Bahamas Digital Nomad Visa: Requirements, Income & How to Apply (2026)

BEATS is open to remote-working professionals and to enrolled students studying online, in each case working or studying with institutions outside the Bahamas. Professionals attach a job letter from a current employer or proof of self-employment; students provide enrollment evidence and financial documentation. There is no degree requirement and no profession list, and unlike stricter programs, BEATS does not hinge on an apostilled criminal-record certificate — though immigration retains discretion to vet applicants.

Everyone needs proof of medical insurance. Bahamian nationals are outside the scheme, which is designed for incomers spending money in the local economy while earning from abroad.

There is no income floor to clear. BEATS assesses financial self-sufficiency instead: you demonstrate, through a job letter or self-employment proof and typically bank statements, that you can cover your living costs for the stay. That is a genuine difference from Grenada's EC$100,000 or Dominica's US$50,000 — there is no single figure to screenshot, and the judgement is about whether your evidence holds together.

In practice, treat "no minimum" as "show enough." The Bahamas is expensive, so weak bank statements will not read as self-sufficient even without a stated threshold. Lead with a clear employer letter and statements that comfortably cover island-level costs.

The whole thing is online. You submit the BEATS application with a US$25 fee per applicant, an immigration officer reviews it — often within about five business days — and on approval you pay the permit fee: US$1,000 for a professional, US$500 per dependant, or US$500 for a student. The all-in cost for a single professional is about US$1,025. You then receive a QR-code confirmation by email to show on arrival.

One historical note worth knowing: the program went through a confusing patch in 2022 when a vague notice suggested it had been suspended, but the official BEATS site is live and accepting applications in 2026. Given that history, confirm current status on the official portal before you pay.

The Bahamas is a genuine zero-income-tax jurisdiction: no personal income tax, no capital-gains tax, no inheritance tax. A BEATS holder pays nothing locally on remote earnings, and there is no 183-day residency trap because there is no income tax to trigger in the first place. As always, that only settles the Bahamian side — your home country still taxes you under its own rules, and US citizens remain taxable on worldwide income wherever they are based.

Family members come along on a flat-fee basis rather than a higher income bar, which fits a program with no income floor. Each dependant carries a US$25 application fee and a US$500 permit fee. If both members of a couple work remotely, they file separate applications rather than one joint file, because each working adult needs their own permit. Everyone on the family needs proof of medical insurance, and children studying remotely can be covered under the student category.

Among zero-tax Caribbean islands, the Bahamas is the flexible one. Where the Cayman Islands demanded US$100,000 and have since closed their program, BEATS asks for no fixed income at all and stays open — a real advantage for anyone whose income is solid but awkward to document as a salary. It is pricier to live in than Grenada or Dominica, and the year-by-year renewal (capped at three years) is a shorter horizon than Dominica's single 18-month block. If you want a live, zero-tax island permit without a hard income number, BEATS is currently the standout.

Because there is no stated minimum, the mistake people make is assuming the financial check is soft. It is not — immigration wants to see that you can genuinely fund an expensive island stay, so bring bank statements that clearly cover it alongside your job letter. The application is fast, often decided in around five business days, so the bottleneck is document quality, not processing time. Keep in mind the renewal cap: BEATS runs one year at a time up to three years total, so it is a medium-term base, not a settlement route. And given the 2022 suspension scare, check the official BEATS portal is accepting applications before you rely on it.