Cabo Verde Remote Work Residence Visa and Digital Nomad Program in 2026
Cabo Verde now has an express residence visa for professional activity performed remotely for people or entities outside Cabo Verde. Law 27/X/2023 introduced the category, and Decree-Law 13/2025 specifies the application evidence.
The official tourism portal separately continues to promote a six-month Remote Working Program. Applicants should not assume the legal residence-visa category and the tourism-program marketing page describe identical status.
Who the residence visa covers
The statutory category covers employees working remotely for an employer outside Cabo Verde and independent professionals providing remote services to people or entities outside Cabo Verde.
Current documentary requirements
Decree-Law 13/2025 requires:
- passport biographical page;
- criminal record from the country of origin;
- an employment contract or employer declaration for employees;
- for independent professionals, a company contract, service contract, or evidence of services provided to one or more entities;
- proof of average monthly professional income during the previous three months; and
- a document proving tax residence.
General immigration, translation/legalization and admissibility rules can also apply.
The continuing Remote Working Program
The official tourism portal still describes the Remote Working Program as a temporary work/tourism visa lasting six months, with a possible renewal for another six months, and says family participation is possible.
Because current legislation uses a residence-visa framework while the tourism page continues the older program description, confirm the filing route with DEF or the consular portal before applying.
Income requirement
The 2025 decree requires proof of average monthly professional income for the preceding three months. The retrieved Article 35 does not publish one universal numeric minimum, so ReloTide does not invent one.
2026 tax treatment
Cabo Verde's 2026 State Budget provides a one-year income-tax exemption for qualifying non-resident employees and independent professionals performing remote work for persons or entities domiciled or headquartered outside Cabo Verde.
That incentive should not be generalized to locally sourced work or ordinary local business activity without analyzing the actual tax facts.
Choosing the right route
A professional establishing local activity should compare independent professional residence. A founder establishing an investment or economically relevant Cabo Verde business should compare investment / entrepreneur residence.
For long-term settlement, do not assume time under a remote-work visa or program automatically counts as ordinary temporary residence for the five-year permanent-residence rule. Confirm the status recorded by DEF.
See permanent residence and the route comparison.
Return to the Cabo Verde immigration hub, compare digital-nomad routes and remote-worker routes, explore Africa, and review our methodology and legal disclaimer.
Related published country research: Portugal, Spain, and Malta.
Official and supporting sources
- Cabo Verde Official Gazette — Decree-Law 13/2025legislation · accessed 2026-09-18
- Cabo Verde Official Gazette — Law 27/X/2023legislation · accessed 2026-09-18
- Cabo Verde Consular Portal — Visasgovernment · accessed 2026-09-18
- Visit Cabo Verde — Remote Working Programofficial portal · accessed 2026-09-18
- Cabo Verde Official Gazette — 2026 remote-work tax incentivelegislation · accessed 2026-09-18