‘Digital nomad’ visa could be on the way

Arlen McCluskey is at his desk from Tuesday to Saturday, matching the United States’ Monday to Friday.

Arlen McCluskey is a digital nomad – he lives in Wellington, but works as a product designer for Clubhouse, a social media company based in California.

‘‘For me, it is profoundly liberating,’’ McCluskey said.

Some might remember Clubhouse from the early days of the pandemic, when its audio-based offerings became popular among Kiwis stuck in lockdown.

McCluskey is at his desk from Tuesday to Saturday, matching the United States’ Monday to Friday.

It worked well, he said. When his colleagues started their day he was already halfway through his own, meaning he had work to present and a head start on the week.

In the winter, when the time difference was greater, McCluskey said he had to get up a little earlier, but he said the 7am starts were not so bad.

He is paid in US dollars and managed to secure a rate of NZ$1.78 to US$1 when he signed with the company. The exchange rate has since fallen.

Importantly for McCluskey, he pays tax in New Zealand.

Allowing people like him to work in New Zealand may become a consideration in a future visa category, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said.

Andrew Craig, who is manager of immigration policy at MBIE, said currently visitor visa holders could work remotely for their employer while on a short visit to New Zealand, provided their primary purpose for being here was to be on holiday.

While MBIE was not undertaking any specific work on digital nomads, Craig said a more general review of non-standard employment types was being considered, and this could include these type of travellers.

New Zealand may be behind the trend, with more than 25 countries and territories launching visas for digital nomads in an effort to attract talent.

McCluskey expected the digital nomad movement to continue to grow, and for more Kiwi tech workers to start looking abroad for work.

McCluskey said there were two types of digital nomad – those like him, who set up and lived in one spot in another country, and those who were always on the road, free to explore entire countries as long as they had internet access and a place to charge their laptops.

There were drawbacks, McCluskey said, including the risk of feeling isolated without the normal face-to-face time with colleagues.

But the growing popularity of shared office spaces sorted that out. ‘‘That can create a social environment to work in, even if some of the people they work around work for completely different companies.’’