Unhappy with the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election and hoping to move abroad?
If so, you’re certainly not alone. By the evening of November 6 on the U.S. East Coast, searches on Google about emigrating to Canada, New Zealand and Australia hit an all-time high for all three countries, according to an official for Google, Reuters reported on November 8.
Canada, New Zealand and Australia were also among the countries that ChatGPT suggested when Madison Rolley, a 26-year-old digital nomad/travel content creator and global content marketer in software, asked the AI chatbot to name the “easiest countries to move to” following the election.
Rolley left her apartment in Nashville, Tennessee, behind and has been a full-time traveler for the past four months, three of which have been spent outside the United States.
She recently asked ChatGPT “If I didn’t like the results of the election,” what are the top “easiest countries to move to?” and shared a video outlining the places highlighted by the bot on her TikTok account @madisonrolley, where it has had a million views since it was posted on November 6.
Rolley told Newsweek that the information shared in her video is based on “general knowledge about immigration policies, visa types, and expat experiences in those countries” noted by ChatGPT.
She also did her own research “to verify that these places still have those visas in place as well as looked on social media for expats and immigration experts to hear their experiences,” Rolley said.
The poster has visited seven—the majority—of the countries listed, including the European country that tops the ranking, where the content creator was staying at the time that she spoke to Newsweek earlier this month.
Here, we unpack the “easiest countries to move to if you find yourself not loving the results of the election,” according to ChatGPT, as outlined by Rolley.
Portugal
“It’s really easy to establish residency if you have a passive income,” Rolley says in the video.
The country offers several residence permits for employed and self-employed workers as well as “highly qualified” activity, including in certified companies, according to the official website for Portuguese immigration services. The residence permits require applicants to provide “evidence of sufficient means of subsistence,” among other forms of documentation.
Rolley told Newsweek: “I would have to agree with ChatGPT and say Portugal would be my top recommendation. They have several flexible visa types with easy and straightforward paths to residency and citizenship.”
She added: “They have a very large and friendly expat community, I’ve personally met a great deal of North and South Americans who have moved to Porto [where Rolley was at the time she spoke to Newsweek] full-time. The cost of living is particularly low, more so than any other European countries I have visited, making it a very affordable choice where your money can go a long way.”
Spain
Spain offers a non-lucrative (non-working) visa, “which allows non-EU [European Union] residents to live in Spain as long as they can provide that they have some sort of financial security that wouldn’t require them to work in Spain,” the poster says in the clip.
This visa allows people to reside in Spain “without carrying out any gainful (work or professional) activity, provided that the applicant has sufficient and guaranteed means to live on,” says the official website of the country’s ministry of foreign affairs.
Dependent children and relatives, as well as a spouse or unmarried partner, can also obtain a non-lucrative visa. Foreigners who want to work remotely can also obtain a telework (digital nomad) visa, the ministry notes.
Mexico
“Mexico has a temporary residence visa, where you can stay up to four years,” Rolley notes.
According to the Mexican government website, temporary residents can apply for permission to work in the country. Temporary residents who have completed four consecutive years of residence, can apply to change their status to permanent resident.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica offers a “provisional visa” that makes it “easy to move if you are retired,” Rolley says in the video.
According to the website for the Embassy of Costa Rica, applicants must provide documentation “proving that a permanent pension of at least one thousand U.S. dollars per month will be received, or its equivalent in [local currency] colones, using the exchange rate determined at that time by the Central Bank of Costa Rica.”
New Zealand
“New Zealand has a range of work visas and a really clear path to residency,” Rolley notes.
The country offers various visas depending on the age bracket you fall under, according to the New Zealand Immigration government website. Some of these include a “straight to residence” and “work to residence” visas, which applies to those whose work falls under either the Tier 1 or Tier 2 of the country’s “Green List,” as well as a permanent resident visa, which is for those who have had a resident visa for over two years.
Canada
Rolley noted that “Canada has the Express Entry system as well as Provincial Nominee System, which provides skilled workers a lot of options for getting a job in Canada and then eventually moving full-time.”
Canada offers three immigration programs through its Express Entry system, which includes ones for skilled workers with eligible Canadian or foreign work experience, or those who qualified in a skilled trade. Those eligible for one of these three programs can also apply for the Provincial Nominee System, according to the Canadian government website.
Australia
“Australia also has a skilled migration program where skilled workers can move to Australia for various roles, also offering a direct plan for residency,” the content creator noted.
One of the most common pathways to permanent residency is via a work-stream visa. “The type of visa you may get will depend on how long you want to stay” and “it is likely that you will need to have an occupation that is on a skills shortage list,” notes the Australia government website.
Ireland
“Ireland has a long-stay visa and also a really straightforward path to residency, especially if you’re an American with Irish heritage,” the Rolley says.
The Irish government website notes: “You are automatically an Irish citizen if one of your parents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth and was born on the island of Ireland.”
You can also become an Irish citizen through the “Foreign Birth Registration” process if one of your grandparents was born in Ireland or one of your parents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, even though they were not born in Ireland.
Those without Irish heritage can move to Ireland to work, study, invest or retire.
Germany
Germany offers various visas, including for eligible skilled workers that meet German qualifications, international skilled workers and “third-party nationals with foreign qualifications and extensive professional experience” who can work in a non-regulated profession in Germany, “even if their qualification is not formally recognized,” the German government website says.
Job seekers can also enter the country to find work by obtaining a “job search opportunity card” and in some cases, a visa may be required, the website says.
Rolley told Newsweek: “From that list, Germany is the hardest because they have a more complex system of visas and work permits that are less flexible and harder to obtain than the other countries. They also have a longer path to citizenship, requiring eight years of residency and [being able to] demonstrate German language proficiency.”
@madisonrolley on TikTok
Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via [email protected] and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
