Get Ready for Canada's Digital Nomad Visa

What’s up my wandering friends.

This week, we cover some of the recent big doin’s in the digital nomad world. One is the new Canuck digital nomad visa. Got a lot of comments on social media about this one, especially the crappy weather and expensiveness. In Canada’s defense, B.C. is lovely this time of year…if you got a lot of that maple-smelling money lying around.

Don’t forget to share the Nomad Deals newsletter with your travel bug-bitten friends and family (only after you snag the deals yourself, of course).

Nomad Deals News

Canada’s Digital Nomad Visa

The Land of the Maple Leaf is the latest country to announce a digital nomad visa. The government is explicitly targeting tech workers in the United States, but anyone who works remotely is eligible (even newsletter writers!) Reportedly, there will be no cap on the number of visas for digital nomad workers.

Here’s the TL;DR summary of the important details.

Term of stay: Full details are forthcoming, but essentially it will allow foreigners to live and work remotely in Canada for up to 6 months. If you find a new job with a Canadian company while you’re there, then you can stay for an additional three years.

U.S. citizens: Wait a sec…aren’t Americans allowed to stay in Canada up to six months without a visa?! The answer is yes, though technically you aren’t supposed to be Zooming into work while on a visitor visa.

Salary requirements: None, though that hardly seems necessary when the average rent clocks in at $2,300 USD in Vancouver and $2,000 in Toronto. Check out the most recent ranking of the average rent across Canada (prices in CAD).

Documentation: Applicants will need to submit a photo, fingerprints, and proof of employment, health insurance, and accommodation. You will also need a clean criminal record.

Other benefits: For those of you who want to become Canucks, the visa will include a path to eventual Canadian citizenship. The idea is to poach digital nomads from other tech hubs and get them to stay in Canada permanently. So if you’re dreaming of the poutine, hockey, and bagged milk life, this could be your ticket.

When to apply: The Canadian government plans to unveil all the deets by the end of 2023.

New Expedia Loyalty Program

Expedia, which also owns the Vrbo and Hotels.com sites, just dropped the One Key loyalty program. The system applies across Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. Company execs hope that this will incentivize travelers to choose Vrbo over its much larger rival Airbnb, which doesn’t have a loyalty program.

One Key cash: Basically, the program offers a 2% credit for every dollar you spend. In other words, if you spend $1,000 a month, that adds up to $240 a year in “One Key cash” that you can spend on any of these three brands. These credits never expire, although they can’t be transferred to a travel credit card.

Discounts: More bookings can also translate to higher status, especially if you things like car rentals and activities. Higher status, in turn, translates into discounts on certain Expedia-owned hotels. But unlike other hotel loyalty programs, status is not permanent. Instead, you must maintain status through continuous booking.

Bottom line: this isn’t an amazing deal, but if you’re using any of these platforms anyway, you might as well sign up. The “One Key cash” is almost free money.