Owner-paid salaries, dividends, and freelance income from your own company — how different nomad visas treat founder income.
Most digital nomad visas require evidence of stable remote income — but they typically describe this as 'employment by a foreign company' or 'freelance income'. Founders who pay themselves from their own company face a documentation challenge: how do you prove employment by a company you own? Different visas handle this differently, and the right documentation approach varies by destination.
A formal employment contract between you and your own company, supported by payslips and company bank statements showing salary payments. Accepted by most nomad visas.
Invoice-based evidence showing regular payments from clients (which may include your own company as a client). Useful for visas that accept freelance income.
Less commonly accepted because it is not regular/predictable salary income. Some visas accept it if supplemented by other evidence.
Nomadic Go helps you structure and document your income evidence correctly for each specific visa, prepares the full application package, and submits to the relevant consulate.
Yes, most do as long as the company is legitimate, has a real bank account, and the salary has actually been paid for 3+ months. Some consulates require an accountant's letter confirming the company's revenue.
Most nomad visas require 3-6 months of consistent salary payments. Portugal D8 typically requires 3 months. Thailand DTV requires evidence of annual income of USD 40,000+ through any combination of employment and freelance income.
Dividends alone are rarely accepted. Most nomad visas require regular monthly income evidence. Salary income is far more reliable than dividend distributions for visa income evidence.
The visa generally requires income from a foreign (non-destination country) source. Your company's jurisdiction is usually secondary to demonstrating that you earn from a company that is not based in the destination country.
If multiple founders or spouses each have employment contracts with the company, each can potentially use the company income for individual visa applications. The company must demonstrate sufficient revenue to support multiple salary payments credibly.