Retirement visa finder: the countries you qualify for on what you have

There are two ways to use this. Choose Live there if you're dreaming of settling somewhere, and you'll see the retirement visas you qualify for. Choose Keep moving if you'd rather roam, and you'll see where you can stay a few happy months before the next place.

Most countries that welcome American retirees ask for one thing: proof of money. Some want a monthly pension, some a bank deposit, some a home purchase, and a few ask for no fixed amount at all. Put in what you have, and the finder checks the residence rules behind our city data, then lists the countries where you qualify and the cities there with what a budget month costs.

How the finder decides

• Income means money that arrives every month and can be documented: Social Security, a pension, an annuity, or steady passive income such as rent or dividends. Most pensioner visas accept only pensions, while rentista visas take other steady income.
• Savings covers routes that ask for a bank deposit or a minimum balance, and routes where income or savings will do. A few, like the Philippines' SRRV, want both.
• Age matters for some programs: Thailand's retirement visas start at 50, for example. Leave it blank to see every route.
• Buying a home opens routes that grant residence to property owners. Tick the box to include them; the amount shown is the home value the rule asks for.
• Remote work routes (digital nomad visas) appear only when you tick that box, since they need income from work, not a pension.
• Keep moving is for slow travel. It skips residence permits and checks visitor rules instead: how you get in (visa-free, e-visa or visa on arrival), how long you can stay, whether you can extend, and shared zones such as Schengen, where 90 days in any 180 covers the whole zone. Pick how long you want in each place, and it lists the countries that allow it, cheapest first.
• Routes closed to newcomers are left out. A route marked unconfirmed comes from a published guide because we could not confirm the figure on a government page.

Each country card also lists the cities we price there, with the cheapest budget month: budget living costs plus the cheapest suitable rental we found. Tap a city to open it in our income tool with your numbers.

Countries with retirement visas and what they require

The lowest income route and the lowest savings or property route we track in each country, for one main applicant. Amounts set in local currency are converted to dollars at the rate on the date checked.

49 countries, one main applicant, from the rules behind our city data. Remote-work visas and routes closed to newcomers are left out of this table but shown in the finder when they apply.

Before you apply

Treat the finder as a shortlist. Consulates set many of these figures and update them, often once a year when a minimum wage changes, and a route that pays in local currency moves with the exchange rate. Most applications also need an apostille on US records, a background check and health insurance; our glossary explains the paperwork terms. For what living there does to your taxes and Social Security, start with how to collect Social Security abroad, and confirm the current rules with the official source or an immigration lawyer before you pay any fees.