Getting Out: Your Guide to Leaving America (Updated and Expanded Edition)

Part I

The Basics:

Living and Working

Getting In...And Staying In: Visas,

Residency, Work Permits and Citizenship

For many people, the first question that comes to mind when considering moving abroad is Will they let me live there? Countries tend to be like country clubs and the particularly affluent and desirable ones are picky about who they let in. By contrast, other nations, usually poorer, have a much more open-door policy. Latin American and Southeast Asian countries are magnets for expats in part because being able to legally reside there is so easy. Western Europe tends to be more difficult and much of Scandinavia, as well as Iceland, pretty much a pipe dream for most people. Unless of course you have lots of money. Or a job offer. Or needed talent. Any number of factors can add to the odds or the ease with which you establish legal residency.

For just about anyone who moves abroad, regardless of the length of time they’ve been away and how many times they’ve been through it before, applying for and waiting for approval of their visas and permits is the most stressful and nerve-racking aspect of life in a foreign country.

An almost universal residency requirement for any functional state, unless you qualify for refugee status or as an asylum seeker (these categories are seldom if ever applicable to Americans and other Westerners, and are not covered in this book), is that you be able to demonstrate that you can support yourself. Often this is calculated as a function of the subsistence wage in that country—thus in the poorer countries, you might find requirements as low as a few hundred dollars a month. While this requirement might seldom exceed $2000 a month in more affluent countries, in practice, without a compelling reason to grant you permission to stay (e.g. a spouse), your actual requirement can be many times higher. For most of the nations on earth (who aren’t choosing to isolate themselves for political, religious or ethnic reasons), having sufficient wealth means you’ll find few obstacles to extended residency even among the most selective and exclusive nations of Europe. Should you invest money into the economy, or better yet, hire local labor, then your entry obstacles evaporate even further.

Doing business can also be an in. In some cases, like in Mexico, just setting up a company that only exists on paper is sufficient. More often, you’ll be required to demonstrate (through accounting records, business licenses, etc.) that you are engaged in real and legitimate business. Freelancers, too, can also sometimes squeeze in under this rubric.

Arriving somewhere with a job offer (where the employer has received permission or is otherwise allowed to hire or contract foreign labor) means not only will you have proof of self-sufficiency, but generally speaking, you should find getting your visas, permits and residency to be little more than bureaucratic formalities and paperwork—most of which your employer will do for you. Countries whose industries are short of certain skills or background (construction, IT, etc.) may relax visa requirements as a way to attract people with those qualifications. Often, these categories are posted on the country’s visa/immigration website.

Students have a pretty easy time getting permission to study in almost any country. Academics get easy treatment, too. Artists, particularly established ones, can often get special visas in many parts of the world as do journalists and religious and volunteer workers. And of course, if you have a relative, spouse or even a fiancé in that country, there’s likely a special path in for you, as well.

Only a tiny percentage of Americans who leave make it all the way to foreign citizenship. In fact, it’s possible to live your entire lifetime abroad and never become more than a guest of your adopted country. Even if citizenship is your goal, and even if you can place yourself into one of those fast-track categories, you’re still going to enter on a visa, and often you’re going to have to establish years of legal residency before you’re sworn in and given your new passport. And certainly, if you’re only planning a few-month reconnaissance trip to your prospective homeland, or just want to take a short America break for a year or so, the visa game is all you need to know.

Visas: What Are They Good For?

Although the word visa is commonly used generically to refer to all documents that govern your stay in the country, in some places a visa merely allows you to cross the border and enter the country. To remain there for any realistic length of time, non-citizens must have a residency permit. These are often coupled with the visa. Other times, they must be applied for separately and in different places (one, say, at the consulate in the U.S. and the other at a police station in your new country). Often approval for the former renders approval for the latter a mere formality (indeed, having the former is a condition of getting the latter) but in some cases, you might feel like you’re starting again from scratch. Some are rubber-stamped into your passport; others are affixed with a sticker or issued as a separate document. Each government has devised its own diabolically confusing system by which visas can either have names, letters or numbers, or some combination of all three. Some are given out freely, with only the barest of formalities, while others involve a lengthy bureaucratic process. Sometimes you’re required to state the purpose of your visit (immigration, retirement, business, tourism, university study, work, etc.) and stick to it. Other times, you can arrive as a tourist (often without any kind of application beforehand) and switch to another type of visa/residence permit after you arrive.

You must get the specific requirements for your particular visa from the consulate of the country concerned and it’s critical that your information be current because these requirements can often change like the seasons. Rules can often be long and complicated, and while Canada and the U.K., for instance, have moved much of the immigration and registry process to the Internet, you will most likely wait in lots of lines and in some cases be better off hiring an attorney. In Southeast Asia and Latin America, where expats are considered an industry, there are armies of these competing paper-pushers who will, for as little as a few hundred dollars, navigate the bureaucracy for you, leaving you little to do except show up and sign the papers. In first-world countries, this type of help is as expensive as what you would imagine any kind of qualified legal advice and assistance to be.

Generally your visa has three important components:

Length of Stay/Re-entry Allowance

All visas state how long you are allowed to remain in the country. You can be issued a three-day transit visa, good for simply crossing the country on your way to somewhere else, or one that’s good for the rest of your life. Typically, once you graduate past tourist status, your permit will allow you to enter and leave the country as often as you like, but some do require that you reapply if you leave the country. Because visas are, strictly speaking, the document that allows you to enter the country (as opposed to a resident permit which technically allows you to remain, although in practice these two are often lumped together), they often have a validity period. Although confusing, this usually does not refer to the length of time you can stay, but the window of time in which you must enter the country—which is to say, after the validity period, your visa will have expired and if you haven’t entered the country already, you likely won’t be allowed in the country even if you have a valid resident permit (obviously, this is only pertinent to visas not issued at the border, upon entry).

Prohibited Activities

This usually means work. Sometimes no employment is allowed at all. Other times, you are allowed to work in a specific industry or at a specific place of employment. Other common restrictions include the ability to take advantage of social services, buy/own property or a business, or occasionally live outside a designated region or regions.

Renewability/Changeability

How many times can your visa be extended, if at all? Can you apply for a different class of visa while you hold your current one? Renewable visas are the surest path to permanent residency and citizenship.

Important Note:

Not all visas are issued within the destination country. Some must be applied for in advance at an embassy or consul and still others can only be issued while you’re still in your home country. Be sure you know the terms before you leave. For example, if you were to arrive in Spain on a tourist visa and decide to change your status, you could find yourself having to return to the United States before your visa can be changed—a pretty significant detour. At the very least, you will have to leave the country or the region before your new paperwork is sorted out.

Depending on the country and the type of infraction, violating the terms of your visa can lead to repercussions as mild as a small fine and as severe as jail and deportation. In some countries, such as Argentina, overstaying your allotted time is part of some expats’ strategy, since they regard the fine as simply the price of staying in-country. In most cases, however, violating your terms (of length of stay, employment or other proscribed activities) is risky business... and should be avoided.

Applications for visas can require a host of documents:

Police Report

Because most countries are not interested in accepting criminals, particularly those on the lam, you may be asked to present yourself at your local police precinct and request a document which states that you’re not wanted for any crimes in the United States. The document will also list your police record, if any. In some cases, you’re required to get this from the FBI, a process which involves being fingerprinted and having the results sent to Washington D.C. before a letter is issued clearing your name.

Evidence of Sufficient Funds

Bank statements, pay stubs, pension plans or other documents that demonstrate you have enough funds or income to live on for the specified period of the visa. Sometimes these even must be certified by an accountant. The amount is usually calculated to be slightly above the local minimum wage. In cash-strapped nations, you probably won’t encounter more than a cursory nod at these requirements. But the higher up the food chain you go in terms of per-capita GDP, the more deeply you can expect your solvency to be scrutinized.

Proof of Health Insurance

Likewise, many countries want to be certain that should you fall ill or meet with a life-threatening accident, someone other than the State will pick up the bill.

AIDS Test

More countries are requiring a certificate stating that you have been recently (usually within the past six months) tested and have been found to be HIV-negative.

Vaccinations

Unless you’ve traveled through some infested area, which, for the time being anyway, won’t be the case if you’re coming from the U.S., you do not need vaccinations to travel anywhere on the planet.

Depending on what kind of residency or citizenship status you are seeking, birth certificates, marriage licenses, separation agreements, divorce decrees, and death certificates might all be required. Start collecting those today. There will be applications to fill out, photos to submit, and finally, money: excepting most tourist class visas, you will be Euro’d and Yen’d to death. In Cambodia, you might pay as little as $25, while a Swiss residency permit (depending on where you settle) can go as high as €1500. If you’re looking to relocate to a large European country, costs can easily run into the thousands of dollars before you reach permanent residency or citizenship. Again, poorer countries treat these visa fees as revenue generators and unless you present yourself as a truly undesirable specimen, they aren’t in the habit of peering into the paperwork too closely, as long as legal tender is being ponied up. The greater the affluence of the country, however, the tinier role your ability to pay the administrative fees will play in the decision to approve a visa or residency. In any case, you’ll need to factor these additional costs into your overall budget.

You don’t have to expect much in the way of language or cultural literacy requirements in the early going, but should you attempt to reside in a country permanently or acquire citizenship then these will likely be put to the test. There is also the not-insignificant factor that few countries will provide you with the necessary forms and instructions in English.

So, where do you find out more?

In most cases, to get the requirements for a particular visa, you’ll need to contact the embassy or consulate of the country in question. You can usually visit their websites and find the info under Consular Affairs. Also check the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Immigration Bureau website. It’s becoming rarer and rarer for information on these sites not to be presented in English. A comprehensive list is maintained online at www.gettingoutofamerica.com.

Apostilles:

When sifting through the requirements for visas, residency or citizenship, you’ll often come across the word apostille. This is something akin to an international notarization in countries that are signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention (Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents) as a simplified method of certifying documents that might be required by a foreign government, in cases where it’s impractical or impossible to submit the original document (say, a passport). In the United States, the certifying (apostille) agency is the office of the state’s Secretary of State in which the document was issued (i.e., birth certificate), though depending on the document (court documents, military documents, etc.) and the state in question, different procedures may apply. Further information about apostilles can be found in the Specialised section on the Hague website www.hcch.net and through the Secretary of State (usually, this information is posted on their website) of the relevant state.

The following countries are signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention (note: the list of Hague signatories can differ depending on the particular Convention in question):

Albania

Argentina

Australia

Austria

Belarus

Belgium

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Bulgaria

China, People’s Republic of

Costa Rica

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Ecuador

Estonia

France

Finland

Georgia

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

India

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Malta

Mauritius

Mexico

Monaco

Montenegro

Morocco

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Panama

Peru

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

South Africa

Spain

South Korea

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

USA

Venezuela

Field Guide to Common Visas

Visas come in all shapes and sizes. Visas granted to refugees don’t really apply to the U.S. expat, although the way things are going, that may change. Ditto, asylum seekers. The Transit Visa (allowing you to cross a country’s territory on your way to somewhere else) or Medical Visa (allowing you to visit for the purposes of medical treatment), are too specific to bother considering. Some countries issue specific visas for every application category, while in other places they are lumped into three or four overall types, with multiple possibilities for acquiring each one. Eligibility for any visa or permit is seldom 100% clear-cut and can be subject to legal hairsplitting and the caprice of random bureaucrats. Still, most people who succeed in staying on long after all the holiday-makers are back home, generally do it via the following types of visas. Again, names, terms and availability vary widely from country to country.

Permanent Resident

The equivalent of the U.S. Resident Alien or Green Card. The Permanent Resident Visa usually allows you to do almost anything a citizen can do except vote and travel under that nation’s passport, though there are more than a few exceptions to this rule. Often, you are also required to spend a certain percentage of your time residing in that country. After a given number of years, you can usually qualify for citizenship. The rules for obtaining permanent residency often don’t veer too far from rules for citizenship. In other cases, they’re not really permanent at all, but simply allow for longer-term stays than other permits offered by that country.

Temporary Resident/Settlement/Long-Stay Visa

Often a stepping stone to permanent residency, this sort of visa has a specific designation (three, five, or 10 years) and can come with none, some or all of the restrictions placed on other visas.

The following visas are sometimes issued on their own and at other times are used as a consideration for offering one of the residency permits outlined above:

Family Reunion/Marriage/Relative Visa

In the interest of keeping families together, governments often make allowances for family members of citizens or residents to come over and stay. Sometimes these require that you actually live with your family or that your family make a pledge to financially support you while you are in the country. In any case, should you have family living there, you’re more than likely to be fast-tracked into residency.

Marriage/Spouse Visa

Marry a citizen or permanent resident and you’re granted one of these, usually on your way to permanent residency or citizenship. In countries like New Zealand, these privileges extend even to fiancés and domestic partners, though eventually you’ll be expected to tie the knot or get out. Many progressive governments (Canada, Holland, Germany, etc.) recognize same-sex partnerships for visas and immigration.

Visas for Dependents

In many cases, if a family member is granted any residence visa, there will be some accommodation for family and spouse (though financial self-sufficiency requirements will be adjusted accordingly). Work or business visas often come with visas for spouses/dependents (generally children under 18, but if you can make a case that you have to take care of your old mother, that can sometimes fly). With investment and retirement visas, there is usually an additional amount added to the minimum investment or stipend (much lower than the original amount) for each additional dependent. Malta, for instance, requires an additional $2,500/year over and above the minimum required income, per dependent. In the case of Hong Kong, though, once you’ve sunk $1.2mil into their economy for their investment visa, the wife and kids are on the house.

Pension/Retirement Visa

The Pensionado, as most people know it, is how countries attract people who will spend money, won’t make trouble, and won’t enter the job market. If you can prove you have a guaranteed income, usually in the form of some kind of pension (in Costa Rica, $1,000 a month; in Thailand approximately $2,100), and are over a specified age (as low as 45, as high as 60), this is the option best worth taking. Often your Social Security benefits are enough. Though also aimed at retirees, the rentista visa offers similar terms with no minimum age limit. In Mexico and Panama, for example, anyone who can provide evidence of a guaranteed income of approximately $1,000 a month (plus a few hundred for each additional family member) can qualify for a visa.

Investment Visas

Few countries say no to money. If you have deep pockets and are willing to invest in a given nation’s economy, you shouldn’t encounter too many obstacles obtaining residency. For example, Vanuatu’s five-year residency is yours with an investment of around $200,000. In Australia, you wouldn’t get by without sinking over $600,000 in a designated investment in the national business economy. The U.K. would like to see you pony up around $360,000 if you’re actually going to be working in your business (you must also hire at least two full-time employees), $1.35 million if you’re just going to sink money into the country and do nothing else ("passive investment’). In the low-rent countries of Latin America and Southeast Asia such visas are within middle-class means, especially since in many cases, real estate qualifies as an investment. Panama will allow you in if you simply deposit $300,000 in a savings account. If your politics are as green as your bank account, investing a mere $60,000 in Panama’s rainforest reforestation program ($100,000 in Costa Rica) gets you in, too.

Working With Your Visa

For many people, moving abroad without being allowed to work is a nonstarter. How easy or difficult it is to get permission to make a living depends on where you go, what you do, and most importantly, who you work for (i.e., yourself, a local company, a foreign company). These permits can be issued as standalone visas or as an addition to your residency visa. Generally, they fall along the following lines:

Work Permit

Few nations have any incentive to allow foreigners to take jobs that could possibly go to locals. Typically you have to beg, cajole or otherwise convince a local employer to sponsor you. That means he vouches that he couldn’t find a qualified candidate domestically. Usually, the government’s ministry of labor or equivalent bureau must approve the request. If you truly have mad skills in what you do, then somebody might be motivated to do that on your behalf. Many of the finest restaurants in the world for instance, have their meals cooked by foreign-born chefs. Obviously, the bar tends to be lower with highly technical and specialized skills but quite high if you just want to tend bar or wash dishes. Jobs requiring native English speakers are usually allowed (including of course, English teaching, where the school can be expected to handle the details for you). Work permits can sometimes restrict you to one location, one job, one company. If you’re fired or you quite, you’re back to square one, unless there is some allowance to seek other work. Some even allow your husband or wife to work, too. In almost all cases, a permanent residency allows you the right to seek employment just like any other citizen. Spousal visas, too, often allow unrestricted employment. For further information on work issues, see Jobs Chapter.

Overseas Employee Visa

If a U.S. company sends you to work at the São Paulo office, often you’ll get one of these from the government and moving expenses from the firm. In many cases, you can simply set up a company or corporation in the U.S. and declare your new home to be a branch office, with yourself, of course, as the main employee, since immigration officials often recognize branch offices as a valid visa category.

Business Visa

Sometimes these are issued to businessmen and aren’t much different from ordinary tourist visas. Others are geared toward people who will stay and conduct business for stays of one to five years or more. People who export local goods, buy and sell real estate, or work in the tourist trade often operate under one of these. Sometimes solo freelancers must file for these (other times, there is a separate self-employment visa). In many countries, it’s possible to set up an empty holding company and get one. In other places, you might be required to actually demonstrate that business is being conducted. Such places usually generate armies of immigration attorneys and consultants who charge a fee to process the pro forma paperwork. If you actually do have a company AND you hire local labor, your chances of being welcomed with generous visa terms increases dramatically.

Self-Employment Visa

Freelancers who can take their game overseas usually aim for one of these. You’ll usually be asked to present documents—bank statements, business invoices, etc.—that you really do have a career and that it earns you income so that you won’t be hitting up the local job market. The Internet, social networking, cloud computing, online videoconferencing and other virtual tools have spawned countless possibilities for independent contractor types to conduct their business wherever they are. Because expatriates tend to be independent-minded to begin with, a large percentage of non-retirees of ordinary means fall into this category.

Needed Skill/Expert Visa

This kind of visa allows you to surf the job market like any other local. The catch is, you have to match certain designated skills and occupations that the government would like to attract. Canada, New Zealand, and Australia post their current needs on their websites.

Canada: www.cic.gc.ca

Australia: www.immi.gov.au

New Zealand: www.govt.nz

Working Holiday/Travel and Working Visa

Ireland, U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada all offer some kind of short-term work scheme for recent college grads under the age of 30. Ireland gives you a stingy four months; Canada and New Zealand give you a year. The U.K. has a slightly different scheme, as they call it, which lets you work for six months. If you’re a skilled networker, you can use this time to make the necessary connections that will allow you to stay on more permanently. For Americans, these visas are managed through a private foundation, usually BUNAC, www.bunac.com, which will take care of all the paperwork for you for $400–$750, depending on the country. You’ll arrive with permit in hand, and have some resources at your disposal, but finding an actual job is up to