{"id":16171,"date":"2022-02-22T09:00:36","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T14:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=16171"},"modified":"2022-11-15T17:18:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T22:18:11","slug":"6-countries-easy-get-residency-visa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/6-countries-easy-get-residency-visa\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Countries Where It\u2019s Easy To Get A Residency Visa"},"content":{"rendered":"

6 Countries Where It\u2019s Easy To Get A Residency Visa<\/strong><\/h1>\n

If you\u2019re planning on moving out of the United States, following flag theory or becoming a <\/span>digital nomad<\/span>, or even just spend a year abroad, here are the countries where it\u2019s easy to get a residency visa.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Mexico<\/b><\/h2>\n

Over 1 million Americans can\u2019t be wrong! Mexico is the easiest and lowest cost residency visa period. Mexico also the most popular country with about 10 times more visas issued to US citizens than any other.\u00a0 As of December 2021, Mexico is one of three countries in the world (El Salvador\u00a0 and\u00a0 The\u00a0 Vatican) where there are no Covid restrictions for entering the country.\u00a0 This makes it an extremely attractive option for those looking to escape the United States or Canada in particular.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The reasons Mexican residency<\/a> is so popular are obvious. You can drive there, it’s the same time zone, there are many expat communities you can join, life is cheap, quality of life and food is amazing (at least in certain areas), and English is widely spoken. <\/span>
\n\"Save<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re retired, the easiest way to get residency in Mexico is to show a guaranteed income of at least $1,550 for one person + $520 for each dependent. If you don\u2019t have a pension or IRA distributions, you can also buy\u00a0 Mexican real estate<\/a> valued at $210,000 or show a bank account balance of at least $25,000 for at least 8 months.<\/span><\/p>\n

If even that\u2019s too much work, you can string together 6-month residency visas and stay in Mexico indefinitely. Each time you enter Mexico by air, you\u2019re given a 6-month visa. It\u2019s that form you sign and hand in after exiting the plane\u2026 that\u2019s your visa. To \u201crenew\u201d you just need to leave for a day and fly back in. <\/span><\/p>\n

When you drive into Mexico<\/a>, you don\u2019t get a visa and no one stamps your passport. So long as you stay within border towns, there will be no visa and no checks. If you want to drive south, you <\/span>and your car<\/span><\/i> will need permits. <\/span><\/p>\n

For more, speak to our friends at SIMCA<\/a>, they can help you with buying investment properties in Mexico that will qualify for residency.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Panama<\/b><\/h2>\n

What used to be the easiest residency program<\/a> with a path to citizenship was from Panama<\/a>. If you\u2019re from a top 50 country, such as the US, Canada, Australia, EU, UK, etc., you can still get residency in Panama but now requires an investment of $200,000.\u00a0 This can be done through a real estate purchase or other form of investment.\u00a0 This includes a financed purchase so the actual out of pocket amount could be much less than $200,000 to get your foot in the door.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After 5 years of residency, you can apply for citizenship and a second passport. A passport from Panama will get you into 151 countries without a visa, which is pretty close to a Tier-A passport. If you want a better passport, you\u2019ll need to look at a country like <\/span>Portugal<\/span><\/a> with an investment of 500,000 to 1 million Euros. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not from a top 50 country, see Nicaragua below. However, you might be surprised by which countries are on the \u201cfriendly\u201d list.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When you’re ready to look into the Friendly Nations Visa<\/a>, contact us HERE<\/a> and we will help you start the process.<\/strong>
\n
\n\"Wander<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Belize<\/b><\/h2>\n

Belize is the easiest residency program for retirees<\/a>. If you have about $2,000 a month in guaranteed payments, you can become a resident of Belize through their QRP program. <\/span><\/p>\n

Belize is focused on bringing in retirees and those with fixed incomes. But, you don\u2019t need to be retired to qualify. Anyone over 45 years of age with a pension or guaranteed passive income stream of $2,000 a month can use the QRP. If you don\u2019t have pension distributions, you can set up a bank annuity.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more, see: Getting Residency in Belize<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Podcast with Luigi Wewege<\/a> from Caye International Bank in Belize<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

4. New Zealand<\/b><\/h2>\n

New Zealand<\/a> is going in the opposite direction of Belize. This country wants to bring in young people. If you’re between the ages of 18 and 30, it\u2019s very easy to get a residency visa in New Zealand. <\/span><\/p>\n

NZ\u2019s \u201cworking holiday\u201d visa grants young Western travellers 12 months to explore. Once your 12 months is up, you can apply for a different visa or return home. I did this visa myself back in 2005 and it was one of the best times in my life.<\/span><\/p>\n

I will say though, the problem with New Zealand is that life has become very expensive. The wealthy are buying up properties and pushing up prices throughout the country. NZ is already 10% more expensive than the United States and I expect this to continue to increase into the future. <\/span><\/p>\n

This sets New Zealand apart from the rest of this list. While living in Mexico, Panama, and the rest is amazingly cheap for those holding dollars, the cost of living in New Zealand has gone up.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>5. Bali, Indonesia<\/b><\/h2>\n

Bali is the home of many digital nomads, Bali<\/a> offers the most laid back lifestyle on this list. Combine this with a low cost of living, decent internet, and one of the easiest visas, and you see why Bali is a top pick, especially for tech-savvy hipsters. <\/span><\/p>\n

Indonesia doesn\u2019t have an easy path to citizenship like Panama, but it does have a very easy \u201csocial visa.\u201d This residency visa is renewable for up to 6 months. To extend, you\u2019ll fly to the embassy in Singapore (about $100 for the flight) and return in 3 days with another 6-month visa. <\/span><\/p>\n

Podcast with JohnnyFD<\/a> on living in Bali<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n\"Choose<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 Nicaragua <\/b><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re not eligible for Panama\u2019s friendly nations visa, or Panama\u2019s not your cup of tea, consider Nicaragua.<\/a> This country has one of the lowest cost visas <\/span>with a path to citizenship<\/span><\/i>\u00a0and the fastest to permanent residency. <\/span><\/p>\n

Invest $35,000 in Nicaragua\u2019s reforestation program<\/a> and anyone can become a resident of this welcoming country. Legal and government fees will depend on your country of origin and can be as high as $10,000 per person (US, UK, and EU citizens are much lower). <\/span><\/p>\n

Nicaragua is the only country that gives you permanent residency immediately. Most countries, including Panama, start with a temporary residency and then allow you to upgrade to permanent status.<\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

Like Panama, you can apply for citizenship after 5 years of residency. Nica\u2019s passport is a solid travel document giving you visa-free access to 112 countries. Most importantly, a passport from Nicaragua gives you visa-free access to the Schengen Region of the European Union. <\/span><\/p>\n

The catch with Nicaragua<\/a> is that you must spend 180 days a year in the country<\/span>. Most second residency programs don\u2019t have a significant physical presence requirement. Panama requires you to spend 1 day every 2 years and Belize only 30 days a year, so 180 is high. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nica\u2019s logic is that they want residents who will become valuable members of their society. They want you to bring your knowledge and capital to the country and to add value in exchange for the residency visa. <\/span><\/p>\n

For more on this program see: Residency in Nicaragua<\/a> or contact our office HERE.<\/a><\/strong>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n

I hope you\u2019ve found this article on 6 countries where it\u2019s easy to get a residency visa helpful. For more on Mexico, Belize Panama, and Nicaragua, please contact us by clicking here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are looking to take residency to the next level, check out the easiest countries to get citizenship<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here is<\/b> probably the most extensive ebook on <\/b>Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Eliminating Your Taxes, Protecting Your Assets And Regaining Privacy Over Your Life And Investments<\/i><\/b>. It is called<\/b> The<\/b> Ultimate Guide To Going Offshore<\/b><\/a>.\u00a0 Visit our bookstore to purchase it today!<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

6 Countries Where It\u2019s Easy To Get A Residency Visa If you\u2019re planning on moving out of the United States, following flag theory or becoming a digital nomad, or even just spend a year abroad, here are the countries where it\u2019s easy to get a residency visa. 1. Mexico Over 1 million Americans can\u2019t be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":308,"featured_media":24539,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[1399],"tags":[27,32,120,271,293,294,312,316,8137,8136,442],"yst_prominent_words":[3203,25074,3201,2864,1837,2342,2236,1716,3200,2365,2364,2406,4609,1888,3198,1887,3202,4608,1804,2376],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/residency-visa.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16171"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/308"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16171"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46003,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16171\/revisions\/46003"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16171"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=16171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}