Bringing Your Family

Three models

Across the atlas, programmes treat families in one of three ways:

• Family on the same application. Spouses and children are listed as dependants of the main applicant, usually with a higher income requirement and a fee per person. This is the most common model.
• Family joins through ordinary family reunification. The nomad permit does not cover dependants, but once the remote worker holds a residence permit the family can apply under the country's general family-reunification rules, with their own conditions and timelines.
• Individual only. The programme is personal. A spouse or child needs a separate basis to stay: their own nomad visa, visitor entry or another permit.

Programmes that cover family on the same file

Programmes where family follows through reunification

• Italy: family reunification for a spouse and dependent children is possible, with additional income and housing requirements.
• Romania: the nomad category covers only the applicant; spouse and children apply under the family-reunification rules once the nomad holds a residence permit.
• Montenegro: spouse, minor children and stepchildren under 18 can join through family reunification for the same period.
• Albania: dependants count in the income test, and family members apply for their own permits under the family-reunification provisions of the same law.
• Mexico: family-unity provisions allow a spouse and children to obtain residence based on the main applicant's status.

Individual-only programmes

• Hungary: family members of a White Card holder receive no reunification permits; the only exception is a child born in Hungary during the permit.
• Latvia: the remote-work visa is personal; family members need their own basis.
• Estonia: family members generally apply for their own visas.
• Türkiye: the programme is individual; spouse and children apply for their own residence permits.
• Taiwan: the visa cannot sponsor dependants.
• Argentina and Uruguay: each family member files their own application.
• Panama, Kenya and South Africa: dependants file their own applications or come under other categories.

Unmarried partners, children and parents

• Partners. "Spouse" is not always the only option: Cyprus names civil partners, the Czech Republic registered partners and Malaysia common-law partners. Where a programme says only "spouse", expect to need a marriage certificate.
• Children. Age limits differ: most use 18, Thailand's dependent DTV uses 20, and Malta and Malaysia also cover some adult children who are dependent or disabled.
• Parents. Only a few programmes accept the applicant's parents as dependants: Portugal (dependent parents), Spain (dependent ascendants) and Malaysia.
• Work rights. Dependants usually cannot work locally: Cyprus and Malaysia say so expressly. If a partner needs to work, look at their own route.

Timing: how long dependants can stay

Where family members are on the same file, their permits usually follow the main applicant's. Cyprus issues family permits for the same period as the digital nomad's, Kazakhstan issues visas of the same duration, Croatia aligns family permits with the main holder's and Montenegro grants reunification for the same period. The practical consequence: when the main permit ends or is not renewed, the family's right to stay ends with it.

Life changes during a permit are handled differently too. Malta allows only one addition after approval, a child born during the permit, and Hungary's only exception to its no-family rule is also a child born in Hungary. Anyone planning a longer stay with a growing family should check how the programme treats a birth, a marriage or a new partner before choosing it.

Children and schooling

Few programmes regulate schooling directly, but Malaysia does: school-age dependants of a DE Rantau Nomad Pass holder need confirmation of enrolment unless they are home-schooled. Elsewhere, schooling is a practical question rather than a visa condition: public schools may require a residence document, and international schools set their own admission rules and fees. Build the cost into the income you plan to live on, not only into the visa threshold.

Family members and the Schengen clock

If family members travel on their own permits or on the main holder's family permits, the Schengen rules apply to them as to the main applicant: they can live in the issuing country, and visit the rest of the Schengen area within 90 days in any 180. Family members who come without a permit, as visitors, are on the short-stay clock from the first day. See the Schengen guide.

Documents for family members

• Marriage or partnership certificates and children's birth certificates, usually apostilled and translated.
• Consent of the other parent when a child travels with only one of them, where the country requires it.
• Health insurance for every family member, on the same terms as the main applicant where the programme says so (Costa Rica, Japan): see the insurance guide.
• Proof that income covers everyone: see proof of income.

Related guides

• From a nomad visa to permanent residence
• Schengen 90/180, EES and ETIAS
• Taxes for British nomads
• Programmes that ended, closed or never opened

Official sources