You're thinking about moving abroad.
Here's the math.
Expat Future is a decision hub for people planning a move abroad, built like a tax firm's knowledge base: 2026 numbers, sources, and a date on every page. Your passport, age, and income decide which doors are open. Run the numbers. Make the move.
Start with your goal
Pick the one closest to yours. The matcher opens with it selected and ranks the routes for your passport.
Or start with the guides
Four ways in. Each page includes a 2026 threshold table, a step-by-step process, a list of sources, and a "last reviewed" stamp. No travel-magazine prose. No "discover stunning destinations" filler.
Citizenship by Descent
Italian, Irish, German, Polish, Mexican, French, Hungarian, Spanish. If your grandparents were born abroad, you may already qualify for a second passport.
Retirement Visas
Portugal D7. Spain Non-Lucrative. Mexico Permanente. Italy Elective Residency. Thailand Retirement. Compared with 2026 income thresholds.
How to Leave the US
The complete 2026 playbook for moving abroad from the US. Take the Country Matcher quiz for a personalized shortlist based on your situation.
Banking & Insurance
Wise vs Revolut. Health insurance that still covers you after you move. How to keep a US bank account open once you live abroad.
Where can you actually get a visa?
34 countries, ranked by the lowest income a retirement, passive-income, or remote-work visa asks for. Sort by cost, safety, or English, or slide in your income to hide the ones you would not clear.
| Country | Lowest visa income bar | Prices vs US | Homicides /100k | English | Open routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines | $800/moSRRV Classic (Special Resident Retiree's Visa) · USD 800/mo | 33% | 4.35 | Widely | Remote workPartnerInvestRetireWork |
| Panama | $850/moTemporary residence as Rentista Retirado · PAB 850/mo | 45% | 11.71 | In hubs | Remote workPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudy |
| CyprusEU | $914/moPermanent residence (Immigration Permit), Category F: persons with secured income from abroad · EUR 9,568/yr | 65% | 0.82 | Widely | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudyWorking holiday |
| Costa Rica | $1,000/moTemporary residence as Pensionado · USD 1,000/mo | 59% | 17.75 | In hubs | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudy |
| PortugalEU | $1,055/moD7 visa (passive income and retirement) · EUR 920/mo | 60% | 0.72 | Widely | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudyWorking holiday |
| Ecuador | $1,446/moResidencia temporal Rentista para trabajo remoto (Visa Nomada) · USD 1,446/mo | 43% | 45.72 | Limited | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudy |
| Brazil | $1,500/moVITEM XIV digital nomad visa (RN CNIg 45/2021) · USD 1,500/mo | 46% | 19.28 | Limited | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudyWorking holiday |
| Dominican Republic | $1,500/moPensionado residence (Ley 171-07) · USD 1,500/mo | 39% | 10.92 | In hubs | BusinessPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudy |
| FranceEU | $1,694/moLong-stay visitor visa and 'visiteur' residence card (VLS-TS visiteur) · EUR 1,477.93/mo | 77% | 1.34 | In hubs | BusinessPartnerInvestWorkRetireStudyWorking holidayAncestry |
| Malaysia | $1,718/moSarawak MM2H (S-MM2H, state program) · MYR 7,000/mo | 32% | 0.73 | Widely | Remote workPartnerInvestRetireWorkWorking holiday |
| NetherlandsEU | $1,875/moEconomically inactive long-term EU resident · EUR 1,635.9/mo | 84% | 0.69 | Widely | BusinessPartnerWorkRetireStudyWorking holiday |
| Thailand | $1,961/moNon-Immigrant O-A (long stay, retirement) · THB 65,000/mo | 31% | 4.79 (2011) | Limited | Remote workPartnerInvestRetireWork |
| ItalyEU | $2,675/moDigital nomad and remote worker visa (nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto) · EUR 28,000/yr | 69% | 0.57 | In hubs | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudyWorking holidayAncestry |
| SpainEU | $2,751/moNon-lucrative residence visa (residencia no lucrativa) · EUR 2,400/mo | 65% | 0.69 | In hubs | Remote workBusinessPartnerWorkRetireStudyWorking holidayAncestry |
| New Zealand | $2,865/moParent Retirement Resident Visa · NZD 60,000/yr | 86% | 1.46 | Widely | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudyWorking holiday |
| Indonesia | $3,000/moRetirement Visa (E33F, retirement KITAS) · USD 3,000/mo | 29% | 0.3 | In hubs | Remote workPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudyWorking holiday |
| HungaryEU | $3,439/moWhite Card (residency for digital nomads) · EUR 3,000/mo | 52% | 0.72 | In hubs | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestWorkStudyWorking holidayAncestry |
| United Arab Emirates | $3,500/moVirtual work visa (remote work residence, 1 year) · USD 3,500/mo | 63% | 0.69 | Widely | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudy |
| GreeceEU | $4,012/moDigital nomad national visa (type Z.1, Art. 68 Migration Code) and digital nomad residence permit · EUR 3,500/mo | 60% | 0.84 | In hubs | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestWorkRetireStudyWorking holidayAncestry |
| MaltaEU | $4,012/moNomad Residence Permit · EUR 42,000/yr | 66% | 0.56 | Widely | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudyWorking holiday |
| CroatiaEU | $4,152/moTemporary stay of digital nomads · EUR 3,622.5/mo | 53% | 0.67 | Widely | Remote workBusinessPartnerRetireWorkStudyWorking holiday |
| Mexico | $4,625/moResidente Temporal visa by economic solvency (solvencia economica) · MXN 79,770.8/mo | 54% | 24.86 | Limited | PartnerInvestRetireWorkStudyWorking holidayAncestry |
| IrelandEU | $4,776/moStamp 0 retirement / independent means permission · EUR 50,000/yr | 85% | 0.65 | Widely | BusinessPartnerWorkRetireStudyWorking holidayAncestry |
| Belize | $6,250/moWork Where You Vacation (long stay permit for remote workers) · USD 75,000/yr | 53% | 28.06 | Widely | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudy |
| South Korea | $6,442/moDigital Nomad (Workcation) visa F-1-D · KRW 104,830,000/yr | 57% | 0.48 | In hubs | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestWorkWorking holiday |
| Argentina | No income-based route | 46% | 4.49 | In hubs | Remote workPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudyWorking holiday |
| Australia | No income-based route | 91% | 0.85 | Widely | PartnerWorkStudyWorking holiday |
| Canada | No income-based route | 83% | 1.98 | Widely | PartnerWorkWorking holiday |
| Colombia | No income-based route | 38% | 24.91 | In hubs | Remote workBusinessPartnerInvestRetireWorkStudyWorking holiday |
| GermanyEU | No income-based route | 80% | 0.91 | In hubs | BusinessPartnerWorkRetireStudyWorking holidayAncestry |
| Japan | No income-based route | 65% | 0.23 | Limited | Remote workBusinessPartnerWorkWorking holiday |
| United Kingdom | No income-based route | 89% | 1.12 | Widely | BusinessPartnerWorkWorking holidayAncestry |
| Uruguay | No income-based route | 66% | 11.25 | In hubs | Remote workPartnerRetireWorkStudyWorking holiday |
| Vietnam | No income-based route | 28% | 1.54 (2011) | In hubs | PartnerInvestRetireWork |
No destination has an income-based route under that figure. Many accept savings instead; the matcher checks both.
Visa bar: the lowest open retirement, passive-income, or digital-nomad income requirement for a single applicant, any passport, from official sources checked between 2026-09-22 and 2026-09-29, converted to US dollars at ECB rates on 2026-09-22. Prices vs US: World Bank price level index (CC BY 4.0). Homicides /100k: World Bank intentional homicides per 100,000 people, latest year (CC BY 4.0; lower is safer; a year in brackets means no recent data). Sources: World Bank World Development Indicators API, IANA Time Zone Database / standard geographic reference, World Bank intentional homicides (VC.IHR.PSRC.P5), INFORM Risk Index, European Commission JRC.
How we're different
Most expat sites are travel magazines with affiliate links. We're a data-driven decision hub. Every page carries explicit 2026 numbers, a comparison table, a step-by-step process, and a list of sources, so every claim is easy to check.
- ✓ Numerate first. Every recommendation backed by a real number, dated 2026.
- ✓ De-romanticized. We tell you about the visa backlogs, the language wall, the moving-back rate.
- ✓ Sources cited. Every page includes a list of the sources we used.
- ✓ Updated quarterly. Visa thresholds change. We re-check the numbers and update the date.
- ✓ Brand-neutral. We recommend Cigna over SafetyWing, or the reverse, based on the numbers, not who pays us most.
- At a glance summary
- Comparison table (2026 thresholds)
- Per-option deep dive
- Decision framework
- FAQ (Reddit-sourced)
- Sources & methodology
- Last-reviewed stamp
Tired of "stunning destinations" and zero numbers?
Answer a few questions and see which 2026 visa routes you actually qualify for, with the income and savings bars converted to your currency.
Take the Country Matcher →