7 countries where Americans can easily obtain a residency permit

A 3rd of Americans would really like to maneuver away from the United States, in line with a recent survey.

This signifies that today an astonishing number of individuals – about 111 million – support an concept that was considered unusual, even controversial, just a couple of years ago.

For those of the 111 million who’re seriously considering moving abroad, there are some practical but essential steps that must be taken to make the thought a reality.

For most, obtaining residency overseas is one in all these essential steps.

What is a residence?

Residence is your legal right to remain in a rustic long-term.

This distinguishes you from a tourist, whose stay is often limited to at least one or three months. With a residence permit, you’ll be able to stay in a rustic for one to 5 years.

The residence permit can even bring other advantages, similar to access to subsidized or free healthcare and education, the precise to vote in local elections, and more.

The residence permit may be granted as a brief or everlasting permit and is often extendable so long as you proceed to fulfill the necessities.

How are you able to get a residence permit overseas?

Most countries offer quite a lot of residency visas, including work, student, family reunification, descent, investor, digital nomad, “independent means” and other forms of visas. There are also humanitarian residency options.

For individuals who select to maneuver abroad to enhance the standard of life that a selected country can offer (but who don’t want to work or study locally and wouldn’t have any ancestral or family ties to that country), probably the most suitable residency visa options are often an independent resident visa and an investor visa.

However, not all countries offer these options, and people who do sometimes set prohibitive income or investment limits to qualify. For example, the Active Investor Plus Visa for New Zealand requires an investment of NZD 15 million (about US$9.1 million) in an approved category, making it unaffordable for most individuals.

However, there are a handful of nations on the planet that roll out an open carpet for potential expats by setting low financial barriers to residency and, in some cases, even offering discounts and advantages to motivate applicants.

Here is an inventory of nations where the typical American can reasonably obtain residency on an independent or investor visa, in addition to a non-exhaustive overview of the necessities. Note that every visa type listed also has application fees.

Panama

Panama offers quite a lot of residency visas, but the simplest approach to qualify is to Visa pensioners.

This is a sort of independent means visa. The most important requirement is to prove that you’ve got enough monthly income to support yourself. For the Pensionado visa, you have to receive at the very least $1,000 per 30 days from a government program or a personal company.

Other requirements are that you just are at the very least 18 years old and that you just submit your application in Panama with a Panamanian lawyer. You must also provide, amongst other things, a health certificate from a Panamanian doctor and a certificate of fine conduct from the authorities in your last country of residence.

The Pensionado visa grants everlasting residence in Panama, and also you only must visit the country every two years to keep up this status. After five years, you’ll be able to apply for Panamanian citizenship should you wish (although Panamanian citizenship law requires an oath to surrender previous citizenships).

Settling in Panama brings advantages similar to access to a low-tax environment. Panama doesn’t impose taxes on income earned abroad. It also offers advantages (discounts on utility bills, airline tickets, medical expenses and more) to Pensionado visa holders of any age, in addition to legal residents above Panama’s established retirement age for men and girls.

Colombia

Colombia offers a wide selection of visa options, but like Panama and Nicaragua, it might be easiest for most individuals who need to live within the country to acquire a visa due to its independent status.

There are several subgroups geared toward several types of applicants. Visa pensioners is geared toward retirees and requires applicants to reveal a monthly income of at the very least thrice the Colombian minimum wage (about $960) from a proper pension scheme. They must even have medical health insurance in Colombia and supply a certificate of fine conduct and a medical certificate.

This is a brief resident visa valid for up to 3 years, but your status will robotically expire should you spend greater than 180 consecutive days outside Colombia inside a 365-day period.

Portugal

Portugal is a rustic in Western Europe that sets one in all the bottom minimum amounts for a residence visa. The amount indicated corresponds to the Portuguese minimum monthly wage of 760 euros (about 820 US dollars).

However, the approval of residency applications is on the discretion of the immigration authorities. For successful applications, it is strongly recommended to reveal the next monthly income. My lawyer in Portugal recommends that applicants can prove that they receive a monthly income of at the very least 1,200 euros (roughly US$1,300).

The income must be passive and are available from sources similar to pensions, financial investments, real estate, etc. You can even need proof of accommodation in Portugal and proof of medical health insurance with a coverage amount of at the very least 30,000 euros (roughly $32,460), valid throughout the EU and valid for one yr.

The D7 is a brief residence permit valid for 2 years and may be renewed so long as you proceed to fulfill the necessities. To maintain your Portuguese residency, you have to stay in Portugal for at the very least 16 months during your first 24 months.

After five years of temporary residence, you’ll be able to apply for everlasting residency or citizenship, making Portugal one in all the fastest, easiest and least expensive routes to an EU passport.

Greece

You can qualify for temporary residency in Greece by providing a guaranteed income of two,000 euros (roughly $2,165) per 30 days through the Financially Independent Person (FIP) visa. The income have to be stable and regular and might come from rental income, interest income from fixed deposits, pensions, dividend checks, etc.

Other requirements include a certificate of fine conduct and a medical certificate stating that you just wouldn’t have any diseases which will pose a threat to public health. You can even need medical health insurance all through your stay in Greece.

The FIP is valid for 2 years and is renewable. You must spend six months per yr in Greece to keep up your residency status.

After five years of continuous residence, you’ll be able to apply for a everlasting residence permit. After seven years of continuous residence, you’ll be able to convert this into citizenship.

Montenegro

Montenegro offers unique residency options in comparison with other European countries. One of probably the most interesting is residency through property ownership. You can qualify for a brief residency permit by purchasing a property in Montenegro.

The property may be of any value, which sets Montenegro aside from most other countries that supply similar investment-in-residence options. Most set minimum limits for investment. For example, to qualify for Greece’s Golden Visa program with a property purchase, you have to spend at the very least 250,000 euros (about $270,505).

To obtain a brief residence permit in Montenegro by purchasing a property, you have to provide a clean criminal record from your house country and proof of medical health insurance.

To maintain your residency, you must not leave Montenegro for multiple month per yr – a strict physical presence requirement.

This residence visa is valid for one yr and may be prolonged so long as you remain the owner of the property. After five years, you’ll be able to apply for a everlasting residence permit.

Indonesia

You can get a residence permit for Indonesia by providing a bank or pension fund statement showing US$1,500 per 30 days. This is feasible with the KITAS retirement visa, which is on the market to people aged 55 and above who need to retire in Indonesia.

In addition to requiring proof of accommodation in Indonesia, this residency option also has an unusual requirement in comparison with the opposite options on this list: applicants must intend to employ an Indonesian as a domestic helper or driver.

This visa is valid for one yr and may be prolonged for as much as five years. There is not any requirement so that you can spend a certain amount of time in Indonesia.

After five years, you’ll be able to apply for a everlasting residence permit (KITAP), which is valid for five years and may be renewed indefinitely.

The Philippines

The Philippines offers the Special Resident Retiree’s Visa (SRRV), a sort of self-employment visa.

To apply for the “SRRV ClassicsTo obtain this visa, you have to be at the very least 50 years old. You must also provide a bank deposit that you’ll use to buy a condominium or long-term lease of a house and land. If you don’t receive a pension, the deposit have to be at the very least $20,000. If you receive a pension, the deposit have to be at the very least $10,000 and you have to provide proof of income of at the very least $800 per 30 days.

In addition to those requirements, you have to provide a medical certificate from an establishment or doctor within the Philippines. You must also provide a certificate of fine conduct out of your country of origin or residence.

The SRRV is a renewable, temporary resident visa that offers you the precise to live within the Philippines indefinitely.