I want to live or work somewhere else

Moving is the area where bad information costs the most, because a refused application can sit on your record for years. We do not advise on immigration ourselves and we are not registered to. What we do is explain how the routes generally work, then connect you with firms who are regulated to handle it.

Which country will actually let me in?

Start from what you have rather than where you want to go, because that narrows it fast.

If you have savings or an income you can prove, several countries will grant residence on that alone without you needing a job or a sponsor. If you have a skill that is in demand, a work route may be quicker and cheaper than any investment route. If you have a parent or grandparent born somewhere, you may already have a claim to citizenship and not know it. If you run a business online, a growing number of countries now have a route built exactly for that.

Georgia is one of the easier places to spend time legally. Poland, Greece and the Netherlands each have different routes into the European Union with very different costs. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia tie residence to work, business or property. The United States is the hardest of the list and the slowest.

Tell us your situation in a sentence and we will tell you which of these are realistic for you rather than which are advertised at you.

Is there a golden visa I can actually afford?

Prices vary enormously and the cheapest headline is rarely the cheapest outcome.

The usual shape is that you invest a set amount, most often in property, sometimes in a fund or a business, and in return you get residence for a fixed period that can be renewed. Greece has historically been among the more affordable in Europe, with different thresholds depending on the area. The United Arab Emirates has long term residence linked to property value or business activity. Several other countries run schemes with their own rules.

Three things to weigh that the brochures skip. The money is usually tied up and you cannot sell easily without losing the residence. The fees, taxes and agent commissions on top of the investment are substantial and often not quoted. And some schemes have been narrowed or closed at short notice, so what was true last year may not be true now.

We can put you in front of firms who handle these and will quote you the whole cost rather than the headline figure.

Could I get a passport through a grandparent?

Quite possibly, and it is the cheapest route there is if it applies to you, because you are claiming something you may already have rather than buying something new.

Many countries pass citizenship down by descent. How far back it goes varies a lot. Some allow it through a parent only. Others go back to a grandparent or beyond. Some have conditions about whether the line was broken, whether the ancestor naturalised elsewhere, or whether the descent runs through the mother or the father, which matters for older cases because the rules were different then.

The work is mostly documents. Birth, marriage and death records for each generation in the chain, often from archives, often needing official translation and legalisation. It can take months and sometimes years, but the cost is a fraction of any investment route and what you get at the end is citizenship rather than residence.

If you know where a grandparent was born, that is enough to start the conversation.

Can I keep my UK business if I move abroad?

Usually yes, but what changes is where the company is treated as being based for tax, and that is not decided by where it is registered.

A United Kingdom company stays registered in the United Kingdom and keeps filing there. The complication is that many countries treat a company as resident where it is actually managed and controlled. If you are the only director and you are now sitting in another country making every decision, that country may consider the company theirs to tax. You can end up filing in two places, and whether you pay twice depends on the treaty between them.

Your own tax position changes too, on a different set of rules from the company's, and the two do not move at the same time.

This is the area where people get it wrong most often, because everything appears to work fine for a year or two and the problem arrives later with interest attached. It is worth a proper conversation with someone who handles cross border tax before you go, not after.

What is a digital nomad visa and do I qualify?

It is a residence permit for people who earn their money from outside the country they are living in. You bring the income with you rather than taking a local job.

The usual conditions are a minimum monthly income you can prove, often through several months of bank statements and contracts, health insurance that covers you there, a clean record, and proof that your work is genuinely remote. Income thresholds vary widely, from modest to fairly demanding.

They suit freelancers, contractors and people running a small online business. They suit you less well if your income is irregular, if you are paid in cash, or if you cannot show a contract, because the whole application rests on documentary proof.

Worth knowing: these permits usually do not lead anywhere. Many are renewable but do not count toward permanent residence or citizenship. If you want somewhere to stay long term, a different route may serve you better even if it is slower to start.

I need to move my family, not just me

Family routes exist almost everywhere but they are slower and more document heavy than moving alone, and they are worth planning as one process rather than two.

The main person usually qualifies first and then brings a spouse and children as dependants. Expect to prove the relationship with certificates that may need official translation and legalisation, to show income or savings above a set level to support everyone, and to show accommodation that is big enough. Children's schooling and the age at which a child stops counting as a dependant both catch people out, and that age differs by country.

The common mistake is applying alone first, planning to bring the family later, then finding the route you chose does not allow dependants or requires you to have held it for a set period. It is far easier to pick a route that carries everyone from the start.

Tell us who is coming and their ages, and we will make sure the firms we introduce you to are quoting for the whole family.

I am seeking asylum and need representation

This is serious and it needs a regulated adviser, not a website. We are not one and we will not pretend otherwise.

What we can do is connect you with people who are properly qualified to act. In the United Kingdom that means a solicitor or an adviser registered with the Immigration Advice Authority. Taking advice from anyone outside that is not only risky, it is a criminal offence for them to give it.

If you cannot pay, legal aid is available for asylum work in the United Kingdom, and there are charities and law centres that take cases at no cost. Those routes exist and you should use them before paying anyone. We can point you toward them.

One practical thing that matters more than most people realise: keep every document, message and piece of evidence you have, in order and dated. Cases turn on what can be evidenced, and evidence gathered late carries less weight than evidence kept from the start.

If this is you, write to us and say so plainly. There is no charge and there never will be for this.

Last reviewed 2026-09-17. This page explains how things usually work so you know what to ask. It is not immigration, legal, tax or financial advice, and nothing on it is a recommendation. TRADhEiR makes introductions to independent firms. We are not a firm of solicitors, we are not registered with the Immigration Advice Authority, and we hold no financial services permissions. The firm you choose does the work and is accountable for it. This site uses cookieless analytics that counts visits but does not identify you or follow you anywhere else.