Frequently Asked Questions: Moving to Europe

There is no single easiest country — it depends on your situation. Germany offers a wide range of skilled-worker routes through the EU Blue Card. Portugal still has open routes for both passive income (the D7 Visa) and investment (fund and job-creation Golden Visa options, though the real-estate route closed in 2023). Spain’s investment-residency Golden Visa program closed permanently in April 2025, but its Non-Lucrative Visa for passive income remains open. France is generally accessible for students and researchers. Processing times and eligibility differ meaningfully by country, so it’s worth confirming the current picture for your specific situation.

Yes — most EU countries allow family reunification, letting you bring your spouse or registered partner, minor children, and in some cases dependent parents. You’ll typically need to show sufficient income and suitable housing to support them. See our Germany and Latvia spouse-visa guides for two concrete examples.

As a general range, standard work-visa processing runs about 4 to 12 weeks, with EU Blue Card applications (e.g. in Germany) often faster at 4 to 8 weeks. These are typical ranges, not guarantees — actual timelines depend on the country, the consulate’s workload, and how complete your application is.

Not always. Most work and study visas don’t require language proficiency upfront. Longer-term routes are different: applications for long-term residence or citizenship typically require proof of local language ability, and some employers set their own language expectations regardless of visa rules.

A Schengen visa (Type C) is for short stays of up to 90 days, covering tourism, business, or family visits. A national visa (Type D) is a long-stay visa for work, study, or residency in one specific country. See our visa types overview for the full breakdown.

Not automatically — most national visas and residence permits are country-specific, so working in a different EU country generally means applying separately for a new visa there. One exception is the EU Blue Card’s intra-EU mobility provision: under the current EU-wide rules, a Blue Card holder can move to work in a second member state after 12 months of legal residence in the first one, under simplified conditions. National implementation can still vary, so confirm the specifics for the country you’re moving to.

No — we don’t handle asylum claims, refugee or subsidiary protection applications, or legal representation during related interviews or appeals. These are highly specialized, country-specific legal processes, and we’d point you toward an immigration attorney or accredited legal-aid organization in the relevant country rather than take this on ourselves.

Requirements vary by country and route, but nearly every application needs the same core elements: a valid reason for the move (work, study, family reunification, or investment), a sponsor or contract where the route requires one, proof of accommodation and sufficient income, health insurance, and a valid passport. See our visa types overview for how these differ by category.

The EU Blue Card is a work permit for highly qualified non-EU citizens. Eligibility generally requires a university degree or equivalent professional experience, a valid work contract in an EU country, a minimum salary that varies by country, and valid travel documents and health insurance. See our EU employment visa guide for the full picture.

Yes. Permanent residency generally becomes available after 5 years of continuous legal stay, and citizenship through naturalization typically takes 5 to 10 years depending on the country, usually alongside language and civic-knowledge requirements. See our European citizenship guide and citizenship vs. residency comparison for specifics.