Retiring Abroad Isn’t as Hard as You Think — Here Are 4 Ways to Do It

Advantages: The flexibility to sample varied regions and lifestyles without “having to deal with visas or any of the bureaucracy of the country,” Cronwell says. “You just get to experience different countries and the culture. You don’t need to be tied to any one place.”

Disadvantages: Having to watch the calendar. Overstaying a tourist visa can carry serious penalties, including fines and being barred from re-entering a country (or, if you stay too long in the Schengen area, many countries).

If you don’t own property abroad, serially searching for short-term accommodation can be a chore. And you’ll likely need travel health insurance — Medicare usually doesn’t cover you abroad, and you often need to be a legal resident to be covered by another country’s national health system.

Even something as mundane as getting mail forwarded can be a headache, says Kenneth Cooper, 69. He winters in Jamaica (which permits a three-month stay visa-free) but pays for a service to collect his mail and send it monthly. “That’s a bit of a hassle,” he says.

Retirement visa

Several countries offer residency visas for retirees or others who don’t intend to work while living there. Sometimes called “non-lucrative” or “non-working” visas, they allow holders to live in the country year-round.

Qualification generally depends on demonstrating you can support yourself financially. Standards for that vary, says Lief Simon, an editor with Live and Invest Overseas, a company that publishes guides on moving and doing business abroad. Most countries require you to have a minimum passive income from sources like Social Security or pensions; some also base eligibility on your bank or portfolio balance.

Other common requirements are proof of health insurance and a medical certificate showing that you do not have a disease that could cause serious repercussions for public health. Host countries also typically require a criminal record check certificate and an FBI background check. The U.S. State Department website has information on getting these records.

Advantages: Permanent residency means more paperwork, but it also brings stability. In Portugal, for example, legal residents can access the country’s health care and education systems. As in many European countries, foreign residents are eligible to apply for citizenship after five years.

That’s Joch and Jeff Woodruff’s plan. The couple moved from Las Vegas to Portugal just before the borders closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Joch, 76, first visited the country in 1979 for work and vowed to return one day to live. When he decided to retire, Jeff, 56, told him it was “time to put some feet to your dream.” They now live near the wine center of Porto on the country’s northern coast, enjoying the region’s mild climate and relaxed lifestyle.

(From left) Joch and Jeff Woodruff in Evora, Portugal, in August 2020, just before meeting with immigration officials to secure their permanent residency.

Courtesy Jeff Woodruff

Permanent residency can also come with perks. Panama’s retirement visa, or pensionado, only requires you to prove passive income of at least $1,000 a month and confers discounts on air travel, public transport, health care, hotels and entertainment.

Older residents “are treated so well,” says Lesbia White, 79, a native Panamanian who retired to Panama City with her American husband in 2019. “They respect the seniors, and they give them what they need.”

Disadvantages: As a legal, full-time resident, you typically must file taxes in both your new home country and in the U.S., which taxes its citizens globally. If you live in a country that does not have a tax treaty with the U.S., you may have to pay taxes on the same income in both places.

Some countries have minimum-stay requirements for residential visas, which could become an issue if a health or family crisis requires an extended return to the States. Should you wish to pick up a little extra cash working, you’ll need to apply for a work visa, which is typically much harder to get.

Golden visa

Golden visas are essentially an expensive shortcut to legal residency. They typically require a significant (as in six-figure) investment in the host country — for example, buying shares in a business, investing in a stock or bond fund, or purchasing real estate (although some countries are eliminating the property option). More than 100 countries offer them, and in some, they can provide a glide path to citizenship.

Advantages: If you have the means, this is the easiest way to retire abroad: Pay the money, meet a few additional requirements (such as passing a criminal background check), and you get legal residency with all the advantages, including access to health and education systems and the ability to work.

The minimum-stay threshold is typically modest, compared to most retirement visas. Portugal’s golden visa only requires holders to be in the country seven days a year, so it’s easy to avoid hitting the threshold for tax residency, Julian says.

Disadvantages: It’s expensive. Very expensive. Italy has one of the lower thresholds: a minimum investment of 250,000 euros (about $290,000). Portugal’s program — one of the most popular, according to relocation specialists — has a 500,000 euro minimum for business investment. In Greece, you can still get a golden visa by buying a home, but the price varies by region from 400,000 to 800,000 euros.

Digital nomad visa

If you can work from anywhere, why not actually work from anywhere? Digital nomad visas confer the right to live and work remotely in another country for an extended period (generally up to 12 months, and often renewable) if you meet a threshold for expected income.

Rare before the pandemic, digital nomad visas are now available in more than 70 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, according to Citizen Remote, which provides information and resources on such programs. 

Advantages: Unlike retirement visas, digital nomad visas allow you to work, making them a good option for older adults who are only semi-retired. They give you a chance to experience a new country as a local without the commitment of a residency visa. If there’s a place you’ve dreamed of living, a digital nomad visa can be a ticket to “work from paradise,” as Elamir terms Costa Rica’s program.

Disadvantages: The income requirement is typically higher than for a retirement visa, because work earnings aren’t guaranteed income like Social Security or a pension. Some countries demand proof of employment or work experience, such as tax returns or client invoices. And while some digital nomad visas offer a path to permanent residency, others strictly limit the length of stay. Check the rules if living in that country is your long-term plan.