Job Discussion Forums

[nomad soul]

[Teacher in Rome]

[aces]

I know I'm late to the party, but ever since our first trip to Europe, my GF's been on fire about moving there, so I've researched this topic pretty thoroughly. I'll assume you don't have EU residency rights or 1-percenter assets. Here are my takeaways:

1. AFAIK, no EU country has a retirement-specific visa, and the normal categories (work, study, etc.) don't really fit. You'll have to persuade an army of rule-bound bureaucrats to "think outside the box" to let you in. Good luck with that!

2. Exchange rates are a total wild card. Right now the EUR/USD rate isn't bad ($1.12 per euro), but in 2008 the rate hit $1.60 per euro. That would play havoc with your finances if it came back, and of course it could go higher. To make matters worse, you almost certainly wouldn't be allowed to get a job to make up the shortfall.

3. Health insurance is another issue. Medicare is no good outside the US, and although all EU countries have national health schemes, it's very unlikely you'll be granted access to them. You'll have to rely on private insurance, which isn't cheap to start with and only gets pricier as you get older. By the time you hit 80 or so, you'll probably be forced to return to the US, because your premiums will be unaffordable even if the insurance company doesn't simply cut you off.

Finally, as someone upthread pointed out, immigration laws aren't getting any looser, so even if they let you in, there's no guarantee they won't change their minds down the road.

Hope this helps!

[uh huh]

Ace,

Yes, very good information.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts.

A ver...

[scot47]

Marriage CAN be a path.

In the UK the obstacle is that to marry a citizen and settle here the UK citizen getting married needs to prove a UK income of £18,600 or savings of £62,5000

Do that and get a visa and you will then have access to the National Health Service.

[coffeespoonman]

Scot47 - out of curiosity, is that a misplaced comma or an extra zero?

[danshengou]

[scot47]

I often make deliberate misatkes to see if my readers are paying attention to the drivel that I write.

[La Reve]

An American friend went through all the nearly impossible hoops (closed consulate in San Francisco, lack of communication with country's consulate - including email) but now has legal residency in Portugal. I have a USA and EU passport, so it was easier for me.

So, yes, Americans can retire in Europe, but there is a lot of paperwork involved, including documentation of income.

I pay $500 a year for private health insurance for people over 65 (not easy to find!) Most medication is much cheaper than in the USA and some can be bought without doctor's prescriptions. My doctor visits cost about $20 euros with insurance coverage.

I had looked at Ireland and Italy but both were nearly twice as expensive as Portugal. Sometimes I wish I had tried harder to find a good place in France.

[Blackbear]

I am replying to an initially 3-year old post, but since there has been a recent post I will continue with my thoughts and actions .....

I have made the same decision as the OP - retire in Europe. In my case I will not work for wages, but if I can, I will volunteer in schools doing conversational English with the teacher assigned to teach English in that school. Not an issue for me if I volunteer or not - I am still making arrangements for the move. The residency visa application is straight forward in many cases - but the bureaucracy takes time to navigate through.

I searched for requirements to obtain a residency visa (not work visa) and basically there are at least 3 requirements: 1. Evidence of a certain minimum monthly income that is "guaranteed"; 2. Evidence of Health Insurance; 3. Evidence of a residence/place to stay. Eventually you can get long-term residency for over 3 years (depending on the country. If you want citizenship, there is a time of stay in the country requirement and many times a certain fluency level in the language (often A2 by test result).

No point in discussing the best place to move to - it depends on a lot of personal things.

[Blackbear]

[Blackbear]

Deleted as redundant...

[spiral78]