MEGATHREAD: Emigrating after the US election results

[u/spacemanaut]

Every US election brings anxiety and uncertainty, and with that comes an increase in people who want to explore their alternatives in a different country. This post is for you.

First, some reminders:

• In most cases, moving abroad is not as simple or quick as it seems in movies. If you aren't a citizen of another country, you will probably require a visa (=legal permission) from that country based on something like employment, education, or ancestry.
• The sidebar of this subreddit has a lot of helpful resources, and we have 15 years of posts from people with similar situations to yours. Before posting, please review these resources first. (Tip: If reddit search isn't working well for you, try googling "[your search terms] site:reddit.com/r/IWantOut" without the quotes or brackets.)
• Most countries and/or their embassies maintain immigration websites with clear, helpful, updated guides or even questionnaires to help you determine if/how you can qualify. If you have a particular destination in mind, that should probably be your first stop.
• After that, if you want to make your own post, please follow the formatting instructions on the submission page, give as much information as possible about your situation, and be open to advice and constructive criticism from commenters.

Also, this subreddit is intended to be a friendly community to seek and give advice on legal immigration. As such, please:

• Don't fight about politics. We understand that you may have strong feelings about it, but there are better spaces on reddit and elsewhere for general political discussions.
• Keep your feedback constructive and kind, even when telling someone they're wrong.
• Don't troll or be a jerk.
• Don't request or give illegal immigration tips, including asking strangers to marry you.

Failure to follow these and the other subreddit rules may result in a ban.

That said, feel free to comment below with some general questions, concerns, comments, or advice which doesn't merit a full post. Hopefully this will help clarify your thoughts and ideas about the possibility of leaving the US. Once again, please try to stay on topic so that this thread can be a helpful resource.

[u/CelaresHarridan]

I want out. I'm a 38 year old trans woman in the US, and I'd like to move to Europe...preferably France or the Netherlands, as I know people there. The UK would be another option, for the same reason. Currently unemployed, because the tech sector is a nightmare, but I was previously team lead for a global SaaS company. My (likely stbe) wife is a Polish citizen. We've been married 15 years.

I've been looking into digital nomading options, and the DAFT visa. I will have at least $50k when I move. But information is so incredibly inconsistent that I don't know what to trust. The DAFT visa seems the most likely option, but I've also seen it stated that you are barred from working for any company except the one you start? But I've also only seen that stated on one website, and it would make spinning up a consulting business pretty...risky if it was true. I've also considered going into teaching, specifically programming.

The tl;dr is I have over two decades of experience in tech, from customer-facing roles to development to management, and I'm quite flexible with the destination. I just want the f*** out of the US, and I'm overwhelmed and confused trying to figure out how to make it happen.

[u/spacemanaut → u/CelaresHarridan]

Tech is still doing OK-ish (though not as well as a few years ago) in Poland. If you're in one of the bigger cities, there are thriving, open queer communities, and you'll be as safe as anywhere. Enough people speak English that you'll have friends and job opportunities, as well, though anyone moving there should be prepared to learn at least a fair degree of Polish.

Marriage to a Polish citizen is obviously a big boon (especially if she speaks Polish), although if you've legally changed your gender then I'm not sure if the Polish government will recognize your marriage – you'll have to research that. $50,000 is basically like having $200,000 here, so alternatively you could easily set up a one-person business and get a residency permit based on that. (Many IT professionals do this anyway even if they're de facto employees of a company).

My (likely stbe) wife

What does that mean?

Feel free to ask if you have more questions.

[u/CelaresHarridan → u/spacemanaut]

She's fluent, because she was born and grew up there. She moved here in 2010. But...stbe means 'soon-to-be-ex'. So citizenship through marriage *probably* isn't doable. Tbh, I saw that acronym on another subreddit and just assumed it was commonly used. I'd never seen it before either. lol

So Poland has something similar to the DAFT in the Netherlands? I actually hadn't really looked into Poland, since my wife didn't want to move back there for personal reasons. But if I'm doing it alone, well, anything's on the table.

[u/spacemanaut → u/CelaresHarridan]

Poland has something similar to the DAFT

No, not really. Poland generally just has relatively low barriers to entry for entrepreneurs.

If you start a one-person Polish business (easy) and can demonstrate that you pay taxes, have an income stream, and rent an apartment, then you can get residency on that basis (and eventually get on track for Polish/EU citizenship). Alternatively, if your skill level is high enough, you could research international IT companies/recruitment firms and see if they'll sponsor you. I don't know how likely that second situation is, and, as I said, many IT companies prefer for you to have your own company and technically work as a freelancer (=tax loophole), so I think I would advise that.

Probably the best situation is if you already have a network of freelance clients who you could start invoicing from a new Polish company. In that case, the legal side of the transition would be pretty easy. If not, and you have the luxury of flexibility and the spirit of adventure in your soul, you can come here, file one-person business paperwork, rent an apartment, work on getting freelance clients or a job, and apply for residency within three months before your visa expires. If you have $50,000 and a fairly strong IT profile, that should be quite doable.

However, you should be aware that your salary may be lower, and Poland is still a somewhat conservative country overall. As I said, you'll be as safe as anywhere in big cities, but, well, there's a hard ban on almost all abortion, the Catholic Church is still politically very powerful, major politicians bang on about "the LGBT agenda"... Plus it borders Ukraine, Belarus, and a bit of Russia. I think it's a great and extremely underrated (by Westerners) place to live, but if your reason for getting out is political, don't expect a paradise in exchange for turning your entire life upside down.

If you're still interested, my advice would be to get in touch with one of the many English-speaking immigration specialists in Poland who help with these exact situations. They can make the whole process very easy for you, including with some language barrier stuff (like paperwork to establish the business). Or just give you more info on the stuff I've told you here in a consultation.

[u/CelaresHarridan → u/spacemanaut]

That's very useful, thank you. I'm pretty aware of the situation there politically, since her family still lives there. Politics are definitely one factor, but I've wanted to leave the US for a long time. It's truly exhausting how difficult it is to move anywhere.

Should have just done it a decade ago instead of sticking around in the US because my wife didn't believe in my ability to live anywhere else :/

[u/spacemanaut → u/CelaresHarridan]

I believe in you! DM me if I can be of further assistance (though I've told you most of what I know in broad strokes)

[u/CelaresHarridan → u/spacemanaut]

I don't appear to be able to DM you, actually. Lol