Where can American citizens move to?
Ranked by what the move actually takes on an American passport specifically, not in general. Every rating below comes from the same verified data as the full guide it links to.
You keep your American passport if you naturalise in 8 of these 11. Naturalising in Japan, the Netherlands and Spain would mean giving it up.
Open to you in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and Portugal. Usually age-capped, so it closes quietly.
Easiest to keep driving on in Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Portugal and Thailand. Each guide has the exact terms. Elsewhere expect more steps, often a full local test.
An apostille is accepted in 10 of these 11. Thailand still needs the full consular legalisation chain, so start earlier.
Straightforward 6 of 11
- AustraliaAmericans mostly arrive via employer sponsorship (482) and partner visas, with a smaller but growing Skills in Demand and National Innovation intake tied to tech and finance transfers.Straightforward
- CanadaAmericans arrive mostly through family class, intra-company transfers, and business routes.Straightforward
- Costa RicaAmericans are the single largest source of Costa Rica relocators — most arrive via Pensionado (retirees) or Rentista/Digital Nomad status, with the Central Valley (Escazú, Santa Ana, Atenas) and Guanacaste as the top landing spots.Straightforward
- IrelandAmericans move to Ireland through multinational-employer transfers (tech and pharma HQs are common), the Critical Skills Employment Permit, marriage/family routes, or ancestry-based routes via an Irish grandparent.Straightforward
- New ZealandAmericans typically move to NZ via the Accredited Employer Work Visa (tech, healthcare) or the Skilled Migrant Category; a smaller number arrive through partnership/family visas.Straightforward
- PortugalAmericans move mostly on the D7 passive-income visa or the D8 digital-nomad visa, reflecting the post-2020 remote-work and retiree wave into Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve.Straightforward
Moderate 5 of 11
- ItalyAmericans relocating to Italy mostly use the Elective Residency Visa (retirees and remote-income earners), a self-employment/freelance visa, or an employer-sponsored EU Blue Card or intra-company transfer — there is no Italy-US working-holiday program.Moderate
- JapanAmericans typically arrive via the JET Programme or private English-teaching contracts, corporate intra-company transfers, or the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities visa in tech and finance.Moderate
- NetherlandsAmericans move via the Kennismigrant visa for corporate transfers and tech hires, or — uniquely among these 20 origins — via the DAFT self-employment treaty visa, which lets Americans set up a small Dutch business without a sponsor.Moderate
- SpainThe Non-Lucrative Visa (for those with passive income or savings) and the Digital Nomad Visa (for remote workers/employees of non-Spanish companies) are the two dominant routes for Americans.Moderate
- ThailandAmericans move via the LTR visa (remote workers/wealthy pensioners), the DTV for freelancers and digital nomads, or the long-standing retirement (O-A/O-X) visa; employer-sponsored work permits are less common than the freelance/retiree routes.Moderate
Ratings weigh entry class, working-holiday access, licence exchange, dual citizenship and document legalisation. Each is checked against the issuing government. Open any destination for the full guide written for American citizens.