Student Visa
Going to school overseas can often be cheaper than doing so in the US, and many countries will let you stay afterwards for a limited time (6 months - 5 years depending on country and degree type) to look for an employer to sponsor you for a work visa. You can occasionally find programs taught entirely in English even in countries that don’t have it as an official language, though this is usually at the Masters or PhD level.
Keep in mind that many countries do not count years spent as a student towards residency for citizenship requirements, though there are exceptions. For Czechia, Estonia and Spain, your student time counts for half – so, for instance, four years of study would count as two years towards the residency requirement. For more information see
here and
here.
Do note that many countries do not consider American High School diplomas as proof of college readiness without several Advanced Placement credits, so it may be a good idea to do an associates degree in the US first. If you do choose to study within the US, doing a study abroad program can be a great way to check a country out to see if you would like to start planning a more permanent move there. You may even be able to do this in high school if your school has a foreign exchange program.
Language Learning Visa
This visa allows you to enter the country for the express purpose of enrolling in a language emersion school. You are required to attend a certain number of hours per week, and prove that you have enough money to support yourself for the duration of your stay. If you have a country that you are considering, this is good option to see if you would like it long term.
Work Visa
One of the easier ways to get into a country is to have a job on their skills shortage list, and usually at least 2 years of professional experience in that field. These occupations are often in healthcare, education, or STREAM (science, technology, research, engineering, architecture, mathematics). Having an occupation on the skills shortage list will often enable you to go that country to look for work without first having a sponsor. Search "[country] skills shortage list" to find out if your job qualifies.
If your occupation is not on the skills shortage list for your desired country, you will need to find and employer to sponsor you. This can be difficult as most countries require companies to prove that they could not find a qualified local candidate first. You will also likely be subject to salary thresholds to ensure you will not be reliant on welfare.
Some countries also have an ineligible occupations list of professions they will not issue a work visa for under any circumstances, as those fields are already oversaturated there. If you have a profession on this list you will need to emigrate through your spouse, change careers, or change your target country.
Another way to move abroad via work is through inter-company transfer. If you work for an international company and have some experience, see if they would be willing to transfer you to one of their overseas locations. They will usually also help with moving costs and relocation expenses, so this is a great option for those that have it available to them.
Digital Nomad Visas
Digital Nomad visas allow you to work remotely or freelance while in the country. These types of visas are usually not renewable without a reset period, meaning you would likely have to keep bouncing between countries using this method (hence the “nomad” part). If this is something that interests you,
r/digitalnomad is a good sub to checkout.
