Moving abroad permanently may not be the easiest thing in the world, it’s also not as hard as many people would think. In some countries, acquiring residency is so easy. Filipinos, in general, seems to have a strong inclination in finding the right country for migration, may it be for finding a better job abroad or to find a country where they would choose to spend the rest of their lives.
Do you know that there are countries where migration is extremely easy?
Do you know that there are countries where migration is extremely easy?
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Ecuador
A land of boiling volcanoes, soaring mountain peaks, and old pastel-colored colonial towns, Ecuador is exactly the sort of over-romanticized stereotype of Latin America you’ve always secretly held in your head. It’s got beaches. Islands. Mayan ruins. An adorably underperforming soccer team. It’s got a remarkably low cost of living, and the US dollar as a currency.
This little slice of the south of the border paradise could be your new home for as little as $800 per month. That’s not costs you gotta pay out. That’s all the income you have to prove you have in order to move to Ecuador.
This is, however, is a requirement for Ecuador’s pensioner visa, not for a general one. Ecuador has no minimum age requirements on pensioner visas, and those claiming they don’t need to even prove they have a pension. You’ve just gotta show that $800 will be landing in your bank account every single month for perpetuity and you’re in. This kinda begs the questions as to why they call it a ‘pensioner visa’, but who are we to argue? The low requirement means people with trust funds, compensation pay outs, and royalties are all able to net an easy visa (probably, don’t quote us on that last one).
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Austria
Migrating in Austria is not recommended for those who like their homes nice and cheap. The former seat of Habsburg imperial power, Austria is a tiny country that operates a whole lot like a hipster crafts store: small, fascinating to look at, and so expensive.
Yet Austria does have one thing a hipster store doesn’t have. According to The Telegraph, Austria offers over 10 different types of residence permits. The best part? Absolutely none of them require any form of inward investment.
The bad news is that you need to apply for your residence card abroad (i.e. not in Austria). The good news is this doesn’t apply to EU citizens or Americans. If you’re an American, you can just get a D-Visa, giving you up to 6 months’ leave to stay in the country, then go to Austria, secure a job/wife, and then apply for a proper residence visa. Just remember to smile smugly at all those struggling Canadians and Australians as you waltz your way to the front of the immigration line.
Belgium
Germany’s go-to country to invade after Poland, tiny Belgium is one of northern Europe’s tiniest states. Slightly smaller than Maryland, it boasts a whole lotta flat and whole lotta roads. On the other hand, it also has some of the most attractive small towns on the continent. It’s also fairly easy to get a long-term residency. The one thing you have to do? Get a job.
In Belgium, not only will they let you apply for work as an outsider, they’ll then offer you a residency permit after just two weeks of employment. This isn’t a permanent residency permit but it’s certainly a step in the right direction. All you gotta do next is hold onto your job for long enough (it varies by region), and you’ll be laughing all the way to the Belgian citizenship test. The only downside is you need to actually be employable for this plan to work.
Paraguay
Nothing could be simpler than getting residency in Paraguay. Probably thanks to its terminal obscurity, the government seems desperate to get as many people into the landlocked South American nation as possible. As a result, there’s only one hard and fast requirement. You need to deposit money in a Paraguayan bank. A small amount won’t do, but you don’t have to go too big. Around 35 times the monthly minimum wage is the accepted sum (between $4,500-$5,500 USD).
Of the 6 million or so people who live there, at least half of them probably pretend they’re from Argentina. It’s a poor, underdeveloped country surrounded by bigger, way more developed countries. Still, at least it’s cheap.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica has been popular with expats for over 30 years due to its easy-going lifestyle and gorgeous ocean-side landscapes. Actually, water lovers of all kinds will thrive in Costa Rica, as it boasts the second largest number of rivers and water bodies anywhere in the world. As you can imagine, a wide range of native fauna comes along with that, including over 300 species of a hummingbird!
Costa Rica is a wonderful place for retirees, offering a visa program that welcomes older folks with at least $1,000/month in income. For the working set, you will need a job to settle there. Luckily, Costa Rica has a lot of job opportunities, especially around tourism and teaching English.
Canada
Like the hippy younger sibling to America’s hard-working grownup, Canada always takes a contrary liberal stance to the USA. That includes on immigration. Canada is casting its arms to open wide to the surrounding world. Luckily, that includes to you, provided you can prove you’re worth having. Canada’s immigration rules depend entirely on how skilled you are.
For those with the skills or education level that Canada needs, there’s an express entry program that’s so swift, it probably amounts to kidnapping. You fill in an online form, which assigns you points for stuff like education level, industries worked in, and whether you are able to speak French. If you hit a high score on these, plus other stuff like whether you studied in Canada or have Canadian relatives, you’re probably in. All you gotta do next is pony up about $500 CAD ($390 in real dollars).
Cambodia
Though steeped in a bloody history, Cambodia is now one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia. It is a good choice for people who crave a change from their first-world ideals, as the customs will be very new to most.
For example, people in Cambodia don’t celebrate their birthdays, and lots of adults don’t even know how old they are. Fast food is not very popular, and the preferred method of travel is the moped.
To live in Cambodia, you can get a long-term business visa without needing to be sponsored by a local company. This visa can be renewed indefinitely but doesn’t grant the right to work for a Cambodian company. You will need to apply for a work permit in order to get a job there, but you may find that employers are lax about enforcing that requirement.
Belize
An English-speaking nation in Central America, complete with ultra-low cost of living and the sort of beaches. Wedged awkwardly between Mexico and Guatemala, this paradise is barely larger than Wales and comes with a very small population.
You can apply for permanent residency in Belize after only a year there. To stay there for a year, all you have to do is arrive on a 30-day tourist visa, and keep renewing it every 30 days. When you hit the 50-week mark, pay $1,000 and, after jumping through some bureaucratic hoops, you should be in. Just be careful of the requirement some departments have that you leave the country for two weeks every 6 months. Doing so will reset your year-long countdown.
Nicaragua
It might be a shock for those who remember 1980s Nicaragua as a place of leftist coups, civil wars, and rightwing Contras, but Nicaragua is gorgeous. Provided you can ignore the politics, Nicaragua is the place you always wanted to go home to.
Nicaragua runs a retirement program, just like Ecuador. And, just like Ecuador, they take their own entry requirements with a pinch of salt. Provided you can prove an income of $600 a month, you neither have to be old nor, technically, retired.
While most countries don’t let those on retirement visas to work, Nicaragua’s government defines work so loosely you kinda wonder why they bother at all. If you open a restaurant or a small hotel, they don’t define it as work. If you get an income working digitally for a non-Nicaraguan company, they don’t define it as work.
Panama
Panama, is technically an independent part of Central America, but in reality looking and feeling like a part of Florida that broke off and floated south, Panama is moving abroad for those who don’t want the hassle and inconvenience that moving abroad usually entails. It’s safe, well developed, a lot of people speak English, and it uses the US dollar. Practically anyone can move there with effectively zero effort.
Most Americans that head to Panama do so on the retiree visa, which gives holders massive discounts on a ton of stuff, while only requiring a monthly income of $1,000. But the residency visa for younger workers is almost equally good. Basically, all you gotta do is deposit $5,000 in a Panamanian bank. Then, if you come from one of 47 ‘friendly countries’ (yeah, that includes USA, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Austria, and the EU), you can get the Friendly Nations Visa. All you need is to find a job or open a business in Panama and you’ve got long-term residency. Just beware that a load of people who get this visa is using it as a massive tax dodge.
Mexico
Nothing could be easier than getting permanent leave to remain in Mexico. No, really. Just rock up to the airport/border, and ask to buy an FMM visa. Provided you don’t intend to do any work, the FMM visa allows you to remain in Mexico for 6 months. At that point, you can renew it for another 6 months. Then renew it again. And again. And again, and so on until you finally drop dead. How much does this marvelous, life-changing visa cost? The princely sum of $21.
That’s a layout of $42 a year to legally kick back in a country of pristine beaches, world-class cities, gorgeous colonial towns, and mountain scenery like something out of a dream. Sure, you’re probably gonna need an income to go along with that, but fear not! There are roughly a bazillion Mexican temporary residency visas you can cheaply upgrade to, including some designed for artists, sports players, scientists, and retirees.
All of which just leaves one thing to discuss: the drugs. Yeah, Mexico is in quite a grim place at the moment, with the Drug War having killed tens of thousands in the last decade. Whether you think the risk is worth it is up to you; not everywhere is affected, and some towns are essentially drug-violence free. Just maybe make sure not to do any drugs while you’re there, huh?
Seychelles
Seychelles is a group of 115 gorgeous islands in the western Indian Ocean. Almost half of the available landmass in the country is protected in the form of national parks and reserves, but that still leaves plenty of room for expats craving the beach life and lots of cultural diversity.
All you will need upon arrival in Seychelles is a passport. There are no visa requirements for moving there. If after five years of residence you want to make it official, you will be eligible to apply for citizenship – as long as you haven’t gotten into any legal trouble during that time. Cashed up expats can cut their wait time for citizenship to one year if they invest at least $1 million USD.
Sweden
If you are looking for a high quality of life and progressive political culture, Sweden is a great choice It has been called one of the best countries to be a woman and has the most progressive views regarding gender equality. It also offers generous immigration policies, with a refugee and immigrant population of about 15%.
Sweden is not the easiest country on our list to simply drop into for a long-term stay, because you will need a job offer in order to get a work visa.
However, the immigration process is well automated online, and most people can spend a few months in the country visa-free in order to network.
The archipelago of Svalbard (pop: 2,642) is indeed part of Norway, but in the same way that Puerto Rico is part of the US or Greenland is part of Denmark. A whole lot of important things have been devolved to the Svalbard administration in Longyearbyen, from gun control to environmental issues, to emergency services, and the issuing of marriage certificates. One of the things that have been devolved is immigration, and Svalbard works on a very different system to Norway. There is no visa regime on Svalbard at all. Literally, anyone can move there and settle down without the need for a permit.
The only thing you need to prove is that you have sufficient funds to support yourself after moving there. This is important because Svalbard is cold. Closer to the North Pole than it is to mainland Norway (itself a very cold country), Svalbard is both freezing and utterly remote. It’s over a thousand miles to the mainland, winters take place in permanent darkness, and hungry polar bears prowl the streets. To cut down on polar bear attacks, unemployment and homelessness are literally illegal, and retirees are deported if they’re considered a drain on society. But hey, at least it’s not your home country, right?
Filed under the category of Moving abroad, job abroad, Canada migration, migration, Filipinos,residency
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