WORK AWAY FROM IT ALL

With so many people around the world having upped their work-from-home game of late, some far-flung destinations are looking to attract long-term visitors with special “workfrom-here” visas. Barbados, in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, started back in July with the launch of its 12-Month Welcome Stamp visa, designed especially to allow people “whose work is location-independent to work remotely from Barbados”.

Now another Caribbean island has launched its “Bask in the Sun” visa, applicable for stays from three months up to a year.

The invitation to apply takes special care to highlight that the island has “wifi available everywhere”, plus “endless beaches, natural turquoise waters” and private villas and hotels “to provide all the luxury you need to make work-from-home feel like a vacation”.

Once named the number one island in the Caribbean by Travel + Leisure magazine, this is a British Overseas Territory in the Eastern Caribbean, comprised of one small main island and several offshore islets. Its capital is called The Valley. It also happens to have had just three Covid-19 cases so preference is being given to applicants from countries with low infection rates.

Not surprisingly, logging in from paradise will not come cheap. Just the visa cost is $2,000 (about R34,000) for an individual and $3,000 (R50,500) for families of up to four. These cover costs related to Covid-19 testing, additional health staff, and accommodations where guests will have to quarantine for at least 10 days before their new life begins.