3 ms·

It's pretty easy to move to (most) European countries really. It's nothing like what you're hearing from people trying to move to the US. Most will just let yo

It's pretty easy to move to (most) European countries really. It's nothing like what you're hearing from people trying to move to the US. Most will just let you stay to work (visa/residence permit) with relatively little bureaucracy. As long as you have a job they won't bother you. There's some other requirements (qualified professional, certain income), but as a software developer you won't have any trouble. Your employer will probably help you. If you want to get a passport usually you'll need to have found work, lived in the country for a number of years, and pass various tests for your language ability and such. You will then likely also have to renounce your old citizenship. Specifying the country you wish to move to and where you're coming from would allow people here to give more helpful advice.

viraptor 6y ago
> You will then likely also have to renounce your old citizenship. That's limited only to a few countries (both origin and destination). Most of them don't really care about dual citizenships. https://m.dw.com/en/dual-citizenship-in-europe-which-rules-apply-where/a-38174853 https://m.dw.com/en/dual-citizenship-in-europe-which-rules-a...
pimterry 6y ago
> You will then likely also have to renounce your old citizenship. While that may be true to obtain citizenship, it won't be necessary anywhere for permanent residency. Citizenship is nice e.g. if you want to vote locally but isn't really necessary for anything else practical. Permanent residents will have equal access to health care, they have the same freedom to move elsewhere in the EU, etc etc. Citizenship might help if you want to commit crimes with no risk of being deported though, so maybe look into it before your first bank robbery.
silicon2401 6y ago
Does this apply for Germany, Austria, or Sweden? I speak German and have some familiarity with the (German) culture and country through a decade of study and a couple of visits. Less familiar with Sweden, but I fell in love with the country after visiting and was able to pick up some minimal understanding after studying it for a few months, so I don't think getting conversational would be too difficult.
- kyawzazaw 6y ago
  Germany has one of the easiest visas.
- makison 6y ago
  Getting into Germany is easier than into Austria for a non-eu. Check details for red-white-red card, though. But it takes a few months from what I hear.
- pajko 6y ago
  Sweden is a bit over-bureaucratic. To get a work visa, you need a job. To get a job, you need a home address in Sweden. To rent something to get a home address, you need work visa and a job, and it takes a lot of paperwork to break this cycle. Also depending on the city finding an apartment to rent can take a lot of time [1]. Consider adding Czechia to your list. Nice place with good beer, and central enough to easily visit other EU countries. Worth checking [2] and [3] [1] https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20160517-this-is-one-city-where-youll-never-find-a-home https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20160517-this-is-one-ci... [2] https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/country https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/country [3] https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Germany https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?cou...
  - silicon2401 6y ago
    Thanks very much for the info! Moving internationally is difficult enough without the destination being particularly bureaucratic. Maybe I'll target Germany first and just travel to Sweden if I manage to live the dream and move to Europe for a time. I'll also check out Czechia, sounds interesting. thanks!
    - 2rsf 6y ago
      @pajko is wrong and maybe is mixing Sweden with another country. You definitely don't need an home address in Sweden to get a work permit or a job (source- moved to Sweden, now a citizen) and the bureaucracy is really light for you and not over complicated for an employer. The process can take only a few weeks for a software engineer and a company registered in immigration services (most bigger SW companies are) and involves documentation from you and the company, "approval" from a union and putting a job add on a public board. There were few cases where engineers were not paid enough, and that's really low pay, or didn't get the proper insurances from their employer which caused their permit to be revoked, but those are really rare cases. You get your permanent residency semi-automatically after 4 years and citizenship after 5.
the_svd_doctor 6y ago
I’m not sure about the renouncing your old citizenship, at least not in general. I don’t believe Belgium has that for instance.
- tubularhells 6y ago
  The Netherlands does this.

viraptor 6y ago

> You will then likely also have to renounce your old citizenship. That's limited only to a few countries (both origin and destination). Most of them don't really care about dual citizenships. https://m.dw.com/en/dual-citizenship-in-europe-which-rules-apply-where/a-38174853 https://m.dw.com/en/dual-citizenship-in-europe-which-rules-a...

pimterry 6y ago

> You will then likely also have to renounce your old citizenship. While that may be true to obtain citizenship, it won't be necessary anywhere for permanent residency. Citizenship is nice e.g. if you want to vote locally but isn't really necessary for anything else practical. Permanent residents will have equal access to health care, they have the same freedom to move elsewhere in the EU, etc etc. Citizenship might help if you want to commit crimes with no risk of being deported though, so maybe look into it before your first bank robbery.

silicon2401 6y ago

Does this apply for Germany, Austria, or Sweden? I speak German and have some familiarity with the (German) culture and country through a decade of study and a couple of visits. Less familiar with Sweden, but I fell in love with the country after visiting and was able to pick up some minimal understanding after studying it for a few months, so I don't think getting conversational would be too difficult.

kyawzazaw 6y ago
Germany has one of the easiest visas.
makison 6y ago
Getting into Germany is easier than into Austria for a non-eu. Check details for red-white-red card, though. But it takes a few months from what I hear.
pajko 6y ago
Sweden is a bit over-bureaucratic. To get a work visa, you need a job. To get a job, you need a home address in Sweden. To rent something to get a home address, you need work visa and a job, and it takes a lot of paperwork to break this cycle. Also depending on the city finding an apartment to rent can take a lot of time [1]. Consider adding Czechia to your list. Nice place with good beer, and central enough to easily visit other EU countries. Worth checking [2] and [3] [1] https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20160517-this-is-one-city-where-youll-never-find-a-home https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20160517-this-is-one-ci... [2] https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/country https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/country [3] https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Germany https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?cou...
- silicon2401 6y ago
  Thanks very much for the info! Moving internationally is difficult enough without the destination being particularly bureaucratic. Maybe I'll target Germany first and just travel to Sweden if I manage to live the dream and move to Europe for a time. I'll also check out Czechia, sounds interesting. thanks!
  - 2rsf 6y ago
    @pajko is wrong and maybe is mixing Sweden with another country. You definitely don't need an home address in Sweden to get a work permit or a job (source- moved to Sweden, now a citizen) and the bureaucracy is really light for you and not over complicated for an employer. The process can take only a few weeks for a software engineer and a company registered in immigration services (most bigger SW companies are) and involves documentation from you and the company, "approval" from a union and putting a job add on a public board. There were few cases where engineers were not paid enough, and that's really low pay, or didn't get the proper insurances from their employer which caused their permit to be revoked, but those are really rare cases. You get your permanent residency semi-automatically after 4 years and citizenship after 5.

the_svd_doctor 6y ago

I’m not sure about the renouncing your old citizenship, at least not in general. I don’t believe Belgium has that for instance.

tubularhells 6y ago
The Netherlands does this.