i know there are processes you must follow and not just any country will let you in, so what must someone look for when it comes to finding a new country? i might go to the netherlands because i wanna go there, but it may not be allowed given the circumstances. i ask because someone was asking what country should they live in and people were arguing over it.
You need to learn the language of that country very, very good. Otherwise you will stay a visitor, forever.
Exceptions from this rule are the few countries where your own language is already their first language.
Well. You need to learn it well.
Seems my English would not be sufficient ;-)
Glad that I do not plan to leave my country (my other languages are even worse).
Well. Not good. I couldn’t help myself considering the context.
Apart from the obvious ones of like, getting a visa and difficulty of getting a passport, in rough order of my completely non-scientific guesstimate
- Stability, safety
- Long-term track record of employment opportunities, and pay vs cost of living. You want to be able to find a job, and not starve.
- Price and quality of government services such as healthcare, education etc.
- Language situation. As an English speaker, you’d either want to go for English speaking, or somewhere where people speak alright English but let you practice their language so that you can eventually learn it. Also, see language difficulty for English speakers
- Culture and attitudes towards immigration; how difficult is it to socially integrate
- Matters of taste, would you like the culture, food, climate etc.
Many countries have entrepreneurship or innovation visas. Australia has subclass 188 visa. Canada, Japan and Korea all have a startup visa. UK has an innovator founder visa. Netherlands has the DAFT visa with the US. Thailand and USA have Amity Treaty which allows US citizens to own a business outright in a Thailand, which can be used to obtain business visa and work permit.
Spain and Portugal have digital nomad visas that can lead to permanent residency. France has a visitor visa for up to 1 year working for foreign employers.
Other countries to consider are: Ireland and Belgium.
Without any of those there is moving from country to country every 90 days as a digital nomad, or until you get A2 level in a language and find sponsorship, start a business, or attend a university.
To enter, you need a visa. They’re timed permits to enter countries for a specific purpose.
There are travel visas for a short time and there are work visas that are longer time and allow you to work. (you are not allowed to work with just a travel visa).
Then the process is different per country. The next step is “residency” and then the next is applying for citizenship. Each country has different conditions for when that’s possible and how quickly.
As a rule of thumb, if you can get a stable job, or you’re rich they usually let you in and let you stay. Sometimes there are special recruitment programs that you can look up at the local embassy or under search terms such as “migrating to [country]”. Those that are looking for immigration usually advertise the ways to do it.
Where are you, and why is not “allowed”?
You cannot enter a random country and say “well, I will live here”
Svalbard though
Well some have visas you must apply for
Others have the option of seeking asylum
Others will literally let you in if you have work
Most countries dont just open the door for foreigners and let them move in and stay forever for no particular reason
Information about these things are usually on some ministry website for that country
I’ve lived in 5 countries across 3 continents, so I do have some perspective on this.
The first point is finding out local immigration laws, even if you don’t need a tourist visa, you will need legal authorization to stay in a country on a more permanent basis.
Which brings me to my second point, you need local employment to get authorization for permanent stay (or proof of above average independent income).
Another option is to go study in a country. This is expensive and you will need to win scholarships if you don’t have a lot of money. Countries always try to make money on foreign students.
Another option is to teach English, but this is likely harder than it used to be (15 years ago or so). Although it is worth exploring this opportunity, unlikely to work for EU though.
Do you have any relatives in other countries? Close friends?
I will speculate it’s going to be difficult to move to Netherlands if you don’t have family or a skillset that is in high demand.
I would explore developing countries where you can likely get a good job (by local standards, so $1,000 to $2,500) if you have a degree and some solid work experience.
I mean, there’s a shit ton of variables…
You need to look specifically for people going from your current country, and the destination will change a lot of things.
Sometimes it’s very easy, other impossibly difficult.
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Check out this fellow, always posting guides to travel as a lifestyle. I believe he is in Columbia right now.
I’d seek countries not mentioned at all in mass murdering bully country news cycles. Out of sight, out of mind or whatever.
… This may sound a bit pessimistic, but I think the main thing to look for is whether there are viable ways for one to enter said new country in the first place
Using the Low Countries as an example… For non-EU (or a select few countries) citizens, these three only grant residency permits to people who have a really good reason to be there… I believe they allow things such as having a job, having family, going to university, and some other situations. NL has the DAFT visa, but that’s only for American citizens (I believe?) and is quite difficult to follow-through
Depending on how young… maybe uni would be a good bet? NL has some extremely strong universities. I’m not familiar with the system there though, from what I just looked up looks like they’re quite expensive for non-EU citizens
There are a ton of other things to consider too but at least for me the most difficult part is to get a job in the first place so… everything else (climate, culture, language, …) was an afterthought by that point
