Country list
This page offers a high-level overview of the different types of visas and pathways to immigration that countries offer. It is designed to help you narrow down the list of options, depending on your situation.
This table does not list "family route" (i.e. "residency by marriage") options. Most countries offer some form of this, but access to that will be highly dependent on your personal life circumstances.
| Country | Continent | Medical Inadmissibility | Citizenship by ancestry | Student Visa | Work Visa | Digital Nomad Visa | Investor/Freelance Visa | Other visas | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | South America | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, for 180 days | Yes | ||
| Australia | Australia | ||||||||
| Austria | Europe | ||||||||
| Brazil | South America | ||||||||
| Canada | North America | Yes | Yes (needs one Canadian parent) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| Costa Rica | Central America | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Cuba | North America | ||||||||
| Cyprus | Europe | ||||||||
| Denmark | Europe | ||||||||
| France | Europe | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Germany | Europe | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | "Artist visa" as special type of freelance visa | Part of EU & Schengen area |
| Greece | Europe | ||||||||
| Hungary | Europe | ||||||||
| Iceland | Europe | Yes, for 180 days | |||||||
| Ireland | Europe | Yes | |||||||
| Israel | W Asia | ||||||||
| Italy | Europe | ||||||||
| Japan | E Asia | Yes, for 6 months | |||||||
| Mexico | North America | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tourist visa for 180 days can be renewed by leaving and coming back | ||||
| Mongolia | Asia | ||||||||
| The Netherlands | Europe | No | It's complicated | Yes | Yes | No | Yes, the DAFT | Part of EU & Schengen area | |
| New Zealand | Australia | Yes | Yes | Yes
Fast track to residency for certain jobs |
Yes, 1 year | Citizens/residents can also live in Australia | |||
| Norway | Europe | ||||||||
| Poland | Europe | ||||||||
| Portugal | Europe | No | It's complicated, generally yes, if a parent/grandparent is a citizen | Yes | Yes | Yes, short-term (≤12 months) & long-term (≤5 years w/ possibility of citizenship) | Yes for investment, see Digital Nomad for Freelance | - visa for retirees/recipients of passive income
- entrepreneur visa - visa for "Highly Qualified Professionals" - family reunification visa |
Part of EU/Schengen |
| South Africa | Africa | Yes (needs one South African parent) | Yes | Yes | No | Business Visa | - Retired Persons' Visa | ||
| Sweden | Europe | ||||||||
| Switzerland | Europe | ||||||||
| Taiwan | E Asia | Yes (needs one Taiwanese parent) | Yes
Gold Card (For specialized fields) |
Yes | Yes | ||||
| Thailand | SE Asia | No | Yes | Yes | |||||
| United Kingdom | Europe | Yes | Yes | "Global Talent" visas for people in tech | Border union with Ireland, but not EU since Brexit. | ||||
| Uruguay | South America | No | Yes | Yes | Yes, for 180 days, extendable and path to residency | Yes | |||
| Viet Nam | SE Asia |
There is also an emerging section about Digital Nomad Visas as an emergency-option.
Help us
Countries that are of interest but don't have a page yet
We are still looking for information on more countries and other special jurisdictions. These have been mentioned on social media as being interesting targets, so if you have something to contribute for them, please contact us: