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Question to HN: What are the easiest countries for people from <anywhere> to move to as a software developer? Eg; easiest visa rules, there are companies hiring

by rattray 11y ago

Question to HN: What are the easiest countries for people from <anywhere> to move to as a software developer? Eg; easiest visa rules, there are companies hiring, people aren't egregiously racist?

cpayne 11y ago
New Zealand! As RowanH suggested above. Have a look at www.seek.co.nz
- mattlutze 11y ago
  I've looked at NZ a bit as some friends live there -- it seems they've made it super, super easy to immigrate if you're in IT and can find a job in (4, 6?) months.
semaphore_233 11y ago
Germany will pretty much extend you the red carpet: getting a visa takes a couple of weeks and the deal is pretty decent. There are some societal problems with xenophobia and racism though. Probably affects Muslims the most. Avoidable by going to a major city like Berlin or Hamburg.
- mattlutze 11y ago
  Development and tech jobs are not so easy to come by in Germany without B2 or better working knowledge of the language. You can come to Germany on a language visa, but you have to prove you have enough savings to live off of while you learn (and you can't work while you're on a language visa). Work visas are generally only issued if you already have an offer. Which is hard to get unless you're in the country...
  - mlent 11y ago
    Not true at all in my experience. You don't need to know any German, but you do need a university degree, so this isn't an option for OP either way.
    - mattlutze 11y ago
      Where do you live? Maybe you're somewhere hit harder with the dearth of qualified applicants. In southern Germany, engineering jobs have been difficult to find for my expat friends that don't know German. "Sehr gute kenntnisse auf Deutsch / Englisch" accompanies most any listing.
  - playing_colours 11y ago
    I suggest to check Berlin and Hamburg. There are lots of both startups and established companies (yesterday's startups) where German is not required. The biggest hiring now are Zalando, SoundCloud. But this is true for software engineers. If you are an electrical or mechanical engineer, sure, the best places are Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, where German is mostly a must.
mosselman 11y ago
The Netherlands. The only requirement is that you learn Dutch at a very basic level. Apart from that everybody, and I mean everybody, speaks English and the standards of living are among the highest in the world. Sure beats living on a mattress in some illegal housing in L.A.
- the_human_torch 11y ago
  I've been living in the Netherlands for nearly 7 years and haven't even tried to learn Dutch yet. Completely concur that it's an easy and wonderful country to live in, and there's tons of work for good software developers.
  - jotm 11y ago
    They must love you there :-). I lived in Belgium/W Flanders and some people were getting angry that I don't know Dutch...
    - NicoJuicy 11y ago
      I don't know where you lived exactly, but i do live in West-Flanders. West-Flanders is actually (almost) Dutch only, not a lot of IT in here and a lot of agricultre. I don't mind, but i suppose a lot of older people ( who don't know english) could have a hard time having a conversation with you :) Where did you live?
      - jotm 11y ago
        Blankenberge. Was there for a couple of months, quaint little town, and close to Brugge, which is also very nice :-)
        NicoJuicy 11y ago
        Lol, that's a half an hour drive from here.. Would be funny if you still were there :p ( considering i don't see much belgians here and especially people located in West-Flanders )
sumedh 11y ago
Australia
woanversace 11y ago
VietNam
hal9000xp 11y ago
Easiest one is Sweden among western wealthy countries! I don't have university degree and I didn't have big salary. They gave me a work permit in one week! In short, you only have to get job offer to relocate to Sweden. They didn't even check my employment history.
- rplnt 11y ago
  What was your "source" country though? I'd imagine it would depend on that a lot.
  - hal9000xp 11y ago
    I'm from Russia. It means I don't have any privileges in getting visa in any European country.
    - jacobush 11y ago
      Native Swede here. Welcome to Sweden! I take every opportunity to make a point of welcoming Russians to live and work here, while at the same time denouncing Russia's regime. Being afraid of the Russian Federation and her recent actions is not the same as being afraid of or disliking Russians. Just wanted to get that out...
      - hal9000xp 11y ago
        Thank you! Last two years, me and my friends (who are software engineers) left Russia. I have Russian friends in Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, UK, US. So western countries get more high qualified people like me and my friends. Putin motivate high qualified people to find a job in Europe :) And as everybody agree in 21 century, high qualified people is everything for growing economy.
      - ForFreedom 11y ago
        So whats the website I need to go check if I am eligible for a work visa?
NicoJuicy 11y ago
There's plenty of work in Belgium/Brussels ;) . If you know angular / java, i can hook you up with someone who is looking to set-up a software development team at this moment
jacquesm 11y ago
As a Dutch person I have to disagree with the suggestions to move to NL, I've assisted quite a few people with moving here and the situation with the IND is dreadful. I'd suggest Germany instead which seems to be on the whole a lot more welcoming to skilled people.

by rattray 11y ago

Question to HN: What are the easiest countries for people from <anywhere> to move to as a software developer? Eg; easiest visa rules, there are companies hiring, people aren't egregiously racist?

cpayne 11y ago

New Zealand! As RowanH suggested above. Have a look at www.seek.co.nz

mattlutze 11y ago
I've looked at NZ a bit as some friends live there -- it seems they've made it super, super easy to immigrate if you're in IT and can find a job in (4, 6?) months.

semaphore_233 11y ago

Germany will pretty much extend you the red carpet: getting a visa takes a couple of weeks and the deal is pretty decent. There are some societal problems with xenophobia and racism though. Probably affects Muslims the most. Avoidable by going to a major city like Berlin or Hamburg.

mattlutze 11y ago
Development and tech jobs are not so easy to come by in Germany without B2 or better working knowledge of the language. You can come to Germany on a language visa, but you have to prove you have enough savings to live off of while you learn (and you can't work while you're on a language visa). Work visas are generally only issued if you already have an offer. Which is hard to get unless you're in the country...
- mlent 11y ago
  Not true at all in my experience. You don't need to know any German, but you do need a university degree, so this isn't an option for OP either way.
  - mattlutze 11y ago
    Where do you live? Maybe you're somewhere hit harder with the dearth of qualified applicants. In southern Germany, engineering jobs have been difficult to find for my expat friends that don't know German. "Sehr gute kenntnisse auf Deutsch / Englisch" accompanies most any listing.
- playing_colours 11y ago
  I suggest to check Berlin and Hamburg. There are lots of both startups and established companies (yesterday's startups) where German is not required. The biggest hiring now are Zalando, SoundCloud. But this is true for software engineers. If you are an electrical or mechanical engineer, sure, the best places are Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, where German is mostly a must.

mosselman 11y ago

The Netherlands. The only requirement is that you learn Dutch at a very basic level. Apart from that everybody, and I mean everybody, speaks English and the standards of living are among the highest in the world. Sure beats living on a mattress in some illegal housing in L.A.

the_human_torch 11y ago
I've been living in the Netherlands for nearly 7 years and haven't even tried to learn Dutch yet. Completely concur that it's an easy and wonderful country to live in, and there's tons of work for good software developers.
- jotm 11y ago
  They must love you there :-). I lived in Belgium/W Flanders and some people were getting angry that I don't know Dutch...
  - NicoJuicy 11y ago
    I don't know where you lived exactly, but i do live in West-Flanders. West-Flanders is actually (almost) Dutch only, not a lot of IT in here and a lot of agricultre. I don't mind, but i suppose a lot of older people ( who don't know english) could have a hard time having a conversation with you :) Where did you live?
    - jotm 11y ago
      Blankenberge. Was there for a couple of months, quaint little town, and close to Brugge, which is also very nice :-)
      - NicoJuicy 11y ago
        Lol, that's a half an hour drive from here.. Would be funny if you still were there :p ( considering i don't see much belgians here and especially people located in West-Flanders )

sumedh 11y ago

Australia

woanversace 11y ago

VietNam

hal9000xp 11y ago

Easiest one is Sweden among western wealthy countries! I don't have university degree and I didn't have big salary. They gave me a work permit in one week! In short, you only have to get job offer to relocate to Sweden. They didn't even check my employment history.

rplnt 11y ago
What was your "source" country though? I'd imagine it would depend on that a lot.
- hal9000xp 11y ago
  I'm from Russia. It means I don't have any privileges in getting visa in any European country.
  - jacobush 11y ago
    Native Swede here. Welcome to Sweden! I take every opportunity to make a point of welcoming Russians to live and work here, while at the same time denouncing Russia's regime. Being afraid of the Russian Federation and her recent actions is not the same as being afraid of or disliking Russians. Just wanted to get that out...
    - hal9000xp 11y ago
      Thank you! Last two years, me and my friends (who are software engineers) left Russia. I have Russian friends in Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, UK, US. So western countries get more high qualified people like me and my friends. Putin motivate high qualified people to find a job in Europe :) And as everybody agree in 21 century, high qualified people is everything for growing economy.
    - ForFreedom 11y ago
      So whats the website I need to go check if I am eligible for a work visa?

NicoJuicy 11y ago

There's plenty of work in Belgium/Brussels ;) . If you know angular / java, i can hook you up with someone who is looking to set-up a software development team at this moment

jacquesm 11y ago

As a Dutch person I have to disagree with the suggestions to move to NL, I've assisted quite a few people with moving here and the situation with the IND is dreadful. I'd suggest Germany instead which seems to be on the whole a lot more welcoming to skilled people.