Post: #1

I know there have been a couple of threads on this recently but I believe my situation is a bit different, hence the new thread. I want to move to a Western European country and leave the US for good! I lived in London for a year and I loved it. I met people from all over Europe and I can honestly say, European girls are much better looking than American girls. I don't just want to move there for the girls; I also like the public transport system and I like how close different countries are. I'm 30, my background is in Finance/Economics and I think my best chances are either 1. Netherlands via the Dutch American Friendship Treaty (self-employment) or 2. Germany via post-graduate studies or self-employment.

1. DAFT will allow me to establish residency in Holland but I will not be allowed to enter the labor market or else my stay will be revoked - I have to remain self-employed for a few years. Most people who utilize this work in creative fields like the arts or tech. I'm thinking about getting some training in computer science, learning Java, Python, etc. and getting contract work to make this work.

2. Germany is also lenient with self-employment residency permits for Americans and I also have the option of pursuing a PhD in Economics there. The latter is a long, hard road and at my age, I'm not sure I can do it.

I was previously thinking about Sweden, Finland, or Norway (I was accepted to Master's programs there) but Northern Europe has become very anti-immigrant and I'm not so sure I'll be able to add value in the Scandis as most people are fluent in English (most tend to be multilingual).

At last, my question is, has anyone here accomplished this - moved to the EU permanently? How did you go about this? Did you utilize the schemes above or a similar one? At my age, I'm leaning towards getting training in programming as the PhD route will require a ~5 yr commitment. If anyone knows of any resources or people who accommodate people like me, please let me know.

Post: #2

(06-26-2015 05:29 PM)RogerThat Wrote:  I know there have been a couple of threads on this recently but I believe my situation is a bit different, hence the new thread. I want to move to a Western European country and leave the US for good! I lived in London for a year and I loved it. I met people from all over Europe and I can honestly say, European girls are much better looking than American girls. I don't just want to move there for the girls; I also like the public transport system and I like how close different countries are. I'm 30, my background is in Finance/Economics and I think my best chances are either 1. Netherlands via the Dutch American Friendship Treaty (self-employment) or 2. Germany via post-graduate studies or self-employment.

1. DAFT will allow me to establish residency in Holland but I will not be allowed to enter the labor market or else my stay will be revoked - I have to remain self-employed for a few years. Most people who utilize this work in creative fields like the arts or tech. I'm thinking about getting some training in computer science, learning Java, Python, etc. and getting contract work to make this work.

2. Germany is also lenient with self-employment residency permits for Americans and I also have the option of pursuing a PhD in Economics there. The latter is a long, hard road and at my age, I'm not sure I can do it.

I was previously thinking about Sweden, Finland, or Norway (I was accepted to Master's programs there) but Northern Europe has become very anti-immigrant and I'm not so sure I'll be able to add value in the Scandis as most people are fluent in English (most tend to be multilingual).

At last, my question is, has anyone here accomplished this - moved to the EU permanently? How did you go about this? Did you utilize the schemes above or a similar one? At my age, I'm leaning towards getting training in programming as the PhD route will require a ~5 yr commitment. If anyone knows of any resources or people who accommodate people like me, please let me know.

Use the search feature as this topic has been covered on the forums extensively. There is a forum member by name of Buddha who has covered this already:
/thread-40423.html
He was able to get Estonian residency and is self-employed in finance.

Post: #3

Research the EU Blue Card - in Germany if you work in one of the "shortage" professions and earn a certain amount you can apply for permanent residence in Germany (and EU of course) after 33 months or 21 months with B1 German. So technically you can get permanent residence under 2 years if you meet all requirements. This is also avaliable in other EU countries, Have a look on Google.

Post: #4

(06-26-2015 09:38 PM)TripleG Wrote:  Use the search feature as this topic has been covered on the forums extensively. There is a forum member by name of Buddha who has covered this already:
/thread-40423.html
He was able to get Estonian residency and is self-employed in finance.

Thanks - I've read Buddha's thread on day gaming in Vienna and his Budapest reloc thread too. My goal was to make it permanent in Western Europe. I'm sure I can go to EE and "marry" someone for a meager amount but having permanent residency in WE is my goal.

Post: #5

(06-26-2015 10:09 PM)reverze41 Wrote:  Research the EU Blue Card - in Germany if you work in one of the "shortage" professions and earn a certain amount you can apply for permanent residence in Germany (and EU of course) after 33 months or 21 months with B1 German. So technically you can get permanent residence under 2 years if you meet all requirements. This is also avaliable in other EU countries, Have a look on Google.

I've read about the EU Blue Card and came across similar schemes for other WU countries but they're generally for healthcare and tech workers. There are too many finance people in the world as it is! I suppose I can learn German + programming to qualify and then it would be very similar to the DAFT. Thanks.

I knew there was a reason why I put the Blue Card idea on the side - the requirements are a bit odd. You need a job offer first. But you can't get a job offer in the EU because jobs have to go to EU citizens first as employers have to show they couldn't fill the role.
http://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Anlagen/EN...nn=1371038