Namibia Visas, Taxes and Money for Digital Nomads

The Digital Nomad Visa is promoted by the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) and issued by MHAISS. It lets foreigners live in Namibia while working for employers or clients based outside the country.

You must be a remote employee, freelancer or self-employed professional whose employer or clients are outside Namibia, with a valid passport and international health or travel insurance for your stay. You can’t work for Namibian employers or clients.

You need a monthly income of at least:

• $2,000 for the main applicant.
• $1,000 more for an accompanying spouse.
• $500 more for each accompanying child.

You prove it with payslips or an employment contract and six months of bank statements.

• The visa application form (MHAISS form 3-1/0033).
• A medical certificate and a radiological (chest X-ray) report, on the ministry’s forms.
• A certified copy of your passport.
• Proof of medical or travel insurance covering your stay.
• Proof of income: payslips or an employment contract, and six months of bank statements.
• A letter from your employer confirming you can work remotely, and copies of your qualifications.
• An original or certified police clearance certificate from your home country, translated into English if needed.
• A motivation letter from the NIPDB, which the board sends to MHAISS with your application.

The visa allows a stay of six months. It can’t be renewed or converted to another type of visa or permit inside Namibia. After it expires, you must wait 12 months before applying again.

The NIPDB lists the fee as NAD 3,300 (about $190), payable after MHAISS has approved the application and before you travel. A local representative can pay it to the ministry on your behalf. Medical checks, police certificates, certified copies and translations are extra.

1. Contact the NIPDB through its Digital Nomad Visa page and prepare your documents and forms.
2. The NIPDB reviews your application and sends its motivation letter with your forms to MHAISS.
3. MHAISS decides on the application. Processing times aren’t published; allow several weeks.
4. Once approved, pay the fee. MHAISS then issues the visa, which you present when you enter Namibia.

Apply well before you travel. If your nationality needs a visa to visit, entering as a tourist while you wait uses up your 90-day allowance.

A spouse and children can join you, each with their own application form, medical and X-ray reports, passport copy, insurance and NIPDB letter, plus your marriage certificate and full birth certificates. Each adds to the income requirement: $1,000 a month for a spouse and $500 for each child.

Namibia hasn’t published a special tax regime for nomad visa holders. Its income tax is source-based, so the general rule is that income from a source outside Namibia, such as a salary from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients, isn’t taxed there. The visa is designed around that: you can’t earn from Namibian sources while you hold it. See the tax section below for the details.

Since 1 April 2025, citizens of countries that don’t offer Namibians visa-free entry need a visa to visit. This includes the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and most EU countries, among others.

• Fee: NAD 1,600 (about $90) for most nationalities, and NAD 1,200 for many African countries. The government has approved an extra NAD 400 for manual applications at the border, to take effect once gazetted.
• Where: apply online through the MHAISS e-services portal before you travel, or in person at Hosea Kutako International Airport, Walvis Bay Airport and the main land borders. Applying online is faster.
• Length: visitors can stay up to 90 days in a calendar year. If you were given fewer days on arrival, you can apply to MHAISS for more, up to the 90-day limit, for a fee.

The visa on arrival is for tourism, family visits and business meetings, not for work.

Citizens of countries with reciprocal agreements, including South Africa, Botswana, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore and Russia, can visit without a visa, also within the 90-days-a-year limit. Check the current list before travelling, because the government has said it is open to new reciprocity deals.

Overstaying a visa or the 90-day limit can lead to fines, detention, deportation and being declared a prohibited immigrant, which bars you from returning. Keep your entry stamp or visa and apply for any extension before your permitted stay ends.

This is a general guide, not tax advice. Namibia taxes individuals on income from a source within Namibia, or deemed to be within Namibia, rather than on worldwide income, and has no residence-based test for individuals in the way most countries do.

• Namibian-source income is taxed at progressive rates: 0% up to NAD 100,000 a year, then 18% rising to 37% above NAD 1,550,000.
• Foreign-source income, such as pay from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients, is generally outside Namibian tax.

Where income comes from isn’t always clear-cut: work physically performed in Namibia can, in some circumstances, be treated as Namibian-source. If you stay for long periods, have any Namibian clients, or set up a business, get advice from a Namibian tax practitioner. Your home country may still tax you, especially if you are a US citizen. Our taxes for digital nomads guide explains the general principles.

Namibia’s currency is the Namibian dollar (NAD), pegged one to one to the South African rand (ZAR). Rand notes and coins are legal tender in Namibia and used everywhere alongside Namibian dollars, so you’ll often get a mix in your change. Namibian dollars aren’t accepted in South Africa, so spend or change them before you cross the border.

Cards are widely accepted in Windhoek, Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, including at supermarkets, restaurants and most fuel stations. Carry cash for small towns, campsites, markets and the occasional fuel station that can’t take cards. ATMs are common in towns; use ones inside banks or malls, decline the machine’s currency conversion, and expect a fee from your own bank.

The main banks are FNB Namibia, Bank Windhoek, Standard Bank Namibia and Nedbank Namibia. Opening an account usually needs a passport, proof of address and a residence or work permit, so short-stay visitors and nomad visa holders may find it hard. Most nomads manage with a foreign card, Wise or Revolut, and cash.