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living in europe
I am seriously considering moving to Europe (from the States). The problem is of course the details--its overwhelming all the questions that emerge. Could anyone recommend a place to get started? A website devoted to Americans emigating, a book, etc? Any help appreciated. If it matters, employment is not a huge problem...I'm more interested in questions of residency status, tax issues (do I pay taxes there or in the States, for instance), qualifying for health care, and so on... again, any help gratefully recieved. |
#2
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"amy radcliff" skrev i meddelandet ... I am seriously considering moving to Europe (from the States). The problem is of course the details--its overwhelming all the questions that emerge. Could anyone recommend a place to get started? A website devoted to Americans emigating, a book, etc? Any help appreciated. If it matters, employment is not a huge problem...I'm more interested in questions of residency status, tax issues (do I pay taxes there or in the States, for instance), qualifying for health care, and so on... again, any help gratefully recieved. May I ask you first of all why you would like to move to Europe from the States? -- Luigi Donatello Asero (sono italiano ma vivo in Svezia) (я итальянец но я живу в Швеции ) (我是 意大利人 , 但是 我 住 在 瑞典) (minä olen Italian kansalainen, mutta minä asun Ruotsissa) https://www.scaiecat-spa-gigi.com/ |
#3
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amy radcliff wrote:
I am seriously considering moving to Europe (from the States). The problem is of course the details--its overwhelming all the questions that emerge. Could anyone recommend a place to get started? A website devoted to Americans emigating, a book, etc? Any help appreciated. If it matters, employment is not a huge problem...I'm more interested in questions of residency status, tax issues (do I pay taxes there or in the States, for instance), qualifying for health care, and so on... again, any help gratefully recieved. I've done this a few times. See a discussion of issues you will face in my chapter "Living in Europe: Travel to the Max as an Expatriate" at http://www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap22/living.htm -- ------------------------------------------------------ * * * Mastering Independent Budget Travel * * * http://www.enjoy-europe.com/ ------------------------------------------------------ This email powered by Thunderbird. Learn more at: http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/ |
#4
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amy radcliff wrote:
I am seriously considering moving to Europe (from the States). The problem is of course the details--its overwhelming all the questions that emerge. Could anyone recommend a place to get started? A website devoted to Americans emigating, a book, etc? Any help appreciated. If it matters, employment is not a huge problem...I'm more interested in questions of residency status, tax issues (do I pay taxes there or in the States, for instance), qualifying for health care, and so on... again, any help gratefully recieved. If you are a US citizen, you will be required to file a tax return with the IRS, as well as paying local taxes - but there is a large exemption, about $80,000. It can be just as difficult for an American to emigrate to a European country as it is for a European to move to the US - unless, of course, you can claim citizenship in a European country. |
#5
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I've done this a few times. See a discussion of issues you will face in
my chapter "Living in Europe: Travel to the Max as an Expatriate" at http://www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap22/living.htm Interesting read, to see how European things are viewed from "the other side". However, I'm wondering how long ago this was written? Some things, such as "Because credit cards are expensive, few Europeans use them" are simply no longer true. |
#6
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amy radcliff writes:
I am seriously considering moving to Europe (from the States). The problem is of course the details--its overwhelming all the questions that emerge. You need a job and a visa, both of which are extremely difficult to obtain. The fastest way to obtain the right to live in Europe is to marry a European national. Once you have the right to live there, you have the right to work there, although having the right to work doesn't guarantee that you'll ever find a job (you still need useful skills, including language skills, and the job market in most European countries is very weak). The most efficient way to obtain a job is to join a large multinational in the States and negotiate a transfer. This will cover both visa and work-permit issues, and from there you can sometimes negotiate a permanent position abroad. However, this option is usually available only for highly-skilled jobs or management, and a lack of language ability is often a deal-breaker for some companies. And if you move from a foreign-service status to a local employee status (for permanent employment abroad), you can expect a huge drop in income, too. Could anyone recommend a place to get started? There are books on the topic. Search Amazon.com for "working abroad" or similar terms and dozens of titles will show up. If it matters, employment is not a huge problem ... If you are independently wealthy, all you need is permission to stay, which greatly simplifies things. In some countries, you can get permission to stay just by proving that you don't have to work. Marrying a local will also give you permission to stay. I'm more interested in questions of residency status ... In most cases what you would want is permanent residency status, although it is called different things in different jurisdictions. It usually requires a lot of time and effort to obtain. ... tax issues (do I pay taxes there or in the States, for instance) ... The USA is one of the few countries in the world that taxes its citizens even when they live abroad, so you probably will have to pay taxes both in the USA and in the country in which you're living. There are some provisions to help diminish double taxation and allow for lower incomes, but you still have to file returns in most cases. ... qualifying for health care ... Generally if you are a legal resident you qualify for something, in countries with national health care systems. Working is a better guarantee of qualifying for health care. Health-care systems are often very different from the United States, for better or for worse. The usual pattern is more universal and less expensive health care, but longer waits, fewer personal choices, and somewhat lower standards. -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail. |
#7
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Luigi Donatello Asero wrote: "amy radcliff" skrev i meddelandet ... I am seriously considering moving to Europe (from the States). The problem is of course the details--its overwhelming all the questions that emerge. Could anyone recommend a place to get started? A website devoted to Americans emigating, a book, etc? Any help appreciated. If it matters, employment is not a huge problem...I'm more interested in questions of residency status, tax issues (do I pay taxes there or in the States, for instance), qualifying for health care, and so on... again, any help gratefully recieved. May I ask you first of all why you would like to move to Europe from the States? You have to ASK?????? (I've been sorely tempted, too, in view of our current government - but at my age there are too many potential problems.) |
#8
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Nick Zentena wrote: amy radcliff wrote: I am seriously considering moving to Europe (from the States). The problem is of course the details--its overwhelming all the questions that emerge. Could anyone recommend a place to get started? A website devoted to Americans emigating, a book, etc? Any help appreciated. If it matters, employment is not a huge problem...I'm more interested in questions of residency status, tax issues (do I pay taxes there or in the States, for instance), qualifying for health care, and so on... again, any help gratefully recieved. Residency will depend on how you're moving. If you aren't working you'll have to show income or enough assets. For example I think the UK requires 25K Pounds per yer in income. Italy is a similar amount. If you have a EU passport it's much easier. I wonder how the figure it if you have little income but have substantial liquid assets from which you remove significant spending money. Taxes depend on the tax treaty between the US and the country you move to. Unless you're moving to a tax haven expect to pay taxes on worldwide income in the country you're living in. If you don't feel up to reading International tax treaties then paying a tax lawyer for a hour of thier time will be a good thing. Just make sure they deal with international issues. For Italy try this site: http://expattalk.com/groupee/forums Many of the issues will be similar within the EU. Nick |
#9
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EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) writes:
You have to ASK?????? (I've been sorely tempted, too, in view of our current government - but at my age there are too many potential problems.) If you have the financial means to retire, Europe can be an attractive place to do it. -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail. |
#10
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"If it matters, employment is not a huge problem...I'm more interested
in questions of residency status, tax issues (do I pay taxes there or in the States, for instance), qualifying for health care, and so on... again, any help gratefully recieved." As for taxes, you need to look up something called the "double taxation treaty" with the country or countries that you are considering. Basically, if you are outside the US for 330 days out of a 365 day period, you can exempt the first $80,000 of your income during that 365-day period from US taxes. (You don't have to spend 330 days in the country you are living in, just any country besides the US.) Then the double taxation treaty determines how much of your income is taxed in your new country of residence (usually 10% or 20%). The end result is usually that you wind up paying far less in taxes as an American expatriate in Europe than you would if you were still in the US. You need to check with the immigration department of the country in order to see what the deal is with work visas or residence visas. In general European countries have been making legal immigration more difficult, but if you have special skills (e.g. information technology, health care professional) you might be able to get a work visa. In the case of Japan, you can go there for three months on a tourist visa, look for a job, and then get a work visa. I don't know if European countries allow that or not, but it makes things a lot easier. Italy and Ireland have a provision for citizenship based on ancestry (Germany used to but no longer does since they were getting flooded by people from Eastern Europe who were like 1/8 German) - I think you need a grandparent born in one of those countries. If you can get dual nationality with Ireland or Italy, you can live and work anywhere in the European Union. |
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