay

A digital nomad visa decides whether you can stay. It doesn't decide where you're tax resident, and it usually doesn't exempt you from tax. Each country's own tax rules apply:

• Portugal: you're tax resident after more than 183 days, continuous or not, in any 12-month period starting or ending in the year, or if you have a home you seem to intend to keep as your habitual residence. You must tell the tax authority within 60 days (Portal das Finanças).
• Spain: you're resident after more than 183 days in a calendar year, or if your main base of economic activity or interests is in Spain, and residents are taxed on worldwide income (Government of Spain).
• Thailand: you're resident after more than 180 days in a calendar year, and residents are taxed on foreign income brought into Thailand (Thai Revenue Department).
• Estonia: you're personally tax resident if you live there at least 183 days over 12 consecutive months, and e-Residency is not tax residency (e-Residency).
• Malaysia: MDEC's FAQ has a full tax section saying pass holders' income can be taxable in Malaysia, and you need an income tax registration slip from LHDN to get the pass endorsed.
• Croatia: the Income Tax Act treats receipts from work for an employer not registered in Croatia, under digital nomad status, as not taxable income, since 1 January 2021 (Narodne novine 138/2020).

Your company has its own tax residence too, and running it from a new country can raise questions about where it's managed. Your home country may still tax you as well. This is general information, so get local advice from a tax adviser in both countries before you move.

Countries we left out

We dropped three popular options because their official pages wouldn't open on 25 October 2026: Indonesia's E33G remote worker visa, Colombia's digital nomad visa and Costa Rica's remote worker stay. We don't list rules we can't check against the government source. For Bali specifically, Bali Startup & Tech covers living and building there.

Common mistakes

• Taking local clients when the visa forbids it. One invoice to a Thai, Croatian or Greek client can put you outside your visa's terms.
• Applying with payslips you don't have. Founders who pay themselves irregularly fail the "regular monthly income" test. Use the business-owner route and line up contracts, invoices and bank deposits.
• Assuming a nomad visa means no tax. Croatia's exemption is the exception. Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Estonia and Malaysia all have their own tests.
• Overstaying or misreading the clock. Japan gives six months with no extension. Thailand's DTV caps each stay at 180 days. Croatia makes you wait six months before applying again.
• Ignoring registration steps after approval. Spain can cancel the permit if a self-employed holder doesn't register with social security, and Portugal wants a tax residence change reported within 60 days.
• Trusting agency summaries. Figures change: Malaysia's FAQ is on version 10 and Croatia's income bar is indexed to salaries. Always check the government page on the day you apply.
• Booking before approval. MDEC tells applicants not to buy non-refundable flights or sign leases before approval and endorsement.

To compare notes on which visas are working with other founders, request an invite to Remote Builders.

Checklist before you apply

1. Write down where your company is registered, who your clients are and where they're based.
2. Shortlist visas whose official page names business owners, company contracts or freelancers.
3. Check the local-client rule for each, and drop any that conflict with your customer base.
4. Convert your actual income into the visa's currency and test it against the threshold over the window they use (three or six months, or a year).
5. Gather business-owner proof: registration certificate, articles, client contracts, three to six months of invoices, matching bank statements and a recent tax return.
6. Pay yourself a regular monthly amount for at least the look-back period if you can.
7. Check length, renewal and wait periods, and put the expiry and renewal dates in your calendar.
8. Read the country's tax residency rules, count your days, and get local advice on personal and company tax.
9. Confirm fees and processing times on the official page or with the embassy on the day you apply.
10. Plan the team side: if you'll be leading people from a new time zone, see our guide to running a remote team across time zones.