Updates, analysis and rankings
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Updates, analysis and rankings on living, working and traveling in 50 countries, always with sources cited.
Retirement and passive income visas: how much income 7 programmes ask for
France asks for €1,477.93 a month for its visitor card, Brazil for a pension of at least USD 2,000 a month, and Italy for more than €31,000 a year per applicant. Several programmes set the bar as a multiple of a national wage or index instead of a fixed figure. Here are seven programmes checked on official pages on 9 October 2026.
Work-life balance in the OECD, 2025: where people work the fewest hours
Workers in Germany put in 1,332 hours on average in 2025, the lowest figure among OECD members, against 1,736 across the OECD. In Mexico and Türkiye, close to one employee in four usually works 50 hours or more a week; in the Netherlands it is 1.8%. Here is the data for 38 OECD members.
Public healthcare for expats: how foreign residents get covered in 10 European countries
In Switzerland and the Netherlands, new residents must buy basic health insurance within three and four months of arriving. In France, people who do not work wait three months for public cover; in Spain, those without another route pay €60 a month after one year of residence. Here are the rules in 10 countries.
Low-cost university abroad: what a public bachelor's costs EU and non-EU students in 8 European countries
At public universities in Germany, most bachelor's programmes charge no tuition, for EU and non-EU students alike. In France a bachelor's costs €178 a year for EU students and €2,902 for others. In the Nordic countries it is free for EU students, while others typically pay €6,000 to €16,000 a year in Denmark and €9,000 to €20,000 in Finland.
Housing costs in the EU, 2025: where people spend the most of their income on a home
In 2025, 26.4% of people in Greece lived in households spending more than 40% of their disposable income on housing, against 7.7% across the EU. For tenants paying market rent the picture changes: in Romania the share reaches 56.0%. Here is the 2025 data for all 27 EU countries.
Golden visas in 2026: which residence by investment programmes are still open
Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom have closed their investor routes. Portugal kept its programme but no longer accepts property, Greece raised its property threshold to €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki and several islands, and Italy and Malta still offer residence for investment. Here is what we found on official pages.
How many years to citizenship: residence rules in 17 countries
Canada asks for about 3 years of physical presence, Germany and the United Kingdom 5, Sweden now 8 and Spain, Italy, Austria and Switzerland 10. Here is the general residence rule for naturalisation in 17 countries, and where the official source says you can keep your other citizenship.
Foreign-born residents in the EU, 2025: where they make up the largest share
On 1 January 2025, 51.5% of Luxembourg's residents were born in another country, against 2.6% in Poland. Across the EU the share was 14.4%. Here is how the 26 countries with 2025 data compare, split between people born elsewhere in the EU and outside it.
Paid parental leave in OECD and EU countries: weeks versus pay
Czechia and the Slovak Republic offer mothers 164 weeks of paid leave, but Romania's 104.3 weeks are worth more once pay is counted. The OECD's full-rate equivalent shows which countries pay well and which pay little for a long time, for mothers and for fathers.
Job seeker visas: where you can move before you have a job offer
Germany, Austria, Sweden and the United Kingdom run official programmes that let qualified people come and look for work without an offer. They differ in length, money required and whether you can work while you search. Portugal has one in law but is not issuing it yet.
Minimum wage in the EU, July 2026: euros versus purchasing power
On 1 July 2026, monthly minimum wages in the EU ranged from €620 in Bulgaria to €2,771 in Luxembourg. Adjusted for price levels, the gap shrinks to roughly half and the order changes. Five EU countries have no national minimum wage at all.
The cheapest countries in the EU to live in: 2025 prices and pay
Bulgaria and Romania had the lowest consumer price levels in the EU in 2025, at 62.5 and 65.1 against an EU average of 100. Net pay there was even further below the EU average. Here is what that means if your income comes from abroad, and if it does not.
Your first 90 days abroad: what to do, and in what order
Registration, tax number, bank, health insurance and school, organised by phase. With the official deadlines in Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, where missing one can hold up everything else.
Portugal tightens its citizenship rules: what changes for residents
Since 19 May 2026, naturalisation in Portugal requires 7 years of legal residence for citizens of the EU and Portuguese speaking countries, and 10 years for everyone else, up from 5. Here is what the law says, who is protected and how time is now counted.
Best countries to move to with your family in 2026
Safety, schools, healthcare and time at home, each from its own official source. No country wins on all four, and the table shows where each one is strong and where it falls short.
Best countries for tech professionals in 2026
Six countries with a clear skilled work route, compared on the official 2026 salary requirement, English proficiency and internet speed. Plus two changes that matter for software developers this year.
Digital nomad visas in 2026: who offers one and how much income you need
Seven countries, each checked against its official immigration page. The income bar ranges from USD 1,500 to EUR 4,500 a month, and in four of them it moves every year with the minimum or average wage.
How much of your salary you actually keep: 10 countries compared
On an average wage, a single worker keeps 82% of gross pay in Switzerland and 61% in Belgium. Children change the picture a lot. Here is what the OECD's 2026 figures show, and what a tax rate on a job offer really means.
Countries officially short of workers: the jobs they recruit abroad in 2026
Germany, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Ireland each publish an official list of the occupations they struggle to fill. Here is what is on them in 2026, grouped by area, and one surprise for software developers.
The safest countries to live in 2026
The Global Peace Index 2026 ranks 163 countries on 23 indicators. Here is the top 10, what the index actually measures, and why it is not a ranking of street crime.
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