Moving to Europe sounds romantic. Doing it is paperwork, taxes, and a hundred decisions nobody warned you about. We sort it out — with real numbers from official sources, verified and dated.
22 countries scored monthly against official sources on visa access, tax, cost of living, healthcare & lifestyle.
5% pension tax + easy entry
D7 from €920/mo · still strong
Citizenship now 10 years (May 2026), but D7 entry remains one of the most accessible for passive income.
7% flat tax for pensioners
The Unlock drops every Saturday with the latest changes to visa rules, tax rates, and cost-of-living data across all 22 countries.
Click any country for the full 2026 numbers: visas, tax, housing, healthcare, and honest trade-offs.
D7 visa from €920/month passive income (2026)
Non-lucrative visa from €2,400/month; golden visa gone
FIP visa · 7% flat tax for foreign pensioners
Elective residence + the 7% southern flat-tax towns
Long-stay visitor visa · ≅€1,478/month net benchmark
English-speaking · retirement programme rules
Category F residence · foreign pensions at 5%
Nomad permit to 18 months (€3,622/month, 2026)
No retirement visa — but real routes exist
DAFT route for Americans · housing reality check
Residence permits + the health-insurance decision
Ireland, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland…
Every guide uses official government sources — immigration authorities, tax offices, national statistics — with the source and the date we checked it.
Official statistics vs portal asking prices, €/m² compared area by area, and the cheapest coastal markets in Europe.
Read the reportThe passive-income visa most expat retirees use. 2026 requirements, real timelines, step by step.
Read the guideThe May 2026 nationality law doubled the wait for North Americans. What it means if you’re planning the move now.
Read the analysis“I spent a year researching a move to Portugal and couldn’t find a single source that gave me real numbers — visa income thresholds, actual tax rates, what a home costs per square metre — without trying to sell me something.
So I built one.”
No “best places to retire” listicles driven by commissions.
Every figure traces to an official government source with the date we checked it.
Just the numbers, the paperwork, and what it actually takes.
Visa changes and tax deadlines — the week’s news that affects your move, in plain English. Plus one country deep-dive and one concrete next step.
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The week’s changes that actually affect your move
Barometer scores, costs, and what changed
A concrete next step, not a daydream
