(guitar playing softly) - [Briggs] What is going on everyone. I thought we'd start winding down our "Where Americans are Migrating to Outside the United States" series. Today's video is about the countries that are the easiest to immigrate to. Whatever country you've
decided to immigrate and acquire any sort of citizenship, they're going to be hurdles to overcome and there's always going
to be strings attached. There's always strings attached in red tape and bureaucracy
and all of that nonsense. One thing I have learned while doing all this research is most countries love American retirees. And that's because you are
adding money to the economy without needing a job that might otherwise go
to one of the locals. So you're just
strengthening their economy. So how did I figure out which countries are the
easiest to immigrate to? It was easy. I called a relative who works on the legal
side of immigration, she hooked me up with
the information I needed. So yeah, this one was
kind of easy on my brain. Let's see what we got. (screeching) Number 10, Panama. Now I lived in Panama
while I was in the military and I loved it. It's a beautiful country and it's extremely cheap to
live especially back then. I remember someone telling me back then as a young corporal in the army, which you don't make much, but apparently I was making more a month than the average Panamanian
man was making in a year. So that was nice. So it had an extremely low
cost of living back then and it really hasn't had any major jumps in the last 25 years or so. Spanish is the main language here but English is widely
used in Panama as well. So, that's one hurdle you don't have to get over in most cases. You and your valid American passport allow you to visit Panama
without a visa for 180 days. If you want to stay longer, you got to go talk to the
immigration authorities. Now I'm going to give you a
lot of numbers and timetables on this video and keep in mind, a lot of these countries change their restrictions
and their policies on a regular basis. So don't give me a hard time if three months from
now something changed. Plus we're in the middle of COVID-19, so God knows what's going
to happen 60 days from now. Anyway, to get residency you need a job or deposit $5,000 in a Panamanian bank. If you're opening up a company, they have other rules
about what it's worth and how many people you
could possibly employ. You become eligible for citizenship after five years of permanent residence. Like I said about the retirees, Panama offers retiree visas for those having a minimum
pension of a $1,000 a month. So if you're on social security
and not making that much, they probably just won't
give you a free pass. This visa also gives you
discounts on movie theaters, restaurants, hotels,
healthcare and medication, sort of like a visa slash AARP card. No dual citizenships in Panama. So you've got to give
up that US citizenship to become a Panamanian citizen. (screeching) Number nine, Belize Belize is often an overlooked
Central American country. It's really not even a
Central American country even though it's in Central America. It used to be known as British Honduras. And it is actually a Caribbean country located on the Northeastern
coast of Central America. Belize is bordered on
the northwest by Mexico and on the east by the Caribbean Sea. And then to the southwest
you have Guatemala. I think it's overlooked because it's really one of
the least developed countries in Central America. The entire country has
less than 500,000 residents and its biggest city has
only around 50,000 residents. More people on a normal Sunday watch the Jets lose in person. Yeah, 50,000 people. Belize is sparsely populated and the cost of living is very low. As well as the real
estate is pretty low too. The official native language
in Belize is English. So that's good for you Americans who don't want to learn another language. There's an old joke that says, "What do you call someone that speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone
that speaks one language? You call them an American." Yeah, we're just not too big on learning other people's
languages for some reason. I don't know if it's
arrogance or laziness. Anyway, if you're into
environmental causes, rainforest, scuba
diving, and nice beaches, I'm sure this place is
already on your radar. US citizens can enter the
country with a visa for one month but to stay longer, a visa extension has to be
requested every single month. If you live here for 50 consecutive weeks you're entitled to apply
for a permanent residence. Holding permanent residency status for a minimum of five years will make you eligible for citizenship. Citizenship applications are usually decided
upon within six months. In order to get your
actual Belize citizenship, you got to give up the old citizenship. (screeching) Number eight, Ecuador. Now we've talked about
Ecuador in previous videos. It's a great place to live. It's a lot like Belize when it comes to the natural environment. The countryside is amazing. The big cities, not so much. Go to Google Street View and see if you could find any residents with ground floor windows
that don't have bars on them. I tried for over an hour, I found one. I'm not even joking. Ecuador is one of the fastest when it comes to getting
naturalization by residency. I mean, worldwide, not
just in Central America. And it's affordable to
actually buy your way in. They have great healthcare, low taxes, and a low violent crime rate overall. I guess the criminals just take your junk not your life in Ecuador. You could stay for 90
days with just a passport and after that you got to kind of fill
out some paperwork. US citizens including
entrepreneurs and retirees have to apply for a
temporary residence visa. 21 months after obtaining
temporary residence, you may file an application
for permanent residence. Once you have completed three years of legal, temporary,
permanent residence stuff, you can apply for naturalization. And if you do get it, you got to give up your US citizenship or wherever you came
from, Canada, whatever. That's part of the Ecuadorian law. (screeching) Number seven, Denmark. And switching to Europe we have the Kingdom of Denmark. This is a Nordic country
in Northern Europe. Denmark is the southern most country of all the Scandinavian countries. This is one that doesn't
have a low cost living. It actually is one of the
higher countries on this list. It's actually one of the
higher countries in the world. US citizens get visa
free entry for Denmark for no more than three months. That's it, three months and you got to head back
to where he came from unless you want to apply for citizenship. There's a few different ways
to gain citizenship in Denmark the longest being nine years, but it's worth the effort. To settle here, you will have to apply
as a student, a worker, or a spouse of a Danish citizen. So it just takes a lot of time but there's not a lot of
extra hurdles to go through. They do have another thing
called the Golden Investors Visa which if you've invested
over 100,000 euros in a company that's in Denmark, they kind of speed things along. You don't really have to work, your money just has to be there. That can also take up to nine years but I heard that one gets
pushed along pretty quick. Denmark does allow dual nationality. So that's different. (screeching) Number six, Brazil. Everybody knows Brazil. One of the biggest countries in the world. It is a beautiful country
with amazing beaches and attractive people. Stay in the tourist areas if you value your life. They have some really great
places to live and visit, but they also have some places that you should avoid going to, actually avoid being anywhere near them like 20 mile radius. But they do have a solid
economy and healthcare is free. Sure you paid for it in taxes but you don't need to
avoid going to the doctor because you can't afford a deductible or something like that. If you just want to move
there and get a job, that can take a while. It can take up to 15 years
to become an actual citizen. You know, you got to
fill out some paperwork, not terribly hard, and they're not actively looking for people to throw out of the country. You just gotta be there 15 years and you'll become a citizen. But the process will be easy if you're an investor,
a professional professor or a skilled worker. For acquiring citizenship, you must live there for
like 15 years uninterrupted. But this can actually be
shortened to four years if you have a well-paying
job and you speak Portuguese. Yeah, so you can actually
drop it down to four years if you could speak Portuguese. So yeah, that's something. The quickest way to obtaining
residency or citizenship is by marrying a Brazilian citizen or investing 126,000 US
dollars in any local company. Retirees may apply for a permanent visa under the Retirement
Residence Transfer Program, that can be done in a couple of months. Dual citizenship is allowed in Brazil. (screeching) Number five, Mexico. The cost of living is why
people move to Mexico. The beaches, food, and
rainforests are why they stay. Sure they have areas that
are controlled by cartels. They should probably be avoided but if you're looking to save some money maybe it's worth it. Sort of like Black Friday at Target. Mexico maintains a low cost of living, a good quality of life
and excellent health care. Also has the best tacos. Mexico allows US citizens a visa free entry for 180
days for tourism purposes. But if you want to go all in with Mexico, you need to apply for
temporary residence visa with permission to work. Eventually leading you
to permanent residency. To apply for a citizenship you must have lived there for at least five years uninterrupted and as a permanent resident
or must have family ties. You'll also be required to take a test on Mexican history and culture. Or you'll be interviewed,
they say, if you're over 60. So if you're over 60 they don't want you to learn
anything about Mexican history. They'll just ask you some questions to make sure you're not insane. If you marry a Mexican the conditions of legal residency will drop down to two years. Mexican law does not
restrict dual citizenship so you can stay an American too. I have a friend that's
lived in Mexico for years and he said all those
numbers can be pushed aside if you grease the right palm. I guess that's true with a lot of third
world countries really. (screeching) Number four, New Zealand. New Zealand is beautiful and you have to have
some coin to live there. If you look at New Zealand from
a statistical point of view, they are killing it. The only knock on this
country is the cost of living. Their big cities are very expensive. The rural place is obviously like any other
country, aren't as expensive. But yeah, Auckland is
one of the most expensive cities in the world right now. US citizens may reside
and work in New Zealand for an indefinite period of time as a permanent resident
on a skilled migrant visa. And that's available to you if you've got some skills they need. You may also choose from
the investment visas where you can invest at least
3 million New Zealand dollars and they'll let you stay. I mean, if you're putting
$3 million into the country, they should let you stay. New Zealand doesn't care how many citizenships you actually have. You can have five, they don't care. (screeching) Number three, Ireland. Even though a lot of my
DNA comes from Ireland, I have never found it very appealing. I don't know why. A lot of people love the place. It's right up my alley too. It's wet, green, and beautiful. I don't know why I have
no desire to go there. Anyway, Ireland does have a lot to offer from a stellar quality of
life, a good healthcare system, solid education system,
picturesque outdoors, and great beer. Acquiring Irish citizenship
has its challenges but it's a short amount of wait time. Pathways include citizenship by descent, by marriage or by the
naturalization process. You can become a naturalized citizen by living in Ireland for one year. That's it, just one year. To go all the way to citizenship, you have to live here
for at least four years in total out of eight. You know, you can do one year, go to the U S for six months, come back for another, you
know, things like that. You just have to be there half of the time out of eight years. You can enter visa free but to stay after 90 days, you got to pick from one
of the different visa programs they have. They have several to choose from. You just choose the one that
suits your situation the best. And once you're in there on a visa you just have to keep your
nose clean for that year and then you become the naturalized
citizen after you apply. In my understanding, this is just rumor, that it's pretty easy. If you don't get in trouble they pretty much give it to you. Ireland does not require you to relinquish your US citizenship. (screeching) Number two, Sweden. We all know about Sweden. It's a great country. It's considered one of the
happiest countries in the world with one of the highest quality of life. Along with one of the best
work balances on the planet. With a valid passport, US citizens are allowed to stay
in Sweden for up to 90 days. But if you plan on working, learning, or starting a business, you'll need to get a permit for that. To be able to apply for citizenship you must have lived in Sweden
for five years uninterrupted with no criminal convictions. This is another one. If you keep your nose clean, I wouldn't say guaranteed citizenship but you've got a really good chance. You just got to keep your nose clean. Don't get into trouble. Just keep in mind that once
you've crossed into Sweden you'll have to deal with
a high cost of living and some pretty steep taxes. They also have a Golden Investor Visa. Another one of these countries that if you have 100,000 euros
invested in a local company, you get to stay and it's easier
to secure your citizenship. My opinion, Sweden is one of
the best ones on this list. They've got really good stats. Sure the cost of living
and the taxes are high but this is a great country to live in. Everything else is outstanding
about this country. And stop typing, I'm sorry you had a bad
experience in Sweden and you've got some bone to
pick with some guy named Sven. All right, before we get to number one, don't forget to hit that
like button and subscribe. If you already haven't, be a part of our community, help us get over the 500,000
hump and onto a million. All right, on to number one. (screeching) And number one, Canada. The first thing that makes Canada so attractive to Americans is, it's the next country over
and it doesn't have cartels. I mean, that's the top of everyone's list. Canada is a very politically
and economically sound country. It's almost like the entire
country is this no drama zone. The cost of living and taxes
are a bit higher than the US but you get to see a
doctor and a pharmacist without going into debt. Canada offers more than
60 immigration programs to choose from including one
called Express Entry Program meant to attract skilled workers the country might be short on. Other ways of becoming a Canuck include, having a job in Canada, having a sponsored letter
from a family member or 125,000 Canadian dollars
invested in a Canadian company. You can also start or buy a business. They're very strict when
it comes to the rules about their immigration. Including, you have to live
there three out of five years to even apply for citizenship. You will be required to show that you can meet your
tax filing obligations and prove that you speak English. They'll also make you take a test showing that you understand the rights and responsibilities
of a Canadian citizen. And they have no problem with
you keeping dual citizenship. (guitar playing softly) All right, that's today's video. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Hope you got some information out of it. Yeah, this one was just
a bunch of information that people have been asking for. So I hope this helps some of you if this is something
you're thinking about. But yeah, all right,
everybody have a great day. Be nice to each other. (guitar playing softly )
