Bahamas Nomad Visa

Does The Bahamas have a digital nomad visa?

On paper, yes. The Bahamas Extended Access Travel Stay (BEATS) permit lets professionals and students who work or study online live in The Bahamas for up to a year. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation launched it on 29 October 2020, and its programme site, bahamasbeats.com, was still online in 2026.

Whether you can apply today is less clear. The BEATS site sends applicants to portal.immigration.gov.bs, and in October 2026 that address no longer loads. The Department of Immigration's own website, which once had a BEATS page, now lists other permits and an online portal for them, but no BEATS. We could not confirm on any official page that BEATS applications are being processed, so treat everything below as how the programme was designed and confirm with Immigration first.

Who could apply for BEATS?

BEATS was open to two groups:

• Remote workers, with a job letter from a current employer or proof of self-employment.
• Remote students, enrolled at an accredited institution, with proof of enough money for living costs and a return trip (parents' finances can count).

Every applicant needs a valid passport and medical insurance, including dependants. There is no minimum length of stay. The official pages do not publish an income threshold.

BEATS is about working for an employer or clients abroad. If you do not have one yet, start with remote jobs that hire from Nigeria.

How long is the BEATS permit, and can you renew it?

The BEATS FAQ calls it an annual residence permit that expires 12 months from the date of issue. It says annual renewals will be considered up to a maximum of three years in total.

How much does BEATS cost?

• Application fee: $25 per applicant, plus $25 for each dependant.
• Remote work permit: $1,000 for the head of household, plus $500 for each dependant.
• Remote study permit: $500 per student.

The "How it works" page says all fees are in Bahamian currency, while the FAQ quotes the same amounts in US dollars. Married couples who both want to work from The Bahamas must apply separately, though only one of them needs to include their shared dependants.

How did the application work?

1. Fill in the online BEATS form and pay the $25 application fee, uploading your passport data page, medical insurance card and proof of employment (or student ID for students).
2. An immigration officer approves or refuses the application, which the programme site says takes about 5 business days.
3. If approved, you get an email asking for the permit fee.
4. After payment, you receive a QR code confirmation to show when you arrive in The Bahamas.

Questions go to immigrationbeats@bahamas.gov.bs, the contact the BEATS FAQ gives. Ask whether applications are open and which portal to use before you pay anything.

Can Nigerians apply for BEATS?

The BEATS pages do not exclude any nationality, but Nigerians face an extra step. The Department of Immigration says all visitors need a Bahamian visa except listed groups, and it names Nigeria among the Commonwealth countries that are not exempt.

The BEATS FAQ says citizens of the USA, Canada, the EU and Britain do not need a separate travel permit, which suggests others may. For a Nigerian passport, that means arranging a Bahamian visa as well as the BEATS permit. The Immigration Department's entry page tells travellers to enquire at the nearest British consulate or Bahamian embassy about visas.

Do you pay tax in The Bahamas on BEATS?

The official BEATS pages do not mention tax at all, so we cannot give a figure from them. Ask the Bahamas Department of Inland Revenue or a tax adviser, and remember that your Nigerian tax position is separate. This is general information, not tax advice.

What if BEATS is not available?

The Department of Immigration lists other permits, including a permit to reside, a home owner resident permit and work permits, but a work permit is for jobs in The Bahamas, not remote work. Visitors are not allowed to work while in The Bahamas, and visitor stays are capped at eight months at the immigration officer's discretion.

If you want a Caribbean remote work visa with a working application route, compare Dominica, Montserrat, Barbados or the Cayman Islands.

What to know before you move

• Time difference: The Bahamas uses Eastern Time: UTC-5 in winter, six hours behind Lagos, and UTC-4 from March to November, five hours behind.
• Islands: BEATS lets you live on and travel between the 16 islands that welcome visitors, with Nassau as the main transport hub.
• Insurance: medical insurance is required for you and every dependant.