Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 3
I’m interested in an investor visa in a warm EU country, or possibly Canada?
My biggest worry is navigating the banking rules/setup in a country where I don’t know the language as I only speak English (my wife speaks passable Spanish).
I say maybe Canada because it’s English speaking mostly, but I don’t really understand if their investor visa is even a possibility.
Any thoughts on where to go?
I’ve read about Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain a bit, and it appears I can either buy real estate (Greece) or invest in the country’s government bonds to gain residency, but my main question for non-US folks here is how hard would it be for an English speaking person to set up a banking relationship in a foreign country?
No. of Recommendations: 7
Cardude,
1. As a US citizen, opening a bank account in the EU is a bit
of a hassle, but not due to language barriers. The hoops you jump
through will depend on the country, but it's not too onerous; it's
just not as convenient as we're used to with US banks.
2. In your post you mention looking into a Investor Visa option
(sometimes referred to a "Golden Visa"), but you might also
check out variants of a Retirement Visa, which doesn't generally
require a large upfront capital investment ... but rather that
you can provide documentation of sufficient income from your
assets.
Good luck!
-Rubic
No. of Recommendations: 1
Hey thanks!
I’ve been doing more research and I think we are interested in the Malta program. It doesn’t seem that expensive to us (110000 EU fee plus rent a place for 14000 eu annually for 5 years). The thing that interested me the most is English is spoken by 88% there allegedly. My wife is good with languages, but I’m pretty hopeless.
Do you know anything about Malta? We have travelled to Italy a few times and love the food and the people, but don’t know Malta.
https://info.latitudeworld.com/hubfs/Program%20Gui...
No. of Recommendations: 3
Look into the Spanish non-lucrative visa.
If you can show a fairly low passive income, on the order of 30K Euros/year, and have health insurance, you can qualify for a one year renewable visa if you promise not work. After five years you can apply for a permanent visa.
No. of Recommendations: 0
Ah cool. Thanks. Will check that out.
No. of Recommendations: 4
From what I've heard of people living in Malta, one the main
problems is that it's a small, boring place to live. You would
definitely want to take an extended holiday there first.
The other problem is the EU (as of April 2025) considers Malta's
"golden passport" program illegal and violates EU law.
If you move to a major city in the EU, the language barrier
will be less of an issue. In Lisbon, for example, almost
everyone under the age of 40 is fluent in English, which is
more widely spoken as a second language than Spanish, despite
Spain being our closest neighbor.
For me, one of the appeals of moving to a foreign country
was the opportunity to learn a new language. This is a
slight problem here, as everyone's English is better than
my Portuguese, so I have to actively seek out older folks
to practice my limited conversation skills. ;-)
-Rubic
No. of Recommendations: 1
Yes Malta is definitely small and seemingly isolated, so it was never on my list. However when I investigated more it seems to be easy and relatively cheap to hop on a plane and explore the rest of the EU? Not as easy as hoping on a train in Spain or wherever, but still not terribly difficult? My thought was to use Malta as a home base and get a “cheap” apartment there (minimum 14000 euro per year as per the rules). If I could do this on the mainland EU somewhere for around the same cost I would do it, but I don’t see that availability? I want the ability to not HAVE to live there while I establish residency also. Do you think Portugal’s residency scheme is a better deal?
I see the Golden Passport program was ruled illegal, but not the Golden Visa program, which is what I’m considering. Are you pursuing citizenship in Portugal? With my English only language issues I don’t think I could ever pass a citizenship test anywhere it’s not done in English. Malta is 88% English speakers supposedly? I thought that would make setting up banking much easier as forms seem to be in English also? How was it for you setting up banking in Portugal?
We are planning a trip to Malta later this summer to see it all in person, and will to try to test flying from Malta to other places in the EU to see how easy or difficult that is.
Forbes article on the illegal golden passport schemes
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexledsom/2025/05/08...
No. of Recommendations: 6
<< Are you pursuing citizenship in Portugal? With my English only language
issues I don’t think I could ever pass a citizenship test anywhere it’s not
done in English. >>
Yes, I can apply for Portuguese citizenship after living here for 5 years.
Regarding the language itself, I don't think you're giving yourself enough
credit. The level of proficiency is pretty basic. Thousands of immigrants,
including those who work as laborers, pass the government exams each
year. You have the option of signing up for the CIPLE exam whenever
you feel ready during your five year temporary residency -or- enrolling
in a government language class. I opted for the latter because it was
more fun and I made some new friends. After completing the A1/A2 level
(required for citizenship), I then applied and was accepted into the B1/B2
program, which I'll complete this month. In both courses I was the only
American student and enjoyed myself immensely.
<< Malta is 88% English speakers supposedly? I thought that would make
setting up banking much easier as forms seem to be in English also?
How was it for you setting up banking in Portugal? >>
Again, it's not the language barrier that's a problem for an American
setting up a bank account in Europe -- it's the draconian US regulations
that make bank officials reluctant to accept American clients.
I was able to handle all of this via a Zoom meeting with an attorney
and had everything set up before I arrived in Portugal.
-Rubic
No. of Recommendations: 1
Excellent info! Thanks so much.
Can you recommend a good immigration attorney?
No. of Recommendations: 1
Look into the Spanish non-lucrative visa.
If you can show a fairly low passive income, on the order of 30K Euros/year, and have health insurance, you can qualify for a one year renewable visa if you promise not work. After five years you can apply for a permanent visa.
I’m liking this idea better the more I think about it and read up on Malta. Malta might be too crowded and chaotic for me. Also, I don’t have to put up a large amount of money with this visa, but we do have to live in Spain 6 months out of the year.
Anyone here living Spain? How are the banking regulations in Spain?
No. of Recommendations: 2
<< Can you recommend a good immigration attorney? >>
I didn't use an immigration attorney to apply for my visa. The
non-immigration attorney was used by a service to facilitate
opening my bank account while I was still living in the US
(at minimal cost).
Once you've decided which country you decide to immigrate to,
you can then take the necessary steps to open a bank account.
-Rubic
No. of Recommendations: 7
Couple comments about Portugal as a newer (April) immigrant than Rubic. The general experience on the FB expat group I follow is that it is becoming more and more difficult to establish a local bank account, mostly because regulatory compliance with US rules is increasingly burdensome on the bank. Several banks that were recommended in the past, like Millennium, are said to rarely if ever be issuing new expat accounts. I got an account at Novobanco through an attorney, which has been OK although I still have not figured out how to get my address changed in their records, or get the card validated for most online purchases or the "MB" finance system that is widely used here. I'd like to get a second account for redundancy but it seems best to wait until my initial residency card is issued, which could take many months yet. Also interested in moving assets into EU brokerages, and likewise.
The new government is discussing implementing a longer path to qualify for citizenship (10 vs. 5 years) and perhaps a language test requirement for residency card renewals in the interim.
The immigration bureaucracy is very overworked and opaque. Do not expect rapid turnaround on anything AIMA-related.
I've lost about 10 pounds since arriving due to walking 5-6 km/day. The more I walk, the smaller Lisboa feels to me :-) Starting to feel more at home, and have made the acquaintance of some handsome Portuguese Cats while out and about. The Marvila parish council really seems to like their outdoor cat population and has nice shelters put out here and there, one with little lace curtains in the doorways to cut down on the sun.
No. of Recommendations: 4
BTW to follow up on the "best" country, first, it's so situational that a general recommendation is pointless. People might have recent ancestors giving them an easier path in certain EU countries, for example. Your financial and work situation and long-term plans may or may not mesh with the available visas (I would have liked Ireland but there is simply no long-term path available for someone my age. Some countries would not have allowed me to continue working. etc.)
My goal was long-term residency with a path to citizenship and free movement in Schengen, on the basis that the Former United States is not a place I can imagine spending the rest of my life without daily suffering and enormous risk. Eastern Europe was out because of proximity to Russia. Malta was out because of isolation and size. Portugal on a LT digital nomad visa was a good choice, language barriers not as severe, relatively welcoming to immigrants (at least, affluent white ones). Canada was absolutely out as they are at direct existential risk of Nazi invasion. I am hoping the EU nations realize the severity of the risks they now face and are prepared to defend themselves. They may be the last holdout of democratic government in the world.
No. of Recommendations: 2
I am hoping the EU nations realize the severity of the risks they now face and are prepared to defend themselves. They may be the last holdout of democratic government in the world.
This is my thought, and why I’m angling for an EU residency visa now.
I can’t move immediately due to family responsibilities, but my idea is to try to prepare a sort of “escape hatch” in advance somehow without having to move there.
Malta is on my list because I think I can arrange it remotely (meeting with an immigration specialist today to see if that really is the case), but I don’t know if I can actually live there long term due to crowding, isolation , climate risks, etc. But I suppose I could just keep it as a home base and travel around the EU maybe?
I don’t think I’m interested in any of the Caribbean countries. I’m tired of battling hurricanes, and will need better healthcare I think. I’m currently recovering from a surgery and can’t imagine doing this on some remote island.
No. of Recommendations: 0
But I suppose I could just keep it as a home base and travel around the EU maybe?
Within the Schengen 90 day limit and whatever residency requirement the host country imposes. I'm not sure if that relaxes once you have permanent residency, or only upon acquiring citizenship.
