Cape Verde digital nomad visa (2026)

Who can apply

Open to citizens of European countries, North America, the Portuguese-speaking community (CPLP) and ECOWAS.

• National of a European, North American, CPLP or ECOWAS country
• Self-employed or working remotely using online tools, without a fixed office
• Average bank balance of €1,500 (individual) or €2,700 (family) over 6 months
• Travel and health insurance covering evacuation and repatriation
• Passport valid for at least 6 months

Income requirement

You need to show at least Average bank balance of €1,500 over the last 6 months (about US$1,678 at rates from 11 Nov 2026). Individuals need an average bank balance of at least €1,500 over the previous six months; families need at least €2,700.

Documents you need

• Passport valid for at least 6 months
• Bank statements covering the last 6 months
• Travel and health insurance with evacuation and repatriation cover
• Online registration form
• Approval letter from the Cabo Verde Tourism Institute (shown on arrival)
• Proof of airport security tax payment

How to apply, step by step

1. Fill in the online registration form linked from the official programme page
2. Wait for an email about next steps; decisions take about two weeks
3. Do not travel until approved
4. On arrival, show the approval documents and pay the fees to receive the visa stamp

Where and how to apply

The Remote Working Programme is handled online and involves two bodies. You fill in the registration form linked from the Turismo de Cabo Verde page, and the Cabo Verde Tourism Institute checks eligibility and sends an approval letter. The visa decision itself is shown by a separate approval declaration from the Direção de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (DEF), the border and immigration authority. Both documents are checked at the airport, where the visa stamp is placed in the passport. No consulate appointment is needed for the programme, and the programme office is in Santa Maria, Sal (turismodecaboverde2020@gmail.com, +238 351 04 10). All travellers must also pre-register on the government's EASE platform (ease.gov.cv), where the airport security tax is paid. There is now also a statutory route. Decree-Law 13/2025, in force since 16 May 2025, added a residence visa for people who work remotely for employers or clients outside Cabo Verde. That visa is requested on DEF's digital platform, or exceptionally at DEF counters or regional National Police commands. It can also be lodged at a Cabo Verdean embassy or consulate, which passes it to DEF for decision. Nationals of countries on the government's prior-visa list cannot get visas online or on arrival. Their applications go through a consulate, and DEF's opinion on them is binding.

Timeline

1. Register for the programme Before booking travel
   Submit the online form with your passport, six months of bank statements and insurance details. The programme team contacts you by email about next steps.
2. Approval About 2 weeks
   The tourism body says decisions usually take around two weeks and advises against travelling before approval.
3. EASE pre-registration At least 5 days before travel
   Register on ease.gov.cv and pay the airport security tax of 3,400 CVE for international arrivals. Since February 2026, travellers without valid pre-registration pay an extra 3,400 CVE for border processing.
4. Arrival On landing
   Show your passport, the Tourism Institute approval letter, the DEF visa approval declaration and proof of the airport tax, then pay the visa fee to receive the stamp.
5. Accommodation registration Within 48 hours
   Hotels, landlords and anyone who lends or sublets you a home must register you with the authorities. A foreigner living in their own home must do it themselves.
6. Extension Before the 6 months end
   Ask DEF for an extension through its digital platform or at a DEF counter, with documents showing your situation is unchanged. The programme allows one further six-month period.
7. Residence-visa route (alternative) Decision within 90 days of a complete file
   Under the 2025 rules, DEF decides residence visas within 90 days. The temporary residence permit that follows is also decided within 90 days, and renewals within 45 days.

Proving your income

For the programme, the test is the average balance of your bank account over the last six months, not your monthly salary. Statements must therefore cover a full six months, and the programme asks for them for the individual or for the family as a whole. The thresholds are set in euros. The escudo is pegged to the euro at 110.265 CVE per euro, so balances held in escudos convert easily. The programme page sets no translation rule. The general immigration regulation, however, requires documents in a foreign language to come with a Portuguese translation and to follow legalisation rules when DEF processes them, so statements in English or another language may be questioned. The statutory remote-work residence visa uses different evidence: proof of your average monthly income from employment or self-employment over the last three months, plus an employment contract or employer's letter (for employees) or a company deed, service contracts or evidence of services provided (for the self-employed). It also requires proof of where you are tax resident and a criminal record certificate from your home country. No official minimum income for this route was found.

Bringing your family

The programme lets you come alone or with family. A family applies against a single combined average-balance threshold over six months rather than an amount per person. The visa fee and the airport security tax are both charged per person. Children under two pay no airport tax and do not need to pre-register on EASE. Under the immigration regulation, an accompanying family member's visa cannot last longer than the visa of the person they are joining. A foreign child under 16 travelling without a parent may enter only if a person legally in Cabo Verde takes responsibility for them and a valid authorisation from the parent or guardian is checked. The programme covers remote work for clients or employers abroad. Nothing in it lets family members take local jobs. Paid work in Cabo Verde falls under the separate temporary-work or residence permits, which need a contract. The law also has a separate family reunification residence visa for relatives of foreigners who hold residence permits.

Health insurance

Programme applicants must hold travel and health insurance that pays for medical evacuation and for repatriation of remains in case of death. No minimum sum insured or approved insurer is published. The policy should cover the whole six-month period, and be extended if you renew. Turismo de Cabo Verde's travel advice also notes that if a patient has to be evacuated abroad, the cost falls on the traveller or their insurer, so the evacuation cover matters in practice. The statutory residence-visa route has no specific insurance clause in the regulation. It does ask for a medical certificate (or equivalent) and an international vaccination certificate among the general documents.

Cost and processing time

The fee is €20 visa fee per person plus €34 airport fee per person (paid once on arrival). Processing takes about 2 weeks. Budget extra for translations, certified copies and health insurance.

After you arrive

• Keep your Tourism Institute approval letter, the DEF approval declaration and your EASE/airport tax receipt with your passport for the whole stay.
• Make sure your landlord or host registers you through DEF's accommodation-bulletin system within 48 hours. If you stay in a home you own, you must file it yourself.
• Request any extension before your permitted stay ends, on DEF's digital platform or at a DEF counter. Since 1 February 2026, DEF charges a review fee plus an extension fee in escudos under Portaria 40/2025, paid through a single payment slip (DUC).
• Overstaying has consequences later: when DEF assesses future applications, it checks whether you exceeded your permitted stay on earlier visits.
• If you take the residence-visa route, apply for a temporary residence permit after arrival. You will then receive a foreigner's residence card (TRE), and you may need a tax number (NIF) and social security registration.
• Keep track of your days in the country. The government's 2026 tax-policy paper treats people who live in Cabo Verde for at least 183 days a year as tax resident.

Tax

The Turismo de Cabo Verde programme page says remote workers in Cabo Verde are exempt from income tax. No decree, budget law or tax-code provision in the Boletim Oficial setting out that exemption was found, and the page gives no conditions or time limit. The government's 2026 fiscal-policy paper describes tax residency as living in Cabo Verde for at least 183 days a year. The same paper says a special regime is still being designed, with a 25% cut in personal income tax (IRPS) for members of the diaspora who become tax resident. That regime is aimed at the diaspora, not at foreign remote workers, and is not yet law. In practice, the income-tax exemption should be treated as a statement from the programme. Anyone staying close to or beyond 183 days should get written confirmation from the tax authority (DNRE) before relying on it.

Does it lead to permanent residence?

The programme visa is a short-term entry visa, not a residence permit. The Foreigners Law (Law 66/VIII/2014) grants permanent residence to people who have held a temporary residence permit for at least five years, or three years for people born in Cabo Verde. Applicants also need means of support and housing, must not have been sentenced to more than a year in prison, and must show knowledge of Portuguese. DEF may waive the language proof for retirees or where the applicant's command of the language is not in doubt. Time on the programme visa is therefore unlikely to count, because the clock runs from a temporary residence permit. The 2025 remote-work residence visa does lead to a temporary residence permit and could start that count. Permanent residence has no expiry date, but the card must be renewed every five years.

Why applications get refused

• Nationality outside the eligible groups (Europe, North America, CPLP, ECOWAS), or on the list of countries whose citizens need a visa from a consulate before travel.
• An average balance below the threshold, or statements that cover less than the full six months.
• Insurance without medical evacuation and repatriation-of-remains cover.
• A passport valid for less than six months. For DEF-issued visas, the passport must also remain valid at least three months beyond the end of the requested stay.
• Earlier overstays in Cabo Verde, which DEF checks when assessing new applications.
• Incomplete, unclear or poorly supported files, which DEF and consulates may reject outright without examining them in full.

Cost of living in Praia (Santiago); many remote workers also stay in Santa Maria (Sal) or Mindelo (São Vicente)

1-bedroom rent

About 30,000–80,000 CVE a month in the city centre (average about 56,700 CVE), and 20,000–35,000 CVE outside the centre (Numbeo, updated 2 Oct 2026, only 7 contributors)

Coworking desk

No reliable published coworking rates found

Numbeo lists broadband of 60 Mbps or more at about 5,000–5,400 CVE a month. The escudo is pegged at 110.265 CVE per euro, and no reliable rent data was found for Sal or São Vicente.

Good to know

• The official page still mentions a COVID-19 entry rule (negative PCR test or full vaccination), which may be outdated
• Travellers also pre-register on the EASE portal and pay the airport security tax there

Visiting first? Entry rules for popular passports

61 passports can enter Cape Verde visa-free for a short stay, a common way to try the country before applying. Check Cape Verde visa requirements for your passport.

Official source

Turismo de Cabo Verde – Remote Working Programme

Not yet confirmed on an official source: legal basis/decree, exact nationality list. Check these with the consulate before you apply.