HANOI: Vietnam ranks sixth among the 10 countries with the fewest hurdles for digital nomad, according to the Digital Nomad Friction Index 2026 by Holafly eSIM.
Holafly’s Digital Nomad Friction Index 2026 looked at factors such as visa complexity, banking access, healthcare, connectivity, cost of living and disruption risk.
The index aims to assess not only how easily remote workers can enter a country but also how convenient it is to maintain their daily lives and work after arrival.
Georgia topped the ranking with the lowest friction score, followed by Peru, South Africa, Thailand and Malaysia. Vietnam ranked sixth, ahead of Croatia, Hungary, Portugal and the United Arab Emirates.
Vietnam’s sixth-place ranking reflects a combination of factors directly related to daily life and work, as the study considered access to banking and healthcare services, Internet connectivity, living costs and potential disruptions, in addition to visa and administrative procedures.
The study found that living costs and conditions are not the only factors determining the convenience of a destination for remote workers. Maintaining connectivity, completing necessary procedures and accessing basic services are also important.
Holafly reported that 46.8 per cent of respondents had experienced work interruptions or income losses due to problems arising while travelling, while 35 per cent had encountered connectivity issues serious enough to affect their work regularly or during every trip.
Metin Kastro, chief operating officer at Holafly, said: “Arriving to a country is usually the easy part. The real burnout happens when remote professionals hit a wall of post-landing bureaucracy, lost work hours, and unstable internet”.
This result shows that Vietnam is being grouped with many prominent destinations in Asia and other regions in terms of attracting remote workers. — Vietnam News/ANN
