How to Move to Europe as an American: Every Realistic Path

You can’t just pack a bag and move to Europe on a US passport. Not legally, anyway. You get 90 days as a tourist, and after that you need a real visa.

The good news? There are more realistic ways in than most Americans think. Some of them don’t require being rich, retired, or married to an Italian.

I’ve been bouncing around Europe on plain old tourist rules since 2009, so I’ve done the 90/180 math more times than I’d like to admit. This guide covers the visas that actually work for Americans in 2026, how much income each one wants, and the catch nobody puts in the headline.

Europe Visas for Americans at a Glance (2026)

Last verified: October 2026. Every number below was checked against official government sources or official consular guidance. Most of these go up every January because they’re tied to local minimum wage, so always confirm on the official page before you apply.

Country	Visa	Best for	Minimum income (single applicant)
Portugal	Digital Nomad Visa (D8)	Remote workers	€3,680/month (about $4,100)
Portugal	D7 Passive Income Visa	Retirees, passive income	€920/month (about $1,000)
Spain	Digital Nomad Visa	Remote workers	€2,849/month (about $3,200)
Spain	Non-Lucrative Visa	Retirees, passive income (no work)	€2,400/month (about $2,700)
Italy	Digital Nomad Visa	Remote workers	About €28,000/year (about $31,000)
Italy	Elective Residence Visa	Retirees, passive income	About €31,000/year (about $35,000)
Croatia	Digital Nomad Permit	Remote workers	€3,622.50/month (about $4,100)
Greece	Digital Nomad Visa	Remote workers	€3,500/month net (about $3,900)
Germany	Freelance Visa	Freelancers (IT, creative, teaching)	No fixed minimum; roughly €1,000 to €2,500/month (about $1,100 to $2,800)
Netherlands	DAFT (self-employed)	US freelancers, business owners	€4,500 business investment (about $5,000)
France	Long-Stay Visitor Visa	Retirees, passive income	About €1,478/month net (about $1,700)
Malta	Nomad Residence Permit	Remote workers	€42,000/year gross (about $47,000)
Hungary	White Card	Remote workers	€3,000/month net (about $3,400)

RELATED: 21 Visas to Help Americans Move Abroad

The Best European Countries for Americans to Move To

Here’s who each one is actually for. Most of these are built for regular people with regular incomes.

Golden visas, where you basically buy residency with a big investment, are on their way out in a lot of Europe. Spain killed its version in 2025. Portugal still has one, and I cover it below.

Want options outside Europe too? Here are the easiest countries for Americans to move to worldwide.

1. Portugal

Portugal is still the default answer, and for good reason. English is widely spoken, it’s cheaper than most of Western Europe, and the visa process is well-trodden.

• Remote workers: Digital Nomad Visa (D8). You need about €3,680/month (about $4,100), which is four times Portugal’s minimum wage.
• Retirees and passive income: D7 visa. The bar is way lower, around €920/month (about $1,000), but it has to be passive income like a pension, rental income, or dividends.
• Investors: The Golden Visa is still alive, but property no longer counts. Most people put €500,000+ (about 0,000) into an investment fund, and you only need about 7 days a year in Portugal. Picking the right fund is the tricky part, so it’s worth working with a Portugal Golden Visa advisor.

The catch: Portugal changed its citizenship law in May 2026. Americans now need 10 years of legal residency to apply for citizenship, up from 5. If a Portuguese passport was your whole plan, adjust it.

You can still apply for permanent residency after 5 years, whichever visa you come in on.

2. Spain

• Remote workers: Digital Nomad Visa, €2,849/month (about $3,200) in 2026. That’s lower than Portugal.
• Retirees and passive income: Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV), €2,400/month (about $2,700) or €28,800/year.

The catch: The NLV means no work at all, including remote work for US clients. If you work, you need the Digital Nomad Visa. Picking the wrong one is one of the most common reasons people get refused.

3. Italy

Italy finally has a digital nomad visa, and its income bar is one of the lowest in Western Europe.

• Remote workers: Digital Nomad Visa, around €28,000/year (about $31,000). The exact number comes from a formula and shifts, so treat it as a ballpark and confirm with your consulate.
• Retirees and passive income: Elective Residence Visa. There’s no fixed legal number (very Italy), but consulates generally look for around €31,000/year (about $35,000). More is safer.

The catch: Italian bureaucracy lives up to the hype, and both visas expect you to have housing in Italy lined up before you apply. Banking on citizenship by descent instead? Read the section below. The rules changed in 2025.

4. Croatia

Croatia is perfect if you want a year or so on the Adriatic without committing forever.

• Income: €3,622.50/month (about $4,100) in 2026.
• Length: Up to 18 months.
• Bonus: Croatia doesn’t tax your foreign income while you’re on the permit.

The catch: It’s a dead end on purpose. It doesn’t lead to permanent residency, and when it ends you have to leave and wait months before you can apply again.

5. Greece

• Remote workers: Digital Nomad Visa, €3,500/month net (about $3,900 after tax).
• Retirees and passive income: Financially Independent Person visa, with a similar bar of around €3,500/month (about $3,900).

The catch: As of February 2026, you can’t fly in as a tourist and apply from inside Greece anymore. You have to get the visa from a Greek consulate before you go.

6. Germany

Germany doesn’t have a digital nomad visa. It works if you want to freelance in Germany or land a job there.

• Freelancers: The freelance visa (Freiberufler) covers “liberal professions” like IT, design, writing, translation, teaching, and the arts. You register as a freelancer in Germany and pay German taxes.
• What they want: Usually a business plan plus contracts or letters of intent from clients. There’s no official income minimum, but expect to show enough to live on, roughly €1,000 to €2,500/month (about $1,100 to $2,800) depending on the city. Over 45? You’ll also need to show retirement savings.
• Job seekers: The Opportunity Card gives you up to a year to find work in Germany. Full breakdown in my guide on how to get a job in Europe.

The catch: German bureaucracy is famously slow (looking at you, Berlin), and freelance applications are judged case by case.

7. The Netherlands (DAFT)

This one’s a cheat code most Americans have never heard of. The Dutch-American Friendship Treaty, from the 1950s, lets US citizens get Dutch residency to run their own business.

• Investment: €4,500 (about $5,000) into your Dutch business.
• First permit: Up to 2 years.
• No points test like the standard Dutch self-employed permit.

The catch: Renewals are where people get stuck. Immigration lawyers report the IND looking harder at whether your business actually earns money. Treat it like a real business, not a visa hack. Also, Dutch rent is brutal.

8. France

France doesn’t have a digital nomad visa. The main route is the Long-Stay Visitor Visa (VLS-TS visiteur), renewable every year. Think of it as a “bring enough money to live on” visa.

• Income: Roughly the French net minimum wage, about €1,478/month (about $1,700) as of mid-2026.

The catch: You sign a promise not to work in France. Remote work for US clients lives in a gray area, and consulates don’t all treat it the same. If remote work is your income, a digital nomad visa somewhere else is the safer bet.

9. Malta

• Income: €42,000/year gross (about $47,000) from remote work.
• Tax: 0% on that income for the first 12 months, then a flat 10%.
• Bonus: English is an official language, so daily life is easy.

The catch: Passive income doesn’t count. And to renew, you need proof you actually lived there at least 5 of the last 12 months.

10. Hungary

• Income: €3,000/month net (about $3,400) from remote work.
• Length: One year, renewable once.

The catch: Your time on it doesn’t count toward permanent residency, and family can’t join you on the same permit. Budapest is cheap and a blast, though.

How to Stay in Europe Longer Without a Residency Visa

Not ready to commit to one country? This is the part I actually live. Here’s how to stretch your time in Europe legally.

Master the 90/180 Rule

As an American, you get 90 days in the Schengen Area in any rolling 180-day period. That’s 29 countries sharing one clock. Not 90 days per country.

“Rolling” is the part people mess up. On any given day, count back 180 days. If more than 90 of them were in Schengen, you’re overstaying.

You can’t wing it anymore, either. The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully running since April 2026. It scans your fingerprints and face and logs every entry and exit digitally. No more counting on a smudged stamp nobody checks.

Then there’s ETIAS, an online pre-approval Americans will eventually need before visiting Schengen. Key word: eventually. It was supposed to launch around 2021 and has been pushed back again and again.

In 2026, the EU dropped its latest target date entirely, so as of October 2026 there’s no launch date at all. When it does happen, it’s a quick online form, not a visa, and it won’t give you any extra days.

RELATED: Longest Tourist Visas for US Citizens, How to Extend, and More

Reset in Non-Schengen Countries

Used up your 90 days? Spend the next 90 outside Schengen but still in Europe.

• Albania: Americans can stay up to a year visa-free. Albania has flip-flopped on this before, so double-check before you plan a whole year around it.
• Georgia: Up to 365 days visa-free. Since January 2026, you need health insurance covering your whole stay to get in.
• Svalbard (Norway): The wildcard. You don’t need a visa or work permit to live there, and it’s outside Schengen. The catch: you have to prove you can support yourself, most housing belongs to employers, and winter means months of darkness. Line up a job and a place to live first. Get the details straight from the Governor of Svalbard.
• The UK: Up to 6 months as a visitor, but get your ETA before you fly.
• Ireland: 90 days, on its own clock separate from Schengen.
• Serbia, Montenegro, and Turkey: Around 90 days each, on their own clocks.

Skip the Bilateral Agreement “Hack”

You’ll see old posts saying Americans get an extra 90 days in places like Poland or Denmark through old treaties. Poland officially stopped honoring its agreement in late 2025 after EES launched.

A few others, like Denmark, technically still exist on paper. With every day now tracked digitally, I wouldn’t touch this without written confirmation from that country’s immigration office.

Study

A student visa is a legit way in, and it doesn’t have to be a degree. Spain, for example, offers student visas for intensive language courses. You get to live there legally and actually learn the language.

Cut Your Rent With Housesitting and Work Exchange

These won’t get you a visa, but they slash your biggest cost. TrustedHousesitters and Worldpackers are where I’d start. Just stay inside your 90 days.

The Long Game: Citizenship and Family

Visas get you in. These can get you a passport, or at least a much longer runway. Neither is quick, but if one applies to you, it’s worth the paperwork.

Citizenship by Descent

Got a European grandparent? Start digging through the family paperwork.

• Ireland: If a grandparent was born in Ireland, you can apply through the Foreign Births Register.
• Italy: Big change. For applications after March 27, 2025, you generally need a parent or grandparent born in Italy, plus some extra conditions. A great-grandparent alone no longer cuts it. Italy’s Constitutional Court upheld the law in 2026, though more challenges are still working through the courts.
• Elsewhere: Poland, Hungary, Germany, and others all have their own descent rules. Worth a look if you have the documents.

Marriage

Marrying an EU citizen usually gets you a residence permit and, eventually, a path to citizenship. Timelines vary a lot by country. Not a strategy, but hey, it happens!

The American Stuff Nobody Tells You

• You still file US taxes. The US taxes citizens wherever they live. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion lets you exclude up to $132,900 of earned income for 2026, but you have to file to claim it.
• FBAR is a thing. If your foreign bank accounts add up to more than $10,000 at any point in the year, you report them to FinCEN.
• Your state might still tax you. Some states make it hard to cut ties. Sort out your state residency before you go.
• Health insurance is required. Almost every visa above wants private coverage valid in that country.
• Keep a US bank account. And get a card with no foreign transaction fees.

RELATED: Dealing With Money Abroad

Where to Start

1. Pick your lane. Remote work, passive income, local job, or study. That alone narrows your options fast.
2. Check the table. Find the visa whose income you can actually prove with bank statements, not vibes. No remote job yet? Start with these digital nomad jobs.
3. Go to the official source. Consulate pages, not forums. Rules change constantly.
4. Start the paperwork early. Background checks, apostilles, translations, and insurance all take longer than you think.
5. Take the easiest door first. You can always switch visas once you’re in.

RELATED: 30 Things to Do Before You Move Abroad Checklist

Want help figuring out your best route? My Move Abroad Guide walks you through every step, or book a consult and we’ll map it out together.

FAQ: Moving to Europe as an American

Can an American just move to Europe?

No. You can visit Schengen countries for 90 days in any 180-day period, but living there longer requires a long-stay visa or residence permit. The good news is that Portugal, Spain, Italy, and others have visas built for remote workers and retirees.

What’s the easiest European country for Americans to move to?

It depends on how you earn money. Remote workers have some of the lowest income bars in Italy (about €28,000/year, or $31,000) and Spain (€2,849/month, or about $3,200). Retirees with passive income can qualify for Portugal’s D7 at about €920/month (about $1,000). Freelancers who want to run a business should look at the Netherlands’ DAFT.

How much money do I need to move to Europe?

Visa income requirements range from about €920/month (about $1,000) for Portugal’s D7 to €3,500+ a month (about $3,900+) for most digital nomad visas. On top of that, budget for health insurance, visa fees, a rental deposit, and a savings cushion.

Can I work remotely in Europe on a tourist visa?

Technically, no. Visa-free entry is for tourism and short business trips, not living and working. If you’re planning to base yourself somewhere and work, that’s exactly what digital nomad visas are for.

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