Best residency options: which country fits your lifestyle and goals?
Nomad, founder, retiree or family office? Compare taxes, visas and daily life in Europe’s and the Gulf’s favourite bases – and find your match.
Move abroad.
A new home, a new tax residency and a clean exit from the old one – done properly.
Your passport says where you’re from. Not where you have to live.
Moving abroad is the single biggest tax lever most people have. It’s also the one with the most paperwork, the most myths and the most ways to get it slightly wrong.
The upside is huge: a country that taxes you less, bothers you less and has better weather. The trick is leaving your old tax residency cleanly, so you don’t end up paying tax in two places – or explaining yourself to your old tax office three years later.
Sound familiar?
Tax eats your raises.
Every extra euro earned seems to shrink on the way to your account.
Life feels expensive.
Rising costs, less left over at the end of the month.
The rules are a maze.
Residency, tax and social security rules nobody explains clearly.
Banks get nervous.
Accounts that are hard to open and easy to lose once you move.
Healthcare is a question mark.
Public, private, reciprocal – which one covers you where?
Planning ahead feels impossible.
Pensions, schools and politics that keep shifting under your feet.
Stop complaining. Take back control. Take back control
The legal stuff you can’t skip
Tick them off – your progress is saved in this browser only.
Leave officially: deregister with your municipality and tell your tax office. In Germany, keeping an apartment can be enough to stay fully taxable on your worldwide income – even while you sip coffee in Dubai.
Unpacking your suitcase isn’t enough. Many countries use a 183-day test, some have shortcuts like Cyprus’s 60-day rule. When two countries both claim you, the double tax treaty decides. Count your days with the day tracker.
Residency is where you live now; domicile is your long-term home. Some countries tax by one, some by the other – mix them up and you may still be taxed as if you never left.
Some countries tax unrealised gains when you leave – Germany on substantial shareholdings, the US when you give up citizenship. Plan the move before you sell or restructure.
Inside the EU, reciprocal agreements help. In the UAE you’ll need private health insurance – budget for it.
How to pick your new home base
Five questions decide almost everything:
- How does it tax you? No personal income tax (UAE), non-dom regimes for foreign dividends (Cyprus, Malta) or special regimes for skilled newcomers (Portugal’s IFICI). Compare them in the country guides.
- What does life cost? Rent in Lisbon and Dubai Marina are very different numbers – but so are the tax bills. Look at both.
- Who pays for healthcare? Public systems (Malta, Portugal) or private insurance (UAE)? Put the premiums in your budget.
- How do you get the permit? Through your own company, a nomad visa or only by investing? The Jurisdiction Finder weighs this for you.
- Will you actually like it? Climate, language, flights home, schools. The lowest tax rate is worth nothing if you’re miserable there.
Country guides
Time to find the perfect jurisdiction.
For those who are truly serious about finding the best conditions for their business and life.
Malta
EU, English, sunshine – and a 5% effective corporate rate for foreign shareholders.
EUEasy residency
Cyprus
15% corporate tax, a generous non-dom regime and an EU address in the sun.
EURemote setupEasy residency
Dubai (UAE)
No personal income tax, 0–9% corporate tax and a residence visa that comes with your company.
0% income taxRemote setupEasy residency
Delaware (USA)
A US LLC you can form from your sofa – tax-transparent for non-resident owners.
0% retainedRemote setup
Estonia
0% tax on retained profits, e-Residency and a company you run from your laptop.
EU0% retainedRemote setup
Liechtenstein
12.5% flat corporate tax, Swiss franc stability and centuries of private-wealth know-how.
Portugal
Quality of life, nomad-friendly visas and a special regime for skilled newcomers.
EUEasy residency
Romania
1% turnover tax for micro-companies, 10% flat income tax and low living costs – inside the EU.
EU
Georgia
1% on turnover for freelancers, 0% on retained profits and a year visa-free for many passports.
0% retainedRemote setupEasy residency
Paraguay
Territorial taxes, 10% rates and one of the easiest residence permits in the Americas.
Easy residency
United Kingdom
The bank-friendly Ltd and the transparent LLP – formed online in a day, trusted almost everywhere.
Remote setup
Switzerland
26 cantons, 26 tax systems – and some of the lowest corporate rates in Western Europe.
Spain
Sun, a digital nomad visa and the Beckham law: 24% flat for six years if you qualify.
EU
Italy
A fixed annual tax on all foreign income, 7% for pensioners in the south – and la dolce vita.
EU
Bulgaria
10% corporate tax, 10% income tax, 5% on dividends – inside the EU, Schengen and, since 2026, the eurozone.
EU
Frequently asked questions
When am I no longer tax resident in my home country?
That depends on your home country’s rules – typically once you’ve given up your home there and no longer spend most of the year there. In Germany, for example, keeping an apartment can be enough to stay fully taxable. Get advice before you move, not after.
Is the 183-day rule enough?
No. 183 days is a common threshold, but many countries also look at your permanent home, your family and your centre of vital interests. Spending fewer than 183 days somewhere doesn’t automatically make you non-resident there.
Can I live nowhere and pay no tax (perpetual traveller)?
It can work legally, but it’s harder than Instagram suggests: banks want a tax residency, and home countries often keep taxing you if you can’t prove you left. Read our perpetual travel guide.
Which country is easiest for residency?
For entrepreneurs: the UAE (visa through your own company), Cyprus and Malta (for EU citizens) and Portugal (D7/D8 visas) are among the most straightforward. The Jurisdiction Finder narrows it down for you.
Nerdy insights
Some insights.
The legal side of perpetual travel: residency tests, exit rules and staying compliant
The 183-day rule is a myth, banks want a tax residency and some passports tax you anyway. The legal checklist for living on the move.
Passport to savings: how perpetual travel works – and when a home base wins
Perpetual travel can cut your tax bill, but it’s harder than the forums say. How it works, who it suits and why a low-tax home base often wins.
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