Easiest countries for Americans to move to and work? (employment, salary)

[Xpat]

Originally Posted by purpleiris

Anyone know about Switzerland's immigration laws?

They are not as stringent if you want to come and work but if you have any aspirations to stay a long time (or become a citizen), forget it. Nonetheless, they have a huge demand for skilled workers - that is why 1 out of every 7 people there is not Swiss.

[glxyman21]

If one of your parents or grandparents came from a country that is in the EU, you might be able to gain citizenship to an EU country which will give you access to all of western Europe. I came directly from Italy and my father is still an Italian citizen, but last year I applied for my Italian passport (only had a U.S. one previously) and now I'm living in the U.K. without any restrictions on living/working. Check the websites of consulates to determine the requirements. Each country varies as to the requirements.

[katmoney]

Originally Posted by mead

Singapore is a great city, and no you are not required to gain Singaporean citizenship to live there. You also certainly don't have to give up your American citizenship to live in Singapore, thats an absurd proposition. If that were true, no Americans would choose to live in Singapore. The Singapore government will give you a permanent residents card if you would like to live there on a long term basis and have the skills required by a company in the country.

Its really a wonderful place to live. Completely safe & clean. The food is great and cheap (Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian/Indonesian food everywhere).

Singapore is one of the few countries in the world that actively recruits Westerners to come, do business, and live there. English is the main language in Singapore and everyone below the age of 40-50 is pretty much fluent in English. Many people have a strong Singaporean accent though, but you can get used to that after living there for a couple of weeks.

Another obvious choice for expats is Hong Kong. Similar situation as in Singapore, but its less Western and less people speak English in Hong Kong (only about 1/3 of the population is fluent in English in HK).

Dubai is another city that is really popular with expats at the moment. The Sheik who runs the place is trying to build up the country and is pouring money into everything at the moment. I'm not too familiar with the Arab world though, so someone else will have to chime in.

This sounds very interesting.

I've wanted to move abroad for a long time. I want to experience it before I settle down and have a family. My family is from the Phillippines, and if I were ever going to live abroad it would have to be in Asia.

[aussiegal]

I was interested in the post by Anarchy because it used to be the case that if you wanted a job in Australia, your employer had to prove that there was no-one else in the entire country who could do the job. Guess times have changed. However, since it's so easy to get there visa-wise, even without a job, and it's English speaking (well, sort of) what are you all waiting for!!??

[Anarchy]

Originally Posted by aussiegal

I was interested in the post by Anarchy because it used to be the case that if you wanted a job in Australia, your employer had to prove that there was no-one else in the entire country who could do the job. Guess times have changed. However, since it's so easy to get there visa-wise, even without a job, and it's English speaking (well, sort of) what are you all waiting for!!??

Well my cousin has been there now for a few weeks and still doesn't have an job and lives in a hotel all paid for in Sydney, now its obvious that all this is because of his girlfriend as a nurse she is the one with the job but they are not married I was or I should say I am very surprised that he could move across without anything to offer.

[recycled]

I would guess that Germany has more US citizens living there than almost any other country outside the US. Sure, about 70K are US military but there are many more jobs that employ US citizens that support the US military and other US government operations in Germany. Teachers, technicians, nurses and doctors, engineers, bureaucrats, diplomats, security, etc, etc. Add on top of that the huge number of US businesses that have operations in Germany. I don't think the US is going to reduce the military presence in Germany much more, it's so much closer to most of the world's hot spots and is vital to everything going on in Iraq and elsewhere. The large US bases that remain in Germany are nearly impossible to re-create anywhere else, hard to describe if you haven't seen them. So that means all of these thousands and thousands of military base support jobs are going to be there for a long time.

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by Anarchy

I always thought the Uk was pretty hard to enter the UK legally, I know its very easy illegally.

It is difficult for Americans to immigrate to the UK unless they have strong family ties (like a spouse), a solid job offer from a UK company, or are transferred there by a multi-national.

[strawberryfield]

My parents are both from England (I was born in the U.S.) and I haved lived both places. I have dual citizenship. Even though I have citizenship in the UK, I cannot pass it on to my children b/c I did not live in the UK as a working adult before having my children....had my parents been Irish specifically, my children would still qualify for citizenship. Requirements vary a lot by country!

[Mississippienne]

It's difficult to find that combination of --

1) English-speaking
2) Prosperous
3) Easy to immigrate to.

Almost impossible in fact. Unless you're crazy lucky and you can qualify for an ancestry visa (an American like myself, without a single immigrant ancestor post 1800, is ***** out of luck) your only options for moving to the EU are marrying an EU citizen, getting transfered there for work, or getting hired by a European company. None of these are quick, easy, and inexpensive.

Our good neighbor Canada is probably the easiest to immigrate to. Mind you, it's not easy -- just easier. If you happen to have a close relative who's a Canadian citizen, she or he could sponsor you. They can only sponsor you if you're their grandparent, parent, spouse, or a child, sibling, niece, nephew, or grandchild who is under 18 AND unmarried.

Canada might also allow you to immigrate under their Skilled Worker Points system. Basically you have to have so many 'points', 67 in fact, and you show you can financially support yourself, you can get a visa. It breaks down like this:

Education -- you can get a maximum of 25 points. For example, if you've got a Bachelor's degree that gets you 20 points.

Languages -- you can get a maximum of 24 points if you speak one or both of Canada's two official languages, English and French. If English is your first and only language, that's 16 points. If you speak basic French as well as fluent English, that's an additional 4-8 points. If you speak both fluently, that's 24 points.

Work Experience -- you can get a maximum of 21 points if you're in a profession on the Skilled Worker list. Points vary depending on how many years' experience you have.

Age -- you can get a maximum of 10 points if you're in the most desired age range, 21-49. You'll get 6 points if you're 19, 2 points if you're 53, etc.

Arranged Employment -- you can get a maximum of 10 points if you have an approved job offer in Canada.

Adaptibility -- this one's tricky, you get points based on whether you have family in Canada, whether you've studied or worked in Canada, etc.

In addition, you have to show you have enough funds to support yourself, $10,168 for a single person. You have to be in good health and have no criminal convictions. I'd have about 49 points -- not quite enough, but if I got a college degree and a job offer in Canada I'd probably have enough.

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by strawberryfield

My parents are both from England (I was born in the U.S.) and I haved lived both places. I have dual citizenship. Even though I have citizenship in the UK, I cannot pass it on to my children b/c I did not live in the UK as a working adult before having my children....had my parents been Irish specifically, my children would still qualify for citizenship. Requirements vary a lot by country!

Are you sure they don't?

Border & Immigration Agency | BN4 - British citizenship - children born outside the United Kingdom (broken link)

This site doesn't seem to specify a requirement for having worked in the UK as an adult, though there does seem to be a 3 year residency requirement.

Read it again; maybe you were given bad advice. I don't know enough about your specific circumstances to say whether you were or not.