For Americans & Canadians

Your European
life, decoded.

Moving to Europe sounds romantic. Doing it is paperwork, taxes, and a hundred decisions. We make the second part simple — with real numbers from official sources, verified and dated.

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The Barometer · July 2026

Who's running hot right now

🔥 #1 — Running hot

Cyprus — 8.2

Category F residence from €9,568/year, foreign pensions at 5%, non-dom up to 27 years — and the 2026 reform kept all of it.

See the full ranking → 🔥 #2 — Hot

Greece — 7.9

The 7% pensioner flat tax, locked for 15 years, is still Europe's cleanest retiree tax deal.

See the full ranking → ↑ Biggest mover

Italy — 7.3

The 7% flat-tax map expanded in April 2026 — 74 towns added, including Ostuni and Pompei.

See the full ranking →

See all 12 countries scored →

Country guides

Where are you headed?

★ Live now

Portugal

D7 from €920/month passive income (2026). Median home €2,198/m² (Q4 2025). 3,000+ hours of Algarve sun.

Open the Portugal guide → ★ Live now

United Kingdom

No retirement visa — but real routes exist. Average home £270,080 (Apr 2026). 4 tax-free years on foreign income for new arrivals.

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Spain

Non-lucrative visa from €2,400/month income (2026). Golden visa gone since April 2025. Homes €2,315/m² (Q1 2026).

Open the Spain guide → ★ Live now

France

Long-stay visitor visa via France-Visas. PUMa healthcare after 3 months. National median €3,405/m² (notaires).

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Italy

Elective residence visa, the southern flat-tax towns, and the paperwork nobody warns you about.

Open the Italy guide → ★ Live now

Greece

FIP visa, island vs mainland costs, and the flat tax for foreign pensioners.

Open the Greece guide → ★ Live now

Netherlands

DAFT for Americans, housing reality check, and mandatory health insurance.

Open the Netherlands guide → ★ Live now

Germany

Residence permits, public vs private health insurance, and real city budgets.

Open the Germany guide → ★ Live now

Malta

English-speaking, retirement programme rules, and what it really costs.

Open the Malta guide → ★ Live now

Ireland

The Stamp 0 retiree route, citizenship by descent, and what Dublin actually costs.

Open the Ireland guide → ★ Live now

Cyprus

Category F residence, low tax on foreign pensions, and year-round sun.

Open the Cyprus guide → ★ Live now

Austria

The quota-capped retiree permit, German-language requirements, and alpine budgets.

Open the Austria guide → ★ Live now

Croatia

Digital nomad permit up to 18 months (€3,622/month, 2026). Foreign pensions taxed at half rate. Euro + Schengen since 2023.

Open the Croatia guide → ★ Live now

Slovenia

New digital nomad permit (Nov 2025). Health insurance a flat €39/month. Alps and Adriatic in one small country.

Open the Slovenia guide → ★ Live now

Switzerland

Retiree permit needs 55+ and close Swiss ties — money alone fails. Health insurance CHF 465/month (2026).

Open the Switzerland guide → ★ Live now

Belgium

Discretionary retiree route from €1,340/month (2026). US Social Security untaxed. Citizenship in 5 years.

Open the Belgium guide → ★ Live now

Luxembourg

The own-resources permit wants an EU/Schengen pension — the catch nobody mentions. Apartments €8,094/m² (Q1 2025).

Open the Luxembourg guide → ★ Live now

Denmark

No retirement route, full stop — the honest map of what works. Prices 40% above EU average (2025).

Open the Denmark guide → ★ Live now

Sweden

No retiree visa; citizenship now 8 years (June 2026). The EU long-term-resident transfer is the one backdoor.

Open the Sweden guide → ★ Live now

Norway

No retiree route for non-EEA nationals. Wealth tax from NOK 1.9M. Oslo rents NOK 15,260/month (2025).

Open the Norway guide → ★ Live now

Finland

No retirement route at any income — "tourism is not a valid reason." Language waived at 65+ for those who qualify.

Open the Finland guide → ★ Live now

Iceland

Remote-work visa: 180 days at ISK 1M/month. No retirement route. Europe's most expensive country (2025).

Open the Iceland guide →
Start with the numbers

Featured guides

New · Property Report 2026

What a home costs in 12 countries

Official statistics vs portal asking prices, €/m² compared area by area, and the cheapest coastal markets in Europe. Verified 8 July 2026.

Read the report → Visas & Residency

Portugal's D7 visa: €920/month gets you in

The passive-income visa most American and Canadian retirees use. 2026 requirements, real timelines, step by step.

Read the guide → Visas & Residency

Portuguese citizenship now takes 10 years. Here's what changed.

The May 2026 nationality law doubled the wait for North Americans. What it means if you're planning the move now.

Read the guide → Visas & Residency

The UK has no retirement visa. Here's what works instead.

Citizenship by descent, the Ancestry visa for Canadians, the £29,000 partner route — the honest map of your options in 2026.

Read the guide → Visas & Residency

Spain's non-lucrative visa: €2,400/month, no work

2026 thresholds, the $140 (US) vs CAD 1,085 (Canada) fee gap, and the 183-day renewal rule that makes you a Spanish tax resident.

Read the guide → Visas & Residency

France's long-stay visitor visa, step by step

The ≈€1,478/month net benchmark (2026), the €300 validation tax, and the 2–4 month renewal window nobody tells you about.

Read the guide → Visas & Residency

Spain's golden visa is dead. Here's what replaces it.

Ended 3 April 2025 (LO 1/2025). What existing holders keep, and the realistic routes if you were counting on it.

Read the guide →
How we work

No fluff. No upsell. Official sources only.

Every figure on this site comes from government sources — immigration authorities, tax offices, national statistics institutes — with the source and the date we checked it. If a visa takes nine months, we say nine months. We're not selling a dream. We're removing the reasons people never start.

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