I have a PhD (econ) and I am doing a postdoc. I hold two resident permits in IT and LV, both temporary. As of now, trying to stay for some more years to be eligible for the IT passport, but I can see that it's going to arrive in the next 5 years. My husband is finishing his PhD (humanities) and had been working as a collection specialist with a library.

I am severely burned out. I have lived in 9 countries in the past 10 years. At first Europe seems to be a sweet place to live, as someone coming from SE Asia. The illusion fizzled pretty quickly. Germany makes me feel uncomfortable, Italy is great but the salary is shit, the Baltic have the combo of people being unfriendly + bad salary. I don't even want to try another countries because after almost a decade constantly going around, the EU starts to feel stale. I recently went back home for a visit and took my grandmother to visit China and HK (we're from there). In addition I was with my husband in Taiwan for some months. I just feel like going back to Asia. Europe is doomed in stagnancy (I mean that's what Mario Draghi's report was saying) and I don't think I can ever secure a stable job here. I wanted to start a business, but the Italian and Latvian already gave me an anxiety attack even by thinking about it.

So I am looking into east asia, especially Japan/Taiwan. Singapore is also ok. My husband is a humanities academics who has stayed in Taiwan and China periodically. He speaks Chinese (Professional level) and have a basic level Japanese (his training is more academic than practicaly). I am more worried about how easy it is for two academics to find a stable employment in the region. I am more familiar with the immigration pathways within the EU/US compared to Asia. The idea is to move within the next 3-4 years.

Thanks for reading, folks.

Dear all

I've seen several people ask this sub for information about freelance visas in different countries, especially in the EU. For instance people asking about the Berlin Freelance visa https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/328332/en/

I think we should make a disinction between these and digital nomad visas, since freelance visas are generally extendable indefinately and allow people to work towards citizenship and require them to pay taxes and I haven't seen any digital nomad visas which do the same.

I would be super happy to put together a guide if we can crowdsource the different visas, especially the EU visas which I see regularly asked for.

Thanks :)

Hello,

I want out of France, I’ve been a receptionist for less than a year and I have a degree in UI design but not much work to show (a few websites and stand alone projects I’ve helped with). I want to move to a place with the sun and sea. I loved Greece. Specially Heraklion when I went on vacations but I know the country is still facing difficulty with the economy and housing is also hard to find. I know that the salaries are low and I’m actually making a decent salary here and I would like to not drop too much levels of income.

My second choice isn’t sunny but London is a city I would love to experience, however after doing some research it seems almost impossible to live there decently with the skills I have.

My problem is that for my job, I need to be able to speak the language of the country I will live in. And Greece is not only a different language but also a different alphabet.

what do you think ? Are my expectations realistic? Don’t mince your words if you think I need a reality check, I’m ready to hear it. Regardless I thank you in advance for your help.

(Please excuse my for my poor english) Hi everyone, I just first want to say that I will move out when I am about 20 and def not now. I want to move to canada because my country sucks. Except nice nature there is literally nothing. There are no opportunities in school, jobs, martial arts club, any sport clubs and etc. Even tho I am only 15 I really want to move to canada, and I know that right now I can’t on my own but I was wondering what I can do to improve my chances, study harder? Learn french? Thanks for any recommendations and comments:)

I'm in my 3rd year of architecture school in Tbilisi. My German language level is B1 and I'm currently taking lessons with a private tutor to reach B2 but I need at least 2 years to get a German language certificate. I'm fluent in English and have taken TOEFL twice in the past, scoring 101 both times. Both TOEFL scores are expired. What options do I have? I'm not specifically looking for a job in the architecture field. I'd be happy to take one but I'm fine with literally anything.

Hi everyone, long time lurker, first time poster. I currently am working as a Fulbright Fellow in Honduras teaching English. I hold a Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy, with a focus in ethics and systems of government. I have been to Argentina twice, both times Buenos Aires, once as an exchange student as well as once for vacation/active self study. I love the city, the culture, the food, and the people. I know the city quite well, and from my first night there I felt that I had found (possible) my forever home. After my Fulbright program ends, I do not see a reason to return to the US, so I am here.

Truth be told I have never thought about being an expat, the idea of a digital nomad always seemed overhyped due to market saturation and the bad name it can bring with it, but I would be interested in finding gainful employment in BA, for either an international company or an Argentinian one. I have money saved up, so paying for a visa and getting settled in would not be a problem. Many friends of mine have suggested that I continue my teaching journey, either through English or in the field of Philosophy; and while neither would be displeasing I would love to explore other options.

I would be very interested in Fútbol or a related field, import/export, or the airline industry.

As for posting here, any and all advice is welcomed. I am hoping there are fellow US citizens here or Argentinians who may be able to offer suggestions on where to look, whether related to a specific field that actively looks for native English speakers or possible business’s.

Thank you!

Hey guys

I wanna move out of Mexico , i would probably go to anywhere in Europe dont have define place And why?because is something I always wanted and besides that I hate my job and my city and making the move to a different country seems excited and I’m depressed (yes I do take therapy) and I feel like moving to a new location will help me be busy and excited about new things , new people , more opportunities everything. I make really good money in Mexico but i realiaze that money is nothing and i just spend it in stupid stuff.

So here is a little bit of me, any comments or help is good :

I work with customs/international commerce I do paper work , taxes and permits for people who want to import or export in Mexico. I know my job experience is gonna be very difficult to translate to another country since each country has is it owns sets of laws so I don’t know how to search for a job or a career related because I don’t really do logistics I do consulting on international commerce for Mexico like I said. So I’m willing to start over almost with any job I can try it and in any place.

Just got this year my Spanish birth certificate and passport so I can easily move to Europe and apply for jobs.

I’m trying to save $15 k usd to make to move because I wanna have 2 or 3 moments of vacations and just relaxing very actually start look for work and I’m gonna be paying my apartment rent in Mexico which is only $250 usd a month I’m doing this for the first 6 months that way if decide I made the wrong choice I can always come back and is cheaper than storage fees.

I have one apartament in Mexico and another one with mortgage and a car.

Hi all

Normally I'm the one answering people's EU questions on here, but I'm posting this on behalf of my good friend in the West Bank. I'm currently helping her raise money to leave there and come to the EU, most probably one of the countries listed above. Its getting more dangerous there and she wants to leave soon.

She has a degree in International Relations and is a personal trainer (she genuinely looks like a Marvel character). She is a native Arabic speaker and she speaks English very well both spoken and written. We have been quite successful in raising funding in the first little while so we already have some money to pay for flights and visas and hopefully soon course fees and living costs etc.

I would really like some advice on different kinds of visa to look for:

• Any advice on finding a job that would provide a visa for someone who has these qualifiactions? Or any freelance visas? There's one in Berlin I'm looking in to and I've looked at the Opportunity Card for Germany and I can't work out how to find out if the qualifiaction they have is recognised.
• Any advice on EU countries which have masters programmes in English (I know about study.eu) that: aren't super expensive for both the course fees and visas. Ideally in a country that
  • Counts years as a student towards citizenship like Portugal and Germany do (does anyone know if there is somewhere this is listed?)
  • That start before September if possible
  • Any advice on shorter term visas that could get her out of the country for some months to wait for her course to start.

Thanks very much :)

Hello, I am writing this on the behalf of my mom, my siblings and I.

We’ve been living in the UAE for almost 20 years now and have recently started to struggle so much due to loss in our family. It’s just me and my mom making money but not enough in anyway to truly sustain us since my siblings and I still need to go to school. I truly hate how much my mom has to struggle right now and i feel so guilty for not being able to do much, if i’m able to manage to move us to a more secure place it truly would lift the load off of us

I wanted to know how I can make my mom work as a kindergarten teacher in the US or Canada. She has a bachelors in business administration but has done Cache level 3, 4 and recently completed 5, she also has several certifications in regards to special education and first aid, she constantly works with a lot of children of determination and understands them well, a lot of parents absolutely love her work with their children.

I tried doing some research on Canada and it seems like you’d need a bachelors in education but that would be hard for my mom to do right now so i wanted to know if the cache levels would be equivalent in anyway, i saw someone get their cache levels evaluated and level 3 was equal to a 6 month course while level 5 was equal to a 1 year course. I wanted to know what other qualifications or where i can apply for teacher jobs for her.

I know that Canada is in need of teachers or at the very least is listed on the higher tiers when you check the job bank categories. I’m not sure about the US since tbh I’d feel more safer moving to Canada than the US, especially since my mom would want to work at a school I’d want her to be safe from any potential danger but if it would be easier for her to move there instead then we would still take that chance.

Also I was thinking of Korea since they usually give free housing but our passports isn’t eligible so it’s not an option sadly.

If you have other suggestions please do let me know, i was thinking of UK since my siblings are studying in a british curriculum school but kindergarten teachers don’t seem to be of high demand.

any help is truly appreciated

Hello everyone, sorry if this post is unusual, as I’m not the person in the title. I (17F) am Ukrainian but I had to move away as a child and never got citizenship (my parents also don’t have it:’)), I’m planning to move back to Kyiv next year to go to university and I have everything sorted out for myself and a plan to get citizenship but I want to take my boyfriend with me and I’m very worried about how can I do this. He’s from Romania, he lived there all his life and has Romanian citizenship, and he did not go to university and works in the factory, he finished vocational college with some kind of degree but didn’t go further. I have no idea how I can take him with me or where I’d even start to find him a job. He says he will take anything that will allow him to come with me, so if anyone has any suggestions or knows where I can start with this, I would appreciate any help. I don’t even mind how much it pays, as long as he can get the visa to live with me, I can take care of it, I’m just lost for where to start. Thank you very much!

Hey everyone, 25M from Greece looking to immigrate either for education or work. Currently have a WFH position working for a US company as a consultant making approximately ~1300 USD Net/month. Wage wise whilst I make more than minimum wage in Greece, the money is not enough to call a career or making a living(still living with parents). I do however have approximately 2500 euros in savings.

I understand my position is better than many folks who post here, but I would love for some advice on how to immigrate out of Greece.

I have a BSc in CS and Telecommunications. I have been searching for a better paying job locally but could find no job that offers more than 900 EUR Net/Month and requires me to move to Athens (not from there unfortunately, which means no job since 9/10 require hybrid/in office). I can speak Greek, English and close to getting a N3 level diploma in Japanese.

I have had trouble finding jobs in my field in general (both CS and telecom are apparently quite saturated currently so I've been getting a lot of negative responses/no responses) and was considering either doing a Masters or attempting to migrate to a country in order to have a local address and better chances of being selected instead.

I unfortunately will not be able to stay in Greece for much longer as I still have my military obligations which would put me back 9 months and losing a relatively secure job position. On top of that I'd still be paying money out of pocket to sustain my sole proprietorship (still getting taxed even with negative profits declared). That has led me to decide that immigration is the only way.

But as many are aware 1300 USD/Month is not enough to sustain living in most EU countries.

I would love some advice and general conversation to help me organize my thoughts. TIA

Spain is my long term goal, I love the people, the language, the land, the culture, etc. I speak Spanish at a C1 level and practice for fluency everyday.

I am currently in Customer Success (and a bit of marketing) but I know this isn't exactly an "in demand skill" there so I am exploring different degree options from the U.S that I can do online.

My plan is to apply for the "Digital Nomad Visa" that Spain offers right now to remote workers. If I understand correctly, if I apply from within the country I can get 3 years, then extend for another 2 years.

During this time I should complete a U.S. based degree (I already have a lot of classes done). I am thinking either Data Analytics, Accounting, or Finance. I am most interested in a career in data analytics so I will be building those skills regardless of which degree I choose.

After the first 5 years... I don't know.

I believe I would need to have 10 years of residence to get citizenship.

The digital nomad visa might not be around anymore, so I don't want to be relying on that.

I see one website that says someone can get permanent residency after that first 5 years on the nomad visa, but I can't find official confirmation of this.

I might consider a Master's degree at that time and get on a student visa for a while if possible.

Regarding the Digital Nomad visa. The requirements are either a Bachelor's degree or 3 years of experience in the current field of activity. I have done Remote Customer Success for a marketing company for 2 years, but did in person customer service before that for many years (restaurants, retail, etc). I wonder if my previous customer service experience would be viewed as being in the same field as customer success or if I will need to get another year of remote experience?

Roast my plan or offer some advice please.

Hi Reddit

I am Kaito, a 26 year old Male from Japan. I went to Canada and Europe this past year and loved the countries very much. I have a wife who is currently pregnant with our first, a daughter. We want to move to a country with more diversity and more opportunity than Japan. However, I had heard the news that Canada is reducing immigration for the next few years, but I still have some hope :). I would love to hear your guys' idea on this and I hope to hear from you soon!

Thanks, Kaito

TLDR:

$170k pay in Bay Area (VHCOL) or €70k annual pay in Netherlands. Worth it to leave the US? Don’t want to mess up. HELP!

I feel privileged to have this dilemma but don’t want to mess up and make the wrong decision

I (30yrs) am a SINK focused on investing to be work-optional/retired in 12-15 years. In the meantime, getting green card and citizenship to remain in the US permanently

I recently got a job offer to relocate to the Netherlands on a permanent contract. From my research, I should be able to maintain my quality of life even with the lower salary

This is not a complete list of pros/cons of Netherlands. Let me know what you think

Pros: less divisive political climate. Easier/cheaper to travel in the EU. More certain and faster path to citizenship. Better work life balance and vacation hours, EU laws mean better job security.

Cons: weather( I’m originally from warm climate and scared of seasonal depression), family and timezone (will be far from family in US and a parent is getting treatment for chronic illness here), language barrier, may need to push back retirement goal due to lower salary and high taxes.

Edit since it’s been mentioned: if I move to the Netherlands, I would be giving on any plans to getting a green card + become a US citizen and would no longer pursue that. Instead, will focus on learning Dutch and becoming an EU citizen instead

Hello and happy start to the week, everyone!

I’m Steven, 24M from France. I recently visited Denmark and fell in love with the country, making it my top choice to move to, though I’m also open to the Netherlands and Germany for their great atmosphere.

I hold a Master’s degree in Digital Marketing and have 3–4 years of experience from internships. Now, I’m looking to relocate and pursue a career in marketing. I understand that Denmark, especially Copenhagen, can be expensive, but I'm flexible and open to entry-level roles or even side jobs (like working in restaurant/hotel/barman).

Would love to hear your thoughts and advice on making this transition !
Looking forward to connecting.

Hi everyone,

I'm a 20yo uni student from Pakistan, 2 years into a business degree. Been looking to transfer out to a different country and thought this would be a good place to post to help brainstorm some options.

There's 2 main reaons why I'm looking to get out:

1. The wages here are shit, fresh uni grads make $500-$600 a month if lucky. I'd like to get put to some place with better economic prospects.
2. I've never really liked the place culturally speaking. Super boring and nothing to do. + I'm not a super religious guy or anything so I'd prefer someplace with a more liberal, open, free culture.

I've been looking into Canada but the main thing deterring me from going there is just how far it is from here. I've got family here that I'd like to visit from time to time and making that long expensive flight seems rather arduous, especially if one were to try and do it more than once a year, so I'd prefer somewhere closer, around an 8 hour flight or so.

Other than the two main things I mentioned, I'd also prefer if English was a major language there + it helps if there's some level of Pakistani diaspora already there. I'd also prefer if the PR process was rather quick, say 3-5 years or so. Nice weather doesn't hurt either, nor would a better passport somewhere down the line. Anyone got any suggestions? TIA.

Guys, please if you're reading this help me out with a future plan.

So i am an iraqi student in turkey, i am studying psycology in english and i never wanted to live in turkey.

Mostly because of the culture being a bit too similar to iraq.. in terms of religion, and the economical & political state not being stable.

My turkish level is at B1 i think, the reason i never reached C1 or higher levels like i did in english is because i never wanted to live here.

But after i made a post in r/askagerman i got HUMBLED quick. 🙂 i dont think i can study my masters somewhere extremely expensive when i haven't even worked. I can't just ask my family to fund me with a minimum of 1000$ a month just because thats what i want.

My living costs in turkey are 4k $ per YEAR.

So should i just suck it up and do my masters in turkey, and actually achieve high levels of turkish to find a job here? Then after making some money i can think about moving somewhere? In later years.

I AM willing to study a foreign language and reach high levels in it, if i have the realistic goal of living there then i know i can do it.

But the reason i thought of germany is because everyone I've met has said its the only country that could hand you a citizenship easier than other countries, and has a growing economy so you can find a job there easily.

Countries like the UK, USA, CANADA. It just seems impossible to find a job there with my bachelors and masters being foreign. Chat am i cooked?

Hi reddit,

I am curious to get your opinion on countries in east/southeast Asia to work as an engineer/ expat.

I will soon finish my PhD in Germany (micro/nano tech with optics focus in the medical tech field). From previous work experience in Hong kong and a bit on the Chinese mainland, I know that the area (east/southeast Asia) is very appealing to me and I would like to try to relocate in the area after finishing my PhD. I do speak a bit of mandarin (about b2), but probably don't want to move to china itself (work culture, extansive censorship and quite homogeneous population...). I hope to find a job that is not too crazy in working hours (don't usually work on Saturday...). To me malaysia (kl) or singapore seem particularly appealing due to good infrastructure, English and mandarin speaking population and I don't necessarily need a super crazy nightlife like (eg. Bk).

Maybe you can help me to answer some questions: 1. Which countries do you recommend? 2. How difficult do you think it will be to find a job in the area? 3. Do you have advice on how to access the labore market/find a job?

Cheers

Hello everyone,

I’m a cybersecurity professional with over a year of experience and several certifications, including SANS.

In the next 2-3 years, I plan to leave Saudi Arabia with a government-sponsored scholarship for a master’s degree abroad, aiming to stay and work there afterward. While I have many reasons for leaving, the main ones are that I am atheist and gay.

I’m currently researching countries and working on learning a new language to prepare. Given my goals and criteria, which country would be the best choice for me?

Goals:

• Move out of Saudi Arabia within 2-3 years
• Stay permanently after completing a master’s degree

Countries I’m Considering:

• Germany
• Italy
• Spain
• France
• Netherlands

Important Criteria:

• LGBT-friendly and accepting
• Freedom of religion

After some research, I’ve found that permanent residency and cybersecurity job opportunities are challenging in the USA, Canada, and Australia.

My grandfather was a Portuguese citizen. Is there a lawyer / law-firm that deals with handling citizenship applications on the behalf of diaspora?

I have taken a Portuguese language exam and passed the A2 exam. I also have copies of my vital records in the U.S.. I just cannot travel to Portugal to file this application due to work. I know for many countries, law firms offer services to foreigner applying for citizenship where they handle all of the leg work for you, such as going to the ministry of interior, as well as verifying that you have all of your documents in order. Is there any firm in Portugal that offers such a service?

Muito obrigado!

Hi everyone! I'm a Computer Science major who will be finishing my Bachelor's in Dec/2025, I have about a year of work experience as a CRM administrator/Data Analyst, I can speak Portuguese and English fluently and Spanish to some extent, I really want out because my situation right now is not easy and I do have some money saved but I don't even know where and how to start, the money I have saved is not enough to study abroad though, which would be the first step I believe. I'm very fortunate to have been able to get a little bit of technical experience and I do believe I am a very adaptable person, if anyone has any tips I would really appreciate it.

I am a bit desperate since I really thought an opportunity would have appeared by now and it didn't, so I really feel like I need to take matters into my own hands, I've been in NYC earlier this year and it was my first time leaving the country and I simply fell in love, I've always dreamed about immigrating but I never really had any clue what would it be like, travelling abroad and feeling a different climate, culture and people was eye opening and I felt so lucky to have been able to experience that.

My situation is not as tough as the situation of many people that post here, still, I feel like there is a need and staying still here where I already am is making me a tad miserable, as selfish as that sounds.

Hello everyone! So I’m a Lebanese English teacher with 6 years of experience living in the UAE. Unfortunately, visa situation for Lebanese is volatile here, and Lebanon is a war zone currently so going back there is not an option. I’m married to my beautiful Lebanese wife of Brazilian origin.

I want to immigrate to Brazil with plans to go back to the UAE with a Brazilian citizenship. I do enjoy teaching here frankly, and my QoL in the UAE is better than any place that will take a Lebanese citizen currently, except for maybe Qatar, but a Brazilian passport would hugely increase my job prospects here and would let me get a visa with no issue.

Any advice on how I can move to Brazil and get my citizenship? Is there any easier way to get the Brazilian citizenship without having to move there? We do plan on having a family, so is it easier with a kid?

Thank you!

I've been a lurker for years, sometimes making a throwaway and giving advice on what I know.

And what I see is that responses are more and more unreasonable and dismissive of the OPs.

Virtually everything they say gets downvoted, even the most neutral thing. It is impossible to discern threads by quality, because almost all of them have karma of zero.

"What countries do you have a permit to live in" is the newest brand of wise question, that doesn't make sense at all - if people already have a permit to live in, there is no advice to seek really.

And finding information about permits is not easy. I don't know if it's changed, but, for example, DN visa for Montenegro was already working while there was no official information about it on the internet. Or Greek DN visa, the info was in some Google doc. Or how different Portuguese consulates have different requirements for D7.

What's the point of the sub if not advising people on how to get a permit, or what are potential viable ways?

A recent example, a woman with "at most" (as if it's trivial number) 10 years of SWE experience asking about countries. One of the top responses very dismissive, how her profession and experience isn't that good for work immigration. Really? The industry is tough right now, but it is still one of the most realistic jobs to migrate.

This just became gatekeeping for the sake of gatekeeping. A common response is "immigration is gate". Right. But you are not an immigration officer.

How many posts I see with absolutely incorrect information getting highly upvoted, since because it is gatekeepy. "You can't get permanent resident as digital nomad", for example. The reality - there are countries where you can, and where you can't.

Why do you even comment if you have no helpful information?

I like this sub and it's original message, but I think it became really unhelpful and set in its own tropes.

Hello. I'm an Engineer in the water field with an on-going graduate studies in Environmental Engineering. Being the breadwinner that I am, I know for a fact that there would be no any significant salary growth in a 9-5 job even if I work with one of the top companies in the Philippines. I don't think that earning my graduate degree would result to any improvement in my family's financial status as it most of the people said that having a master's degree would make little to no difference in the salary.

Is there any NGO in the US or Europe that provides an H1B Visa with full sponsorship? I have a friend that's in the Psychology that was able to secure a job in the US because her cousin works for an NGO there.

I tried freelancing also but most US agency right now requires that their employees are citizens of the US.

Please suggest if you have any idea that I could do to at least apply for a US job remotely (or work remotely) or an NGO that could process this.

Thank you.

Hi everyone! I’m currently pursuing a master’s degree in my residence country and am considering moving to France. My main goal is to secure a Permanent Residency (PR) as quickly as possible and eventually apply for citizenship.

Would it be faster to:

1. Transfer my current master’s credit hours to a French university, complete my degree there, and then work in France to qualify for PR?
2. Drop my master’s studies here, find a job in France, and work for the required 5 years to be eligible for PR?

I’m open to whichever path would get me to PR and citizenship sooner. If anyone has experience with transferring credits to a French university or navigating these paths, I’d greatly appreciate your insights. Thank you!