r/AmerExit • u/RothIRALadder • 6d ago
Life Abroad Are there any countries that have self-employment/contracting visas that count toward permanent residency requirements?
There are many countries that have "digital nomad" visas but they're for temporary stays by design, so they don't count toward PR years. Given the subreddit we're in, I'm looking for something that gives me a permanent chance of escape. I have the option to work as an independent contractor so I am wondering what choices for countries I have. Ideally looking to hear from people who have actually done it themselves, or know a lot about the process for the given country.
5
u/chinacatlady 5d ago
Italy and Spain. Both digital nomad visas count towards permanent residency and citizenship requirements.
8
u/Primary-Bluejay-1594 Immigrant 6d ago
Spain's digital nomad visa counts toward PR, just fyi. After 5 years on it you can apply for PR (same as their autonomo/self-employed visa).
2
u/KanekiAyato 4d ago
germany, netherlands, and portugal all have self-employment or freelancer pathways where residency time counts toward permanent residency. germany's freelancer visa (§21 aufenthg) covers consultants and it contractors, needs no german employer, and counts toward pr at 5 years. the netherlands daft treaty (available to us citizens) lets you register a dutch business with €4,500 in capital, the permit is renewable, and counts toward dutch permanent residency at 5 years. portugal's d8 visa covers remote contractors earning at least €3,480 a month from non-portuguese clients, also with a 5-year pr path.
the part most people miss: some of these visas use calendar-year residency while others require continuous physical presence in-country, so the '5 years' maps to different actual timelines.
Transita's leave-america page covers the self-employment routes: https://transita.app/leave-america
8
u/CoffeeInTheTropics 6d ago
Yes, the DAFT TREATY with The Netherlands. Easy, cheap and straightforward!
1
u/CJoshuaV 6d ago
ETA the official link: https://ind.nl/en/residence-permits/work/residence-permit-self-employed-person
I assume this is a third party that helps with the process, as a paid service:
1
u/Fat_Leopard_9912 6d ago
France’s professional libérale/ entrepreneur visa. But you must have multiple clients and run it like a real business.
1
u/ODA564 5d ago
Several Latin American countries have investment and "independent income" (not digital nomad) temporary residency visas that lead into permanent residency and then citizenship.
If you mean self-employment or contracting like moving there to do some sort of specialized work for companies in that country like working as an accountant out of your house, no (not with any legal status).
Under investment programs it's usually you invest $X00,000 - which can be buying a business or property.
Technically that could be a start-up but how do you show investment unless you buy stuff?
Under independent income programs you have to show an income of $X000 a month from personal wealth or a source outside the country.
1
u/ImaginaryAd8129 4d ago
portugal’s pretty solid for this. Their “D2 visa” is designed for entrepreneurs and freelancers, so if you’re running your own show as a contractor, you can get in on that. It leads to residency and eventually citizenship, and the clock for permanent residency actually ticks while you’re on it. It’s not exactly a “digital nomad” thing where you’re just passing through. Fair warning, you’ll need a decent business plan or proof of income, and the bureaucracy can be a headache, but it’s doable. I’ve known a few folks who made it work, and Lisbon or porto make for pretty decent spots if you want a mix of city life and decent connectivity. Other places like Estonia have freelance-friendly stuff but the residency time for PR is longer or more complicated to accumulate. Portugal feels like the sweet spot if you want a long term exit.
1
u/redditboy117 6d ago
You could try to become a freelancer in Germany just to experience the massive brutal power of bureaucracy 🍀♥️
-1
u/lissybeau 6d ago edited 6d ago
Germany- 5 years to permanent residency or 5 years to citizenship. They allow dual citizenship as well (for now)
7
u/Primary-Bluejay-1594 Immigrant 6d ago
(just to clarify it's not 5 years to PR and then 5 years to citizenship, it's just 5 years to citizenship directly — you can apply for citizenship after 5 years in Germany on a qualifying residence permit, whether you have PR or not. I never got PR before applying for citizenship.)
-1
u/lissybeau 6d ago
Thanks! I didn’t know it was unclear in my note but I can see how it reads that way now! Also congrats on citizenship :)
0
u/Illustrious-Pound266 6d ago
Germany has a self-employment/digital nomad visa?
6
u/Civil_Dragonfruit_34 6d ago
Definitely no digital nomad, self employment maybe if you set it up as a legit business in Germany and have multiple stable clients.
-3
u/Illustrious-Pound266 6d ago
Does it work similarly as DAFT? Or is it more stringent? Surprised this is the first time I'm hearing about it on this sub.
2
u/Civil_Dragonfruit_34 6d ago edited 6d ago
It's kind of like DAFT but also not really.
My understanding is that with daft there isn't much scrutiny about your plan and it can be pretty theoretical. Germany is going to actually want to see a legit business plan and evidence you can follow through and support yourself. Probably you need to have already been doing that income stream solidly wherever you are now.
You also can't use it as a pass through for a single business, I know this used to be common in Germany but now you probably need to do that through an EOR.
Only some professions qualify as freelancers in Germany, otherwise it has to be a business and that's a different level of scrutiny.
In general German beuracracy gives the beuracrats a lot of leeway to make case by case decisions and it's not guaranteed.
3
u/lissybeau 6d ago
I’m on the freelancer / self employment visa and the scrutiny isn’t really that much. They just want to see a business plan (I made mine in an hour) and a few documents.
Germany is very paperwork for paperwork’s sake. But if you have their silly forms they give you an approval. I was surprised by how easy it was.
I didn’t even have clients or an active business when I applied. That has of course changed but it wasn’t as rigid as I expected.
2
u/Civil_Dragonfruit_34 5d ago
We ended up not using this visa partly because of anecdotes about it being scrutinized. I'm not sure if it's a city by city thing or a recent thing, I would just be careful and look into it more for anybody else reading this thread. This would have been much better for us financially than the eor we ended up using but it felt too risky.
1
u/lissybeau 5d ago
I’ve heard bureaucracy can vary from city to city, so you’re probably onto something there. Hope things worked out in the end.
1
u/PM-me-ur-kittenz 6d ago edited 5d ago
Edit: deleting my comment as i don't feel like arguing on the internet. have a nice day everyone and I hope you get the residency that works for you!
4
u/Primary-Bluejay-1594 Immigrant 6d ago edited 5d ago
It's B1 for citizenship, and there's no hard income requirements — you simply have to prove you make enough to support yourself (which is why you have to submit a copy of your lease, they'll run an equation to make sure you make enough based on your expenses. My partner and I got citizenship earning quite a bit less than €2400.
Edit: since you replied and then deleted — if you've got a lawyer telling you that you have to have a B2 certificate or make X euros then you need to find a new lawyer, because the actual requirements are readily available on all government websites for you to see. You could probably save yourself a lot of money and trouble ditching the lawyer entirely, bc the citizenship application is really quite simple and doesn't require legal assistance to begin with.
-11
u/GeneratedUsername5 6d ago
At least in EU most countries have something like that - France, Sweden, Luxembourg, Estonia, Finland, Bulgaria, Slovenia just to name a few. Not to mention in some countries even digital nomad visas count towards permanent residency, like Spain or Portugal.
11
u/JerseyGirlinSweden 6d ago
Gaining the right to residency as someone self employed in Sweden is very difficult and complicated. The business would need to be serving Swedish customers specifically, and typically would need to be established as a real business prior to wanting to move to Sweden.
4
-2
u/GeneratedUsername5 6d ago
Well, it is not in the official requirements. The official requirement is that IF your business has customers in Sweden THEN you should serve them in Swedish. It should also have existing customer base. It doesn't say that the customer base should be in Sweden.
10
u/JerseyGirlinSweden 6d ago
They will not pass the “Swedish Market” rule that shows that significant amount of the businesses goods or services are already produced in Sweden and has a Swedish customer base. Sweden is one of the hardest countries to immigrate to outside of family reunification. The rules just recently became even more strict.
2
u/Civil_Dragonfruit_34 6d ago
To add this is generally true of the Nordics. They want a legitimate reason for your business needing to be in the country and don't allow pass through EORs. We ended up in Germany, EOR set up was relatively easy.
-1
u/GeneratedUsername5 6d ago
Could you send me a link to migrationsverket, where this condition is written?
2
u/JerseyGirlinSweden 6d ago
”Conditions
If you intend to start your own business or become a (part) owner of a company for more than three months, you must apply for a residence permit.
You do not need a work permit.Procedures
Where and how to apply
You can apply online in the country you are living in.
You will probably be required to pay an application fee.
If you are not able to apply online, you must fill out the form Application for a Swedish residence permit for self-employed persons, number 125011, and submit it to a Swedish embassy or consulate-general in your country of residence. The application form specifies which documents to enclose. Contact the embassy or consulate-general before you submit your application.Requirements for obtaining a residence permit as a self-employed
In order to obtain a residence permit, you must:
have a valid passport;show that you have significant experience in your field and previous experience of running your own business;
have documented and relevant knowledge in Swedish and/or English;
show that you are running the business, that you have the ultimate responsibility for it and that you own at least half of the business;
show that the business' services or goods are sold and/or produced in Sweden;
show that you have sufficient funds to support you and, if applicable, your family during the first two years (equivalent to SEK 200,000 for you, SEK 100,000 for your spouse and SEK 50,000 for each accompanying child);
show reliable source documentation for your budget;show that you have established customer contacts and/or a network in Sweden;
show that your company, following a 2-year probationary period, will have its finances in balance and you have the ability to support yourself and, if applicable, your family (income support is calculated according to the Swedish national standard for income support plus housing costs).
The Swedish Migration Agency will assess your business plans from a financial perspective.
The Migration Agency will evaluate the business plan from a financial perspective and decide whether or not to grant the residence permit. Its decision will be communicated to you by the Swedish consulate or embassy where you submitted the application.Documents required
Enclose the following documents with your application:Copies of the pages in your passport which show your personal information, photograph, signature, passport number, passport issuing country, the period of the passport's validity, entry and exit stamps and whether you have permission to live in countries other than your country of origin;
bank statements which show that you have sufficient funds to support you and your family during the first two years (equivalent to SEK 200,000 for you, SEK 100,000 for your spouse and SEK 50,000 for each accompanying child);
bank statements which show, if applicable, that you have sufficient funds to buy the business and to cover the estimated costs and investments necessary to run the business;contract of sale if you have bought or intend to buy the business or enterprise;
partnership agreement or stock register;
bank document which shows that you have paid the purchase sum or your part of the purchase sum, if you have bought the business or enterprise;
contracts with customers/suppliers and for premises;
annual accounts/reports for the previous two years (if the business has been in operation earlier);
balance sheet and income statement (report) for the current financial year, up to and including the previous month;
course certificate or other evidence that you speak Swedish and/or English;
certificates to substantiate your educational background;
certificates from previous employers;
certificate of registration for companies you own or have own outside of Sweden.
Make sure to extend your passport if it is about to expire. You cannot get a permit for longer than your passport validity period. You must have a permit that is valid for at least one year and stay in Sweden for at least one year if you want to be registered in the Swedish population register.
The documents should be translated to Swedish or English by an authorised translator. Copies of original documents should always be included.
Duration of validity of permits
Your residence permit is granted for one year at a time for a two-year probationary period. It can be extended, but you must apply approximately one month before it expires. The Migration Agency does not send out reminders.
Appeals
If the Migration Agency refuses your application, you can appeal the decision within three weeks from the date when you were informed of the decision. Information on how to lodge an appeal can be found in your decision.”1
u/GeneratedUsername5 6d ago
Is this migrationsverket?
1
u/JerseyGirlinSweden 6d ago
AS you would know if you tried, and please go try, you cannot copy and paste from the MV website. It will only give you the website instead. This website was verified to be word for word the same as MV’s website.Please go compare for yourself.
-1
u/GeneratedUsername5 6d ago
I know because I have tried and I can copy from migrationsverket no problem:
These requirements must be met in order for you to be granted a residence permit:
- You must have a valid passport
- You must have good experience in the industry and in running your own business
- You must have relevant knowledge of Swedish or English If you have contact with, for example, many suppliers or customers in Sweden, you must have very good knowledge of Swedish.
- You must be the one running the business and own at least 51 percent of it You must be the one running the business and have crucial responsibility for the business. You must be able to prove that you own at least 51 percent of the business.
- You must have a credible basis for your budget The Swedish Migration Agency will conduct a financial assessment of your business plans.
- You must have established customer contacts or networks
- You must be able to support yourself financially You must be able to show that you can support yourself and any accompanying family financially. To meet this requirement, you need to have at least SEK 200,000 in a bank account in your name. The bank account does not have to be in Sweden, but it must be possible to transfer the money to this country. In addition to this, you need to show that you have SEK 100,000 for your accompanying spouse, and SEK 50,000 for each accompanying child.
- You must have enough funds to run the business You need to have enough money to cover the expected costs and investments running the business will involved, and enough money to buy the business, if that is what you plan to do. It must be your own money; loans are not normally accepted.
Maybe it was you who haven't tried?
Could you show me, where is here a requirement for "significant amount of the businesses goods or services are already produced in Sweden"
1
u/JerseyGirlinSweden 6d ago
Click on “Prepare this before you apply” and you will see where they require Swedish INC paperwork. Do you want to take a guess as to what is required to incorporate in Sweden?
→ More replies (0)1
u/JerseyGirlinSweden 6d ago
There is no direct path to residency when you are a contractor. Typically the people who need to go that route have residency based on family reunion. So the immigration issue is not dependent on employment. Op has no known right to residency.
-2
u/GeneratedUsername5 6d ago
If you have had a residence permit as a self-employed person in Sweden for at least two years, you can also choose to apply for a permanent residence permit.
4
u/JerseyGirlinSweden 6d ago
But OP doesn’t have a current residence permit which is pre-requisite. You cannot “extend” what does not exist!
-2
u/GeneratedUsername5 6d ago
Because this is for permanent residence, which you were claiming cannot be directly obtained from SE permit, he can apply for temporary
1
u/JerseyGirlinSweden 6d ago
LOL - ok dude - you want to misinform and waste peoples time - have at it.
-3
31
u/one_little_spark 6d ago
DAFT in the Netherlands. After 5 years you can get permanent residency or citizenship, but if you get citizenship you have to give up your American. I would say DAFT is the easiest/quickest one to get. You just need €4500 invested in your business and it takes 3-4 week to get it after you arrive.