>Can an american get a work visa and get permanent residency in EU countries with ease Nothing is easy, especially when it comes to moving countries. I can of

>Can an american get a work visa and get permanent residency in EU countries with ease Nothing is easy, especially when it comes to moving countries. I can offer insight on the Netherlands specifically. Other EU countries might have similar systems in place, though each is different. There are generally three options for an American to move to the Netherlands for work: 1) get a highly-skilled job outright with a Dutch company that fulfills certain criteria in a position which cannot be filled locally. Not all companies are eligible to hire highly-skilled migrants from abroad (they have to apply to do so, and there are considerable costs involved). There are some nice tax perks to this (see 30% ruling). 2) start your own business with relatively small investment capital (<5000eur) and gain residence through the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAFT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAFT) 3) get a Master's degree from a Dutch university, after which you'll have full access to the Dutch job market for one year, then you'll receive a highly-skilled migrant work visa The above provide a path to a renewable residence permit for highly-skilled migrants. Typically you'll start working with a temporary 1-yr contract which, assuming things go well, will be extended for another year. After 2 years of temporary contracts and if the company still wants to keep you they'll give you an indefinite contract. After this, you'll next receive a highly-skilled migrant visa valid for 5 years. An American is eligible for permanent residence after having lived uninteruppted in the Netherlands for 5 years and after passing an integration test. The integration test requires that you speak Dutch, though honestly this is not so difficult (it's at an A1 level and the tests are fairly basic; they also test your ability to function in the Dutch job market and society which is a bit silly to ask of a highly-skilled migrant who's already successfully lived there for 5 years). I'm sort of in the process of gaining permanent residence. I have the time, the degree, the job, and most of the Dutch; it's only a matter of passing the test and submitting the paperwork. But since I have a 5-yr permit and permanent job contract already I'm not in a major rush. edit: I feel like it's important to point out that the highly-skilled migrant permit is obtained for you on behalf of your employer, however it is not tied to that employer. You're free to find other work elsewhere without any retribution.