Is It Easy to Move to Europe After Brexit?
2021 has brought the full force of Brexit with it, calling time on the golden age of moving from the UK to European Union (EU) countries. Gone are the days of travelling through the continent without a care โ or visa โ in the world.
However, your dream of a new home in Europe is still very much alive. Youโll just have to work a little harder to make it a reality โ and we can help you with that.
If youโre looking to move outside of Europe, youโll have to check your chosen countryโs regulations to see if theyโre altered in the coming months. But there's still a lot of countries outside the EU that will be easy for Brits to move to.
Reassuringly though, nations such as Canada and Brazil do not appear to have introduced more stringent rules, and when Movehub spoke to the UKโs Foreign Office, no changes were highlighted to us for UK nationals moving to non-EU countries.
This page will focus on post-Brexit rules, but the COVID-19 pandemic may also impact any potential move you make. For information on which countries will let you in at the moment, read our guide to where you can move during the coronavirus crisis.

If you're confused about Brexit, you're not alone
Europe
The UK no longer has special status with other European countries. Itโs now defined as a โthird countryโ โ that is, a nation outside of the EU.
You can still stay in one or more EU member states for up to 90 days of any 180-day period without much trouble, but if you want to move to Europe, youโll now require a visa.
To secure a visa, youโll have to comply with the specific requirements of the country youโve chosen to call your new home. Unfortunately, itโs just that complicated.
Itโs also worth noting that your professional qualifications arenโt automatically recognised on the continent anymore. If youโre an architect, dentist, doctor, engineer, nurse, pharmacist, or vet, you must have your qualifications recognised by each country you practice in.
So before you make any move, check with the countryโs UK embassy that youโll be allowed to do your job when you get there.
Make sure you also have at least six months until your passport expires when you travel, as most European countries require this โ otherwise, you may be turned away at the border.
If you already live in an EU nation, you must register as a resident of that country by June 30th 2021 if you want to keep living there.
Want to find out what it might cost you to move your belongings to Europe? Get an idea with our guide on international shipping costs.
Spain is gorgeous โ and still reachable, with effort
Spain
If youโre looking to move to Spain, youโll firstly need to get a temporary residence visa (Tarjeta de Residencia), so you can stay in the country longer than 90 days.
Make an appointment with the Spanish Consulate in London by emailing cog.londres.residencia@maec.es with your details, including your:
- Name
- Nationality
- Passport number
- Telephone number
- Preferred date for an appointment, which are only available on Tuesdays and Thursdays
You can also make an application for a temporary visa within Spain, though you must do so at an immigration office (oficina de extranjeros) within 30 days of arriving in the country. We donโt recommend this path, as itโs typically more stressful than applying from the UK.
A temporary visa will allow you to stay in Spain for anywhere from three months to five years, depending on your circumstances.
After five years of living legally in Spain, you can apply for a permanent residence visa.
France
Youโll need to submit an application for a long-stay visa to live in France for longer than 90 days.
If youโre successful, youโll have a year after you arrive in France to apply and obtain a residence permit, which you can do at your local prefecture.
If youโre a UK national over 18 years of age who was legally resident in France before January 1st 2021, apply online before the EU-wide June 30th deadline.
Any legal residents younger than 18 are exempt from this requirement.
When applying, youโll need to send a photo or scan of your passport, together with one or more additional documents outlined in these helpful flow-charts made by the French government.
If you applied for a Brexit residence permit between October 9th 2019 and January 31th 2020, you donโt need to reapply.
Your application will be processed by the prefecture in question โ though weโd recommend contacting your local authorities to make sure they received it.
This is Strasbourg, home to many stunning views
Germany
The German government has created a helpful tool to check whether youโre likely to be allowed to live and work in the country, which you should definitely use.
If youโre moving for work, you will almost certainly need a binding job offer and either a vocational qualification or a university degree.
Youโll only be allowed to start working after you apply for a residence permit, which must be completed within 90 days of arriving in the country.
If your academic or vocational qualification is from an institution outside of Germany (for instance, the UK), you may also have to prove that your qualification is the equivalent of a German one.
Check this German government page to find out whether your new role requires you to receive โofficial recognitionโ that your qualification is similar in quality to a German one. Youโll need this if youโre in a regulated profession, as lawyers and doctors are.
If you donโt need official recognition, you may still need a Statement of Comparability, depending on your place of residence and your residency status.
This will also help you to quickly explain your qualifications, especially if you move jobs.
Italy
You can still live in Italy, though itโs a two-stage process to make your move permanent.
First, you need to successfully apply for a Long Stay visa. Fill in this form created by the Italian government to see whether youโre able to apply, then be prepared to pay โฌ116 (ยฃ102) if you choose to go ahead with the application.
A Long Stay visa is available to anyone whoโs moving for work, education, family reunification or adoption, retirement, or religious purposes โ but theyโre not permanent.
Youโll be allowed to stay in Italy for a specific length of time, depending on which of the above reasons applies to you. The length of visas varies from three months to two years.
If you want to stay in Italy for longer, you must apply for a residence permit at whatโs known as an โimmigration one-stop shopโ and a police station โ in that order โ within eight working days of arriving in the country.
You should be able to book your appointment at the one-stop shop online, depending on where your local one is.
If youโre moving for work, youโll need an Italian employer to get you a work permit, at which point you can apply for a work visa โ as long as Italy is allowing foreign workers in, and as long as the national quota hasnโt been filled up.
Ask your local Italian Embassy about the quotaโs current state before you apply.
Portugal
As with other European countries, youโre allowed as a UK national to stay in Portugal for three months.
Your first step towards making this move permanent is to get a visto para obtenรงรฃo de autorizaรงรฃo de residรชncia โ which literally translates as โvisa to obtain a residence permitโ.
You can request this visa for many reasons, including work, scientific research or teaching, self-employment, and studying. Itโll allow you to stay in the country for four months, and to move onto the next step.
During this time, do exactly what it says on the visa, and obtain a residence permit (autorizaรงรฃo de residรชncia).
When applying, youโll need to show that you have enough money to get by and a place to live, along with other requirements that are specific to your reasons for applying.
Check the Portuguese Immigration website to see what to expect when youโre applying.
If youโre successful, youโll be given the right to reside in Portugal for a year, which can be renewed for up to five years โ at which point you can apply for a permanent residence visa.
Outside Europe
As mentioned above, thereโs little to suggest that much has changed for British expats who want to move to countries outside of Europe.
The Foreign Office didnโt suggest to us that there were any anticipated shifts in policy from the likes of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US.
And a spokesperson from Canadaโs department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship told us: โBrexit has not changed the requirements for people in the UK who are interested in coming to Canada. Anyone can emigrate to Canada provided they meet the qualifications.โ
UK government figures have raised the idea of deals with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada which establish freedom of movement between those countries and the UK, but this so-called CANZUK Union is just a theoretical prospect at this point.
In case anything does change, we recommend that you consult the UK government guide to living in the country which you plan to make your home, before making any move.
Summary
It might be more of a headache to move abroad after Brexit โ especially to Europe โ but itโs completely feasible.
The UKโs third country status means youโll have to jump through lots of additional hoops to move to a country in the EU.
However, outside of Europe, it doesnโt seem that much has changed for prospective expats. You may be able to move more easily to some non-European countries โ particularly former British colonies โ at some point in the future, but not yet.
But in the end, if youโre determined enough to make your dream move happen, it is still absolutely achievable.