Cape Verde Visas, Taxes and Money for Digital Nomads

Cape Verde’s nomad visa is the Remote Working Cabo Verde programme, launched in 2020. It is a temporary visa for people who work remotely, online, for employers or clients outside Cape Verde.

• Who: remote workers and self-employed people from Europe, North America, the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). You can’t work for Cape Verdean employers or clients.
• Money: a minimum average bank balance of €1,500 over the last six months for an individual, or €2,700 for a family. It is a savings test rather than a monthly income threshold.
• Length: six months, renewable once for another six months, so 12 months in all.
• Fees: an airport fee of €34 a person, paid once on arrival (the airport security fee, now set at 3,400 escudos and paid through EASE), and a visa fee of €20 a person, due when you renew.
• Family: you can bring a partner and children under the family application, with the higher €2,700 balance.
• Tax: the programme says remote workers are exempt from Cape Verdean income tax on their foreign income.

Documents

• A passport valid for at least six months.
• Bank statements showing the required average balance over the last six months.
• Travel and health insurance for your whole stay, covering medical evacuation and repatriation of remains.
• Proof that you work remotely, such as an employment contract or client agreements, and proof of accommodation. These are commonly requested.
• A criminal record certificate, which applicants are often asked for. Have one ready.
• For families, marriage and birth certificates.

How to Apply

You apply online through the form on the tourism authority’s Remote Working Cabo Verde page and are then contacted by email about the next steps. Processing takes about two weeks, and the programme advises not travelling before you are approved. Once approved, you receive an entry permit; print it and bring it with you. On arrival, you show your documents to the border police to receive the stamp. Pre-register on EASE as every visitor must. To stay beyond the first six months, you renew in Cape Verde and pay the €20 visa fee.

Citizens of the EU, the UK, the US, Canada, Brazil, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and a few other countries can visit for 30 days without a visa. ECOWAS citizens, and nationals of a few other countries, get 90 days. Your passport should be valid for at least six months after you arrive.

Since 1 January 2026, Cape Verde has ended visa on arrival for citizens of 96 countries, who must now get a visa before they travel, online or through an embassy. Check whether your nationality is on the list.

Every visitor, visa-free or not, must:

• Pre-register on EASE, the government’s traveller registration platform, at least five days before arrival.
• Pay the airport security fee (TSA) of 3,400 escudos (about €31) through EASE, and carry proof of payment.

Since 1 July 2026, travellers who arrive without having pre-registered, or who can’t show proof, pay double the TSA at border control. Use only the official EASE site; look-alike sites charge extra.

If you want to stay longer than 30 days, arrange it before you go, through the Remote Working Programme or a visa, rather than counting on an extension.

Overstays are checked when you leave. Expect a fine before you can depart, and longer overstays can cause problems with future entry. Sort out your status before your permitted stay ends.

• Remote Working Programme: the programme says remote workers are exempt from income tax in Cape Verde, so income from foreign employers or clients isn’t taxed locally while you hold it.
• Tax residence: outside the programme, you are a tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Cape Verde in a calendar year, or have a home there on 31 December that suggests you live there.
• Residents are taxed on worldwide income under the personal income tax (IRPS), at progressive rates of 16.5%, 23.1% and 27.5%.
• Non-residents are taxed only on Cape Verdean-source income.
• Your home country: being exempt in Cape Verde doesn’t stop your home country taxing you. A year abroad on the programme may or may not end your tax residence there.

This is a general guide, not tax advice. If you stay most of a year or have complex income, get advice from an accountant who knows both countries. Our digital nomad taxes guide explains the general principles.

Cape Verde’s currency is the Cape Verdean escudo (CVE), pegged to the euro at 110.265 escudos to €1, so prices are easy to convert: 1,000 escudos is about €9. The escudo can’t easily be exchanged outside the country, so change any leftovers before you leave. In tourist areas of Sal and Boa Vista, many restaurants, hotels and shops accept euros, often at a rounded rate, with change in escudos. Elsewhere, pay in escudos.

ATMs in the towns are part of the local Vinti4 network and dispense escudos, with a limit per withdrawal and usually a fee from your own bank. Visa cards tend to work more reliably than Mastercard, so bring a backup card. Hotels, supermarkets and bigger restaurants take cards; smaller places, aluguers and markets want cash. Always decline the ATM’s currency conversion.

Most short-stay nomads don’t need a local account. If you do, the main banks include Caixa Económica de Cabo Verde, Banco Comercial do Atlântico (BCA) and Banco Cabo-verdiano de Negócios (BCN). Opening one usually needs a passport, a Cape Verdean tax number (NIF) and proof of address, and is easier once you have residence.