A journey can ignite the desire to stay and change life, whether for a short or mid-length period, or forever. One discovers a city, imagines a different routine, and for those who can work remotely, returning home is no longer the only option. Yet between the dream of changing life and that first day of working abroad lie very concrete issues: bureaucracy with forms to fill out and present to various authorities, banking services to set up, healthcare, and an Internet connection that can hold up even during a meeting.
The Digital Nomad Friction Index 2026 by Holafly seeks to tell precisely this side of digital nomadism, comparing 17 destinations among the most popular for those who choose to travel while working overseas and the obstacles encountered after arrival: thus a new ranking of destinations where it is easier to relocate and work remotely.
The Best Country to Relocate To
A destination can be easy to reach, but when you decide to stay for a long period, everything can become much more complicated. Opening a bank account, completing the required registrations, and figuring out how to access services are tasks that steal time even from those who continue to work for clients or companies far away.
The Digital Nomad Friction Index 2026 focuses on these factors: visa complexity, local bureaucracy, access to banking services, connectivity, healthcare, and the risk of service interruptions. All those concrete difficulties that can arise when relocating to another country.
The top spot in the resulting ranking goes to Georgia, in the Caucasus: the ease of initial procedures and the possibility, for foreign citizens, to open a bank account with just a passport, in times that can be a matter of a few hours, are the dominant factors. This destination, in fact, boasts the fewest daily hiccups among the countries analyzed, and remote workers are not required to register their residence nor to obtain a local tax code.
The Complete Top 10
In the ranking of the best countries to relocate for digital nomads, Peru and South Africa hold the second and third places, respectively. Peru allows permanent residence with a low income threshold, but it does not clinch the top spot due to its exposure to earthquakes and the El Niño phenomenon. South Africa, instead, is noted for some relatively simple procedures for non-residents, such as the absence of an obligation to register an address or to obtain a tax code, but it receives a less favorable assessment on the healthcare front.
Completing the top five are Thailand and Malaysia, two destinations where the study highlights visa programs specifically designed for digital nomads and a moderate complexity of banking procedures, but with exposure to natural disasters among the negative aspects.
For those imagining a life change closer to Italy, the list includes some European countries: Croatia, Hungary and Portugal, where however the presence of services and infrastructure does not eliminate the procedures needed to organize a long stay. All three, indeed, require mandatory registration and tax identification.
Below is the full top 10 of the best countries to embark on your life as a digital nomad:
- Georgia;
- Peru;
- South Africa;
- Thailand;
- Malaysia;
- Vietnam;
- Croatia;
- Hungary;
- Portugal;
- United Arab Emirates.
