Working from Bermuda as a Netherlands resident

At a glance

Rule coverage

What the rules say about Bermuda

The rules below are the ones most likely to shape a stay in Bermuda, in plain words and with the source behind each one. Your own report tells you which of them apply to you.

1. Significant issueImmigration and visa

   The Work From Bermuda digital nomad certificate is dead, despite what older guides say

   The Work From Bermuda One Year Residential Certificate, launched in 2020 at a $275 fee, closed to new applications on 28 February 2025. Existing holders had to depart within 90 days of certificate expiry. Many relocation guides and blog posts still describe it as active. It is not. The current route for a remote worker is Permission to Reside on an Annual Basis.

2. Significant issueResidency routes

   48 job categories are closed and 17 restricted, a generalist has no work permit route

   From 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027, 48 job categories are closed to work permits outright, including administrative assistant, customer service representative, HR officer, real estate agent, salesperson, security guard and travel agent, and 17 more are restricted, including electrician, plumber and several hospitality roles. Every position must be advertised, and employers must evidence that Bermudian candidates were properly considered before a permit issues. Bermuda's inbound labour market is effectively open only to international business, insurance, reinsurance, funds, digital assets, actuarial, legal, audit, technology, and to skills the island genuinely cannot supply.

3. Significant issuePersonal income tax

   The one US-Bermuda tax convention gives individuals nothing

   The US-Bermuda Tax Convention of 1986, effective 1988, was concluded by the United Kingdom on behalf of Bermuda and is limited to the taxation of insurance enterprises and mutual assistance in tax matters. It contains no Article 4 residence tie-breaker for individuals, no Article 15 employment article and no Article 18 pension article. A person moving between the US and Bermuda gets no general relief from it, despite a treaty technically being in force.

4. Significant issuePermanent residency and citizenship

   There is no general naturalisation pathway to Bermudian status

   Bermudian status routes are entirely statutory: section 19 needs 18 years of age, 10 continuous years of ordinary residence, a qualifying Bermudian connection and good character, for $625. Section 19A needs marriage to or widowhood from a Bermudian for 10 continuous years, with 7 years of Bermuda residence including the final 2 continuous. Section 20B needs ordinary residence in Bermuda on 31 July 1989 and for the 10 years preceding that date. A non-Bermudian who is not married to a Bermudian, was not resident on 31 July 1989, and lacks a qualifying connection cannot obtain Bermudian status no matter how long they live and work there or how much they invest. Non-Commonwealth citizens must first naturalise as a British Overseas Territories Citizen before Bermudian status is even reachable.

5. Significant issueLeaving home: exit tax and ties

   Estate stamp duty runs to 20 percent, and non-Bermudians get no homestead relief

   Bermuda has no inheritance tax, estate tax or death duty in name, but stamp duty on the net Bermuda estate of a deceased person functions as one in all but name, for deaths on or after 1 April 2010: the first $100,000 is exempt, the next $100,000 at 5 percent, the next $800,000 at 10 percent, the next $1,000,000 at 15 percent, and the balance at 20 percent. A Primary Family Homestead exemption removes a designated primary residence from the charge, but non-Bermudians do not qualify for it. A non-Bermudian's Bermuda house is therefore fully exposed to the 20 percent top band on death, while a Bermudian's is not.

6. Needs checkingTax residency

   The inversion is structural: Bermuda will not tax you, but your home country probably still will

   Because Bermuda has no exit tax, no departure charge and no deemed disposal, leaving closes the Bermuda file completely. But with no double taxation agreement with any roster country, there is no treaty tie-breaker to help establish that you have genuinely left your home tax system. Continuing residence ties, CFC rules and place-of-effective-management rules in your home country reach back regardless of your Bermuda presence.

What tends to surprise people here

• The Work From Bermuda digital nomad certificate is dead
• 48 job categories are closed and 17 restricted for work permits
• Estate stamp duty runs to 20 percent with no relief for non-Bermudians

Tax treaty between Netherlands and Bermuda