The short version
- To live in Europe, you need a long-stay visa or residence permit from one country. A visa-free visit is only for short stays.
- The main routes are remote work, freelance work, study, retirement on passive income, investment, a working holiday and citizenship through a parent or grandparent.
- Most routes ask you to show income or savings. Each country sets its own figures, and they change.
- One simple setup is to start from what you already have, like remote income, a pension or an Irish grandparent, and then pick the country.
How do you move to Europe?
You pick one country and get its long-stay visa or residence permit. There is no single visa for all of Europe. Each country runs its own routes, sets its own figures and decides its own cases.
A visa-free visit is not a move. Many passports can visit the Schengen area without a visa, but only for short stays. Read how the Schengen 90/180 rule works to see how those days add up.
The routes in this guide are for people from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland. That is who these visas are written for. Your passport can still change the details, like the places on a working holiday scheme, so check the official page for your own case.
Which visas let you live in Europe?
Seven routes cover the main options. Each one fits a different starting point: how you earn, how old you are, what you own or who your family is.
| Route | Who it fits | What you show | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital nomad | Remote workers paid from abroad | Monthly income | Croatia, Spain, Portugal |
| Freelance | People who work for themselves | Income, savings or a plan | Germany, France, Portugal |
| Student | Students with a place | Money to live on | Germany and France |
| Retirement | People with a pension | Steady income | Portugal, Spain, France |
| Golden visa | Investors | An investment | Greece, Italy, Portugal |
| Working holiday | Young adults, by passport | Age and funds | Austria and Portugal |
| Descent | People with family ties | Family records | Ireland, Italy, the UK |
A job offer from a local employer is another route. Each country runs its own work permits for that, and this guide does not cover them.
Can you move to Europe if you work remotely?
Yes. Many European countries run a digital nomad visa for people who work online for an employer or clients based abroad. You show a steady income, and you usually cannot work for local employers.
Three examples, from the official pages:
- Croatia. At least EUR 3,622.50 a month, or EUR 43,470 in the bank for a 12-month stay. The stay lasts up to 18 months. You cannot work for employers in Croatia. Details are on the Croatian Ministry of the Interior page for digital nomads.
- Spain. 200% of Spain's monthly minimum wage, which the official FAQ gives as EUR 1,221 at present. If you are self-employed, work for Spanish companies can be up to 20% of your total work.
- Portugal. An average monthly income over the last 3 months of at least 4 times the monthly minimum wage.
The figures differ a lot from one country to the next. The digital nomad visa countries list puts the income, stay and fee for each one side by side.
Can freelancers move to Europe?
Yes. Several countries give a residence permit for self-employed work. They tend to look at your plan and your money, and some set no fixed income line at all.
- Germany. A residence permit for freelance work. The German embassy in London says you need the means or income to fund your work and support yourself. It says most cases take 6 to 9 months.
- France. A card for entrepreneurs and liberal professions. The activity must be able to bring in at least EUR 1,867.02 a month. The first card lasts 1 year and costs EUR 350 in tax stamps.
- Portugal. A residence visa for independent work. The money test is based on the minimum wage, EUR 920 a month in 2026, and a contract or a written offer from a client can count.
Germany, France and Portugal are three of many. Compare the rest on the freelance visa countries list.
Can you move to Europe to study?
Yes, with a place on a full-time course and money to live on. A student permit often lets you work part time too.
- Germany. At least EUR 992 a month, so EUR 11,904 for the first year, says a German embassy visa page. The law lets students work up to 140 days a year. The permit usually lasts 2 years at a time.
- France. At least EUR 877.50 a month for the student long-stay visa.
Tuition, work hours and what happens after you graduate differ a lot by country. Check the school and the official immigration page together.
Can you retire to Europe?
Yes. Several countries give a permit to people who live on a pension or other passive income. You show the income, and on some of these permits you cannot work at all.
- Portugal. At least the national minimum wage, EUR 920 a month in 2026, after social security. A second adult adds 50% and each child adds 30%, says the Portuguese visa page on means of subsistence.
- Spain. The non-working residence visa asks for 400% of the IPREM, an index Spain sets each year. The IPREM is EUR 600 a month in 2026, so that is EUR 2,400 a month. The visa does not allow any work, not even remote work, says the Spanish consulate in Washington.
- France. The visitor card asks for at least EUR 1,477.93 a month after tax for one person, or EUR 17,735.19 a year. You cannot work in France on it.
Age rules, health insurance and the path to permanent residence are on the retirement visa countries list.
Can you buy residency in Europe?
Some countries still give residence for an investment, often called a golden visa. It gives you a permit to live there, not citizenship. Several schemes have closed.
- Greece. One route is a listed building, or a property that holds one, worth at least EUR 250,000. The permit lasts 5 years. Other routes ask for more.
- Italy. EUR 250,000 in an Italian innovative startup, or EUR 500,000 in an Italian company, among other routes. The visa lasts 2 years.
- Portugal. EUR 250,000 or more for the arts or national heritage, among other routes. The investment cannot go into property.
Two well-known schemes are closed. Spain took its investor visa out of the law in April 2025. Ireland closed its Immigrant Investor Programme to new applications in February 2023.
Is there a working holiday visa for Europe?
Yes, in some countries and for some passports. A working holiday visa lets young adults live and work in one country for up to about a year. Which countries you can use depends on your passport.
- Austria. For ages 18 to 30, for six to twelve months. The visa costs EUR 195. For US passports there are 100 places a year, for people who graduated in the last 12 months.
- Portugal. Youth mobility visas for up to 12 months, with no extension. Portugal's deal with the US allows 400 of these visas.
Other European countries run schemes with other passports. The age limit, the places and the money you need all depend on the deal between the two countries.
Can a parent or grandparent make you a citizen?
Sometimes. Some European countries pass citizenship down through parents, and some through grandparents. This is not a visa. If you qualify, you become a citizen of that country.
- Ireland. If a grandparent was born in Ireland, you can apply to the Foreign Births Register. Once you are entered on it, you are an Irish citizen.
- Italy. Since a 2025 change, people born abroad who hold another citizenship usually need a parent or grandparent who held only Italian citizenship.
- The UK. British citizenship normally passes down one generation to children born outside the UK.
The rules turn on dates and on each link in your family line. Answer a few questions in the citizenship by descent checker to see where you stand.
Which route fits you?
The one that matches what you already have. One simple setup is to pick the route from your income, age and family first, then compare countries on that route:
- Paid by an employer or clients abroad: a digital nomad visa.
- Running your own business: a freelance permit.
- Living on a pension or passive income: a retirement visa.
- Young, with a passport on a scheme: a working holiday visa.
- A parent or grandparent from Europe: check descent first, since it leads to citizenship rather than a permit.
Many permits also ask for health insurance, a clean criminal record and somewhere to live. Rules and figures change, so read the official page on the day you apply.