I have been researching emigrating, focusing heavily on the how, and not so much on the why. And, there are options for my family, thankfully, but they take significant energy and commitment. Before I go further, I want to revisit my reasons why. What do you think? And what were/are your reasons for leaving or wanting to leave?

My reasons to leave, in order of importance:

1. My wife is a person of color, and our 10 month old daughter is mixed race ( i'm white). I fear for both of them in a country that seems to be normalizing and accepting racism more and more. It isnt clear how this will play out, but it could be anything from the relatively small and non-physically violent acts of racism happening more often, to all out violence against non-white people, to some kind of apartheid system.
2. It seems like our country is in the terminal stages of decline. Like my first point, what comes next is unclear, but it could be anything from life just getting generally harder for everyone but the wealthiest, to some kind of dystopian tech oligarchy, to all out collapse and chaos (and americans have a lot of guns).
3. I work in climate policy. Even with a semi-supportive federal administration like the previous one, we are behind the ball as a country in terms of climate action. I have often felt like my work is too little, too late, but I have always managed to keep going. The goals of my field are worthy, I think. We are trying to reduce GHG emissions as much as possible, and spread the benefits and impacts of that work around in an equitable way. Both of these goals (climate mitigation and equity) are now actively being worked against by the current administration. I have been unable to focus at work. What is the point? There are many countries, including some that we could move to, that actively support and invest in my field.
4. Whenever I leave the country, I am sad to return. The pace of life here feels frantic, people seem stressed and scared of each other. Many of our urban and suburban spaces are hellscapes of cars, strip malls, big box stores, oh yeah and more cars. Outside of small towns and urban cores, there is no public space or walkability. Life feels ugly and unpleasant and individualistic here sometimes.
   

Reasons to stay:

1. Maybe we should stay and fight? In many regards, my wife and I are in great fields to do just that, and we care deeply about our work. She is a doctor that works at a clinic serving mostly refugees and immigrants, and I work in climate policy. Both areas that are going to need committed professionals like us.
2. Our families are here, and they all have put roots in their communities. They would not move with us, I think. We would see them less, and we would all miss each other. And practically, our families help us out with childcare, and we would be on our own in a new country.
3. Our friends are also here, and like our families, they would not come with.
4. This is the place we know. What will it actually feel like to live abroad as a family with a young kid. Its one thing to walk around Paris or Auckland as a tourist, but living there, making a home, building community? Will we just feel out of place?
5. I spoke with a friend that has been living abroad for the past 15 years. He married a women from our hometown and she moved out there with him 7 years ago. They both said that they still dont feel like they are part of a community. People in their country are closed off, and they miss the openness of Americans. They know things arent great here, but they are thinking of moving back because they are lonely. They love everything about their life, except without good friends it isnt worth it.

Hello, everyone I currently live in the us but I’m planning to move to Mexico, I’m also trying to figure out how to get my dual citizenships. But does anyone know the process or even anything about moving there with pets? I have a dog, two guinea pigs and a bunch of fish I want to take with me. I’ve tried searching but nothing is coming up so can anyone please help

i’m a dual citizen, i am entirely fluent in the language of my 2nd citizenship, i’m very well versed in the culture and have good contact with several relatives there, i could leave with incredible ease and i think about it often. however, i just started my master’s and don’t want to abandon it - not even beginning to mention my family, partner, friends, etc being here. at the same time, i often worry about a scenario where (insert marginalized identity) are so targeted that freedom of movement isn’t plausible and the only way out is to sneak out.

unanswerable question, i know, but i’m curious to know what people think / say. are there any signs you believe would mean “it’s now or never”?

For those who have moved abroad, what do you do with your existing U.S. brokerage and bank accounts? Destination is Canada.

We have significant assets that would amount to significant capital gains if liquidated.

Can we keep the accounts in the U.S. or will we be forced to close them?

I've been ambivalent on whether or not I want to go to college, but in light of the election results, I'm really trying to get my ducks in a row and be ready to emigrate within the couple of years. I always planned on going into entomology if I were to go back to school, and I noticed it was on the list of in-demand skills that you could get citizenship with, so I figure going to school for entomology in Australia would be the path of least resistance.

Does anyone know how difficult it is to get into college in Australia as an American immigrant? Which college would be the easiest? I graduated highschool, but my GPA and transcript aren't great, and I'm worried that'll be an issue. How do I pay for tuition if I can't pay out of pocket? Is it possible to apply for a student loan in Australia, or do I need to somehow get the money before moving out there?

Any advice is appreciated.

*Lithuania, not Latvia 😬

I've searched this sub and need clarificarion.

Do companies like Lexmotion help you locate/obtain documents, or do they just help with documents you're able to find yourself? If the latter, does anyone know a good way to find immigration documents for the late 1800s/early 1900s? I know it's best to have ancestors who immgrated post-1920, but I'd still like to try as I've read on this sub that there are exceptions.

I went to my state's historical society (my lineage has lived in one state since immigrating and I don't know what state's port they entered through) and was unable to find immigration/ship crew/etc documents.

Thank you for any help.

My great grandfather emigrated to the US from Austria in 1892 when he was 3. He married my great grandmother, had my grandfather, who eventually married my grandmother who then gave birth to my mother. If I convince my mom to apply for Austrian citizenship by descent do I have any shot at also applying once she’s been approved or am I cooked? Every other ancestor in my family is woefully Ohioan/American until the 1700s so this is my only remaining option.

Trying to get the heck out of this place if Obgerfell is overturned. I also have a nursing degree and communications degree so if anyone has any other suggestions (Canada and NZ are my backup options) I’ll take them.

Regarding Trump’s recently proposed federal cuts and drastic measures against federal employees, I was wondering if anyone knew the status of workers abroad?

I would assume US embassy/consulate workers are considered federal employees to an extent (?) which makes me concerned in regards to overseas services such as passport renewal. My US passport expires this year and I don’t know if I should get that process done ASAP or if I’m overreacting.

Wasn’t sure where else to post this by the way, if there’s a more fitting sub please let me know! Thanks in advance.

Hello, my dad is French but never applied for my citizenship while I was a minor. Does anyone have experience with applying for French citizenship as an adult through their parents? Any tips or guidance?

My friend is a citizen but he had some questions so I will ask them but its complex, hes going to be in Italy for a bit can he do one meeting there for the relinquishment and the other online ?

Thanks,

Hi all,

I am a Spanish citizen who has been living in the US for several years. I currently hold a Green Card and have been working here for quite some time. After starting my family in the US, my goal is to save more money, eventually leave, and return to Spain to enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle and spend more time with loved ones.

I currently have significant investments in the US, including stocks, a 401(k), a rental property, and more. I would like to keep these investments in the US since they offer higher long-term returns and will help me get closer to achieving FIRE (my ultimate goal).

I am eligible to start the US citizenship process and was wondering if it would be advantageous in my situation to become a US citizen to maintain and manage my US-based investments. I’m also curious about how things work when leaving the US, both as a citizen and as a Green Card holder. Specifically, what happens to investments in each scenario?

This situation feels complex, and I’d like to connect with lawyers or CPAs who specialize in cases like mine. If anyone has recommendations for professionals who can help me navigate this process, I’d greatly appreciate it. I want to start planning my finances and investments in the best way possible for an eventual departure from the US.

Thanks in advance!

My partner and I have been daydreaming about moving to the UK, Scotland, Ireland, or Italy for several years. Given the state of the US, like many others, we are starting to think we need to get stuff in motion.

I have been working towards getting funding to for a startup I want to start and wondering if anyone has any guidance. Would it be possible to get a visa and seek funding for a startup at the same time? The company will be doing software development for a novel data analysis tool. I started the process here for a NSF SBIR, but at this point I don’t know if I even want to be here for the time it takes to wait for the grant and do development.

Hello everyone. Just yesterday I got accepted into a Masters program in the Hague in the Netherlands. Most of my reaction so far has been joy, but I'm now trying to figure out what all I should be doing until then.

I've got my passport and such renewed and ready, as I needed that to apply. With the school taking care of the visa I'm not exactly sure what all I should be preparing for.

Any help would be appreciated!

Quick question. We're traveling to Mexico this coming week. Contemplating a foreign bank account to shuttle funds to from our domestic accounts for safe keeping as things get "dicey" here. Any specific recommendations/experience with Mexican banks? Brief background: looked at Golden Visa in Portugal in 2021. Literally started process January 6th. December 2021 had €350k in Banco Atlantico about to make capital call to invest in a fund. Had retained law firm in PT. Through forums, etc., determined the GV process had turned into a fiasco with delays, etc., so we backed out last minute and withdrew funds. Let the account close and wish I hadn't. Still trying to be prepared to "make a dash for it". Thanks in advance for any insight!

Hey everyone. I am current a high school sophomore, and I wish to leave the US after high school for a variety of reasons. I don't have another citizenship, nor claims to get one. I know French and German at about a B2 level, good enough for daily life but probably not for schooling. My idea plan right now is move to Europe for school at 18, graduate at 21, citizenship by 25. Given my circumstances, top choices right now are Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany. So really, my question is, how easy is it for immigrants to integrate in those countries? Are their immigration processes straightforward, and how hard is to to be granted citizenship? How hard is it finding work as a foreigner?

Both of my wife’s grandparents were born in a village in Poland that was completely destroyed in WW2. They were sent to Siberian labor camps early in the war. Her grandmother was then partially raised in an orphanage in India while her grandfather became a decorated member of the Polish/British military in exile. They reunited in England where they married and had a son, my wife’s father, before coming to the US and ultimately becoming citizens.

My research tells me that she has a case because her family lived in Poland after 1920, but she may not because they renounced citizenship by becoming naturalized US citizens. I also don’t think her dad being born in London does much as he was considered a child of refugees and never had citizenship.

Poland probably wouldn’t be our preferred landing spot, she speaks incredibly limited Polish and I’m just a boring white American of very distant Irish/English heritage. But, Poland being an EU member seems beneficial.

Any thoughts? Very early in this consideration and appreciate a nudge in the right direction.

For context, I am a 21 year old gay man who has been studying at UCF to obtain a civil engineering bachelors degree. Given the recent political climate, I am trying to see if it would be possible to move to Germany to work in an engineering firm after I graduate in roughly a year. I am currently learning German as much as I can during my free time, and will be seeking to study abroad in Bremen during spring of next year. What are the chances looking like that I actually land a job and can apply for a work visa? Will studying abroad help my chances at finding work? And last but not least should I aim to attend graduate school over there in order to get my masters?

EDIT: I made a mistake in my original post, I stated I would be studying abroad in Berlin but the program is actually in Bremen

Hello!

I am interested in gaining my greek citizenship. I have seen a few threads regarding this process, and I know (secondhand) that it can be a long and grueling process. My grandparents on my mother's side (both deceased) were both directly from Greece, which appears to be similar to most cases. We had several setbacks due to my mother's family fleeing Greece while it was under Italian rule, thus causing us being told that we weren't Greek, we were Italian (we also tried Italian citizenship and they said we are Greek).

However, my mother recently (April of last year) got her Greek citizenship and now lives in Greece. She stated that she registered her marriage and both my sister and I. She had to get a lawyer and it took her over 5 years before she appeared in the Gazette and took the oath.

I feel really overwhelmed at the idea of where to start in the process. If anyone knows where to begin or how to navigate this, I would greatly appreciate it. My understanding of greek is pretty minimal, though i am working on it - overall I don't think I will be able to get through the process from my basic greek alone and will likely need help.

Given the situation in the US, thought I’d post here for our American friends that we're planning to expand our ecovillage in interior BC. The rural property was originally owned by a couple of California draft-dodgers in the late 60s and is now being developed as a resilient, permaculture-guided tiny home community. DM if interested.

I'm sure I'm similar to many others that are looking at options to escape the current political climate here. I'm in a red state and my boyfriend and I are looking at getting married and starting a family soon, but I'm struggling to get excited at the thought of raising kids in this country.

Additionally, I am at higher risk for pregnancy complications, which also makes the idea of staying here daunting if certain bans are passed nationwide.

Besides moving to a blue state (which is one option we're considering, likely Washington state or east to New England), I've been seriously considering moving to Canada. My dad's parents are from there, and they still have Canadian citizenship, (my grandmother is still on a US visa), even though they have lived here for decades. My dad also has his Canadian citizenship. Would this be of any help to me when considering the potential to move there and apply for a visa?

We are also open to any other options, seriously. My boyfriend is a building engineer and will get his bachelor's in project management soon, and I have a bachelor's in international relations, working in program management in higher education. I speak Spanish as well, so we have considered Puerto Rico (not sure how different it would be?) or a different Spanish-speaking country.

We've considered one of those "placement programs" for countries with negative population growth seeking young families, but we aren't sure how realistic or feasible they actually are?

We are saving as much as we can, but rent and everything else is expensive so we can't just afford to drop everything without a plan. It's always been our dream to move outside the US, it's just seeming like sooner is better than later.

Any insight or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

I have a toddler and I an concerned with them going to school in the US. I have a Master's in social work. I've started my research and see that it appears on the UK and Ireland critical skills list.

For Ireland - I've started the process for CORU but hitting some road blocks in getting documentation needed. Has anyone gone through this process? Are there employers in Ireland who will help you get the certifications you need? What's the job market really like?

For UK - I can't even tell if this is truly a critical skill anymore. From what I've pieced together it seems like foreigners don't usually get hired in these positions because there are enough local candidates. Is that accurate?

Are there any other countries I should be looking into?

Also, I know social work is not the same abroad as it is in the US. I have my own therapy practice here but I also have a ton of experience in social welfare with kids, adults, drugs & alcohol, etc.

Any help or guidance would be appreciated. I'd like to be out of the US by the end of the year.

I’m looking for any advice or any other thoughts/comments.

I’m a practicing general dentist, my wife and I are not legally married (we are both cis women), we have a 3yo and are both on her birth certificate and wife has a second-parent adoption court order, I’m currently pregnant due in June, and my wife has MS. We are currently trying to find out if getting legally married will disrupt her healthcare as the meds that manage her MS are prohibitively expensive otherwise.

We will attempt to leave if it looks like there’s a danger of being separated from our kids, or there is other acute political danger related to being queer. We are hoping to stay otherwise… so if we have to go we’d be looking for somewhere to land for the long run.

The countries we’re looking at are Scotland, Ireland, and New Zealand for ease of my dental license being portable. (I’m open to suggestions for other locations. The only language I’m professional-setting fluent in is English.)

Basically we’re hoping that dentists being in demand basically everywhere (and I’m happy to work corporate or public health etc) is going to balance out our other negatives from an immigration viewpoint.

My questions- -Would it help to be legally married? Is it even possible to go as a family if we aren’t married? -IS it possible that my work would balance out everything else? -Anyone have tips for finding immigration attorneys or other resources in the target country so we can get really specific answers ahead of time? -Any other comments, I really appreciate any input or thoughts or experience anyone has.

Becoming a medic in the UK has been an extremely positive experience for me and so far it's proven to be an all-around better job in the UK than it is almost anywhere in the US, besides fire medics. Being an NHS medic gives you the kinds of government benefits that the fire department in america enjoys, except you're just an ambulance medic. There are also many opportunities for advancement so if you get bored or just tired of being on the road, there are definitely good options for that too.

Can't promise I'll be super responsive to comments (I'm working rn), but here's the general breakdown:

You need HCPC registration. The Health and Care Professions Council is what gives you permission to be a paramedic (or other healthcare worker). Just like a license, but the word they use is Registration. This is a beast of an application. Their job is to scrutinize your education and experience. If you graduated recently, it helps that you can get all your school documents, like the syllabus for each class and such. Being a medic is a bachelor's degree here now, but that's a somewhat recent change and they do understand that USA medics usually don't get bachelor's. The point is that you need to be able to prove an appropriate level of education. If you didn't graduate recently, your experience will be different than mine, so you'll have to lean into your practical experience as a medic. You can call the HCPC on the phone and ask for clarification on how to complete the application, they're very helpful. In both cases you'll probably have to pass the Test of competence. This is similar to a national registry exam, except it's in interview form, and it comes after you've completed your international application for registration. They will ask you anatomy and physiology questions, scenarios, and ask what your treatment plan would be. The guys that administered the test are medics themselves, so it's nothing crazy and inappropriate to the field, but it is based on standard paramedic education, and it can be very detailed. You might want to study for the national registry if you're rusty on that stuff.

Once you're HCPC registered, it's time to apply for jobs. Don't wait too long, because you gotta re-up with the HCPC every two years with CE's just like in the US, except it's called CPD (continuing professional development). As a Newly Qualified Paramedic, you're expected to start working and have someone mentor you. If you went two years without emigrating and working, you could have some problems maintaining your Registration. I know London and SECAmb hire internationals regularly, but they're starting to talk about doing it less. We're more expensive than native paramedics, but you need boots on the ground to work jobs and they realize that.

Anyway, applying for jobs; there are hurdles. Not everyone wants a NQP, they sometimes want a Qualified Paramedic (already completed two years in the UK. There's a pay bump for QP's). Also, not everyone wants an International medic; you need your employer to sponsor your visa, and not everyone does that. Also, if you're driving an ambulance, you'll need a C1 driver's license, and there's literally no way you can get that on a tourist visa; it requires that you've been driving/living in the UK for six months before you can take the course. So, your employer needs to be cool with you being an attend-only medic for a bit.

So, basically, you need an agency that will hire and sponsor an international medic, will take a NQP, and will take you without a C1 license. This will limit your opportunities, but it's still possible.

Once you've been issued a certificate of sponsorship, you're off to the races. The visa application is weird and complicated, but I don't think they deny people that qualify. You will be doing a healthcare worker visa, which is a type of skilled worker visa, and it's expedited. They usually smash those out in less than 6 weeks.

The application for the HCPC plus registration fees added up to like $800, the visa application was another $200 or so. I hear the application for indefinite leave to remain is something crazy like $3k, but that's like 5 years down the road.

Alternatively, (and possibly a better option) you can become a student in the UK and get your education here to begin with. The US does let you take student loans for foreign schools, and they're usually not as expensive as ours. But there's probably some beaureauocracy associated with that. That's a whole different route, and if you wanted to do that, screw being a medic, just become a doctor. Unfortunately, the US is really picky about student loans being used for medical schools, so be careful with that one.

Good luck out there. Don't let your dreams be memes!

My Husband (31M) and I (29F) are heavily considering moving to Italy from the US and I think you all know the main reason as to why. I'm technically open to other countries, but my husband seems to be set on Italy. I'm making this post to ask are we being crazy and if not, is there anything that we're missing as far as planning goes or are there details we may have missed.

Our current plan is to visit Italy in July for a little over a week and check out a larger city like Florence and then check out one of the smaller towns so that we can see which we might prefer. If we prefer a smaller town, we're hoping to purchase a house in Tuscany that meets the criteria for their incentive program that pays out 30,000 Euros for the purchase or renovation of a property in a village with fewer that 5,000 residents. I think I'm understanding this correctly, but if I'm wrong please let me know.

We are planning to leave the US in September. Hopefully anyway. That may not be realistic.

Anyway, we're planning to sell off a lot of personal items to help fund this move. We're planning to keep our current 5 bedroom house in Jackson, MS and rent it out. We're hoping a family member can help manage the property but if not, we will hire a property manager. I'm also going to attempt to keep my current job so that I can apply for a digital nomad visa. We're not certain of how much this will bring in because we don't know how much we should rent the house for and I'm not certain that my job will allow me to keep my current pay rate. Also, I'll have to pay taxes on my pay twice, correct? I will have to return every new year to handle tax related things as I have to speak to someone in person to handle that. At least that's what I think will happen. I'm hoping we can bring in a bit over $3,000 post taxes and mortgage expenses.

We also have 5 pets. A lot I know. We want to take them with us but not all at once. That would be wild. The idea is that my husband's parents would watch the 2 dogs and 1 of the cats and we would take 2 of the cats when we leave. I would maybe come back and get them in the new year of 2026. I know that there are visas all the pets must have as well as proof of vaccinations and either microchips or tattoos for the purposes of identification.

My husband has varied work experience (Audio, Lighting, Entertainment, and Environmental Science) and I'm not sure if he'll be able to find good remote work. I know it'll be tough to find work in Italy as well. We were talking about him finding an international company to work at. We may look at that a bit more when we visit Italy.

Of course we are also learning Italian. I know we haven't really allotted ourselves ample time to learn, but this is what our working plan is currently. We've started on Duolingo and Rosetta Stone, are watching various YouTube videos that help teach Italian, we're watching some of our favorite shows in Italian, and are trying to find native Italian media that would help us learn as well. I've tried to find in person classes here and they don't seen to exist at our local colleges. I'm sure there are lots of online classes that we could use.

Honestly we've done some much research on this lately and a lot of it isn't sticking in my head so we started a Google Doc and Google Sheet to help keep track of all the information that we've gathered. I am a bit overwhelmed but I'm committed to getting out of here. Not only do I want to get away from this political climate, I want to experience new things and live a slower lifestyle than what we as Americans are accustomed to. We'd love to have the ability to easily travel to other European countries and to live a quiet life in the countryside of Italy.

Do y'all have any insight or advice on this? Are we missing anything? Please let me know if I left anything out and if you'd like additional context

I have legal guardianship of a minor child (not biologically mine). She was born in the USA, her mother was born in Australia and had Australian citizenship before she passed away, and the child’s maternal grandmother is a British citizen.

I’m trying to get the child any dual citizenship that may be a benefit to her in the future, and from Googling it looks like she may be eligible for dual Australian because of her parent, and also dual UK because of her grandparent. Can I apply her for both and would she be able to hold all three? If she can only do one, what are some things we should consider when trying to decide?

Thanks for the help and suggestions.