I moved from Hong Kong to Barbados during the pandemic

(CNN) — Just over a month ago, I packed my life in Hong Kong into two suitcases and moved 16,000 kilometers to Barbados.

I’d never even been to the island before or traveled anywhere else in the Caribbean region for that matter. Barbados is so far away from Hong Kong — the shortest travel time is 24 hours — that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get the chance to visit. But the popular destination, which resumed accepting international travel on July 12 last year, released a special visa called the Welcome Stamp in the same month. It offered the chance for people to work there remotely for a year. I thought, “Why not?” As countries around the world continued to impose lockdowns and travel restrictions in a bid to contain Covid-19 in mid-2020, Barbados — and many other nations in the Caribbean — seemed to have the virus under control and was reopening to the world.

What Barbados requires to work there

Open to all remote workers who earn at least $50,000 annually, the visa scheme has a fee of $2,000 for individuals or $3,000 for families, which is payable after applications have been approved.

Applicants are required to fill out an online form, submit an income declaration and details of the work they’ll be conducting during their time on the island.

Those who are accepted continue to pay tax in their home country and are not liable for income tax in Barbados.

“Covid-19 has changed the global business landscape as a larger number of people continue to work from home,” Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said when the scheme was launched.

“With this new visa, we can provide workers with an opportunity to spend the next 12 months working remotely from paradise, here in Barbados.”

Read more at: CNN Travel

Source: CARICOM TODAY