Many people relocate after FIRE. I wanted to make a resource page to help in considering locations abroad. I was torn between documenting both work visa requirements since so many people still do *something* in retirement, but decided for simplicity's sake to have this thread be exclusively about "retirement visas" where you are living off investments and forbidden from legally working on the local economy.
I am American, so writing based on that perspective. Many things will be different if you are already an EU citizen, for example. Hopefully this is of use to non-Americans as well, though.
I try to link to "official" websites wherever possible as blogs can be outdated or wrong. I hope this can turn into a "living" document to be updated in time as things change.
Before investing more time, is this something the community would appreciate seeing? If so, I am happy to edit and add more info over time as my free time allows. Let me know!
European Union Countries:
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic:
No retirement visa.
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland:
A "Stamp 0" is offered to those with independent means
http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Stamp%200"2. Persons of independent means
For persons of independent means, the financial threshold is generally considered to be €50,000 per person per annum, plus the person must have access to a lump sum of money to cover any unforeseen major expenses. This should be equivalent to, for example, the price of a dwelling in the State.
Financial documentation should be presented in tabular form and converted into Euros, clearly showing all income and expenditure on a monthly basis.
This must be certified by an Irish accountancy firm who have the expert knowledge to interpret the format of the overseas banking / accountancy documentation.
Each application is dealt with on a case by case basis."
This seems like if you showed your stash to be, say, $400,000 then you could get in, and then just show you were still well over the "€50,000 per person per annum" amount each year, or however often it is checked. It is worth noting, however, that the top of the pages says, "Stamp 0 is a low level immigration status which is not intended to be reckonable for Long Term Residence or Citizenship. It is granted to persons who have been approved by INIS for a limited and specific stay in Ireland." Thus, if your aim is eventual residency or citizenship, this may not be the route for you.
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal:
his seems complicated, but possible. You get a one year temporary residence permanent, then renewed for two successive two-year periods. Once you hit five years, you can apply for permanent residency. Now, this is a bit different than other countries because it seems there is not a retirement specific visa. But that you can get this residency visa as long as you show $1,070 per month available to you once you arrive. So if you have a decent nest egg, it seems easy to show the value needed each time your visa is up for renewal. Unfortunately, I've yet to find this information clearly delineated in an official website:
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/121515/how-much-money-do-you-need-retire-portugal.aspI welcome anyone's help in tracking down official info!
Romania:
Long-term residence seems to only be conferred after an extension of your initial right to stay, which has only limited options:
http://igi.mai.gov.ro/en/content/other-purposesIt seems early retirement in Romania is a no go as rules are currently constituted.
Slovakia:
No retirement visa.
Slovenia:
No retirement visa.
Spain:
Non-lucrative Residence Visa
http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/OTTAWA/en/Embajada/Consularsectionoftheembassy/Longtermvisas/Pages/Nonlucrativeresidencevisas.aspxA monthly amount of 2,130.00 Euros for 2017 or its equivalent in a foreign currency to support yourself during the requested period of residence in Spain. Additionally, 533 Euros per month per dependent
Sweden:
No retirement visa.
United Kingdom:
It seems things are a bit up in the air as Brexit is settled. Historically, there was a way to retire to the UK as a person of independent means -
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/extend-your-stay-as-a-retired-person-of-independent-means/extend-your-stay-as-a-retired-person-of-independent-meansIt can be renewed, but not applied for now by new people. A sad loss as one only needed £25,000 of disposable income per year. TBD, it seems, but no retirement visa now for new people.
Other European Countries:
Switzerland:
You must be 55 or older
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/retiring-in-switzerland/29178422https://www.ch.ch/en/retirement-or-study-switzerland/ states you also need "adequate financial resources" which seems to be hard to get a clear definition for:
http://usersoffice.web.cern.ch/adequate-financial-resources-for-Switzerland indicates something in the neighborhood of ~$2,000 per month would be sufficient, though online discussions I have found seem to think a much higher annual income is necessary. So a bit unclear, and I think 55 is much older than many FIRE hopefuls would aim for in retirement.