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6 Regions of the World with Freedom of Movement

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Imagine being able to move to another country tomorrow,ย permanently,ย without applying for a visa whatsoever.

That's whatย freedom of movementย is.

6 Regions of the World with Freedom of Movement

If your country has a freedom of movement agreement with another country, you don't need a visa to move there.

That is an advantage of citizenship you can leverage to move abroad.

Here are 6 regions around the world with freedom of movement.

1. The European Union (EU) ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ

The most common example of countries with freedom of movement arrangements are those in the European Union (EU), where possessing citizenship in 1 EU country will allow you to move, live, travel, and work in another 26 EU country.

For example, if a citizen of Belgium ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช is looking to move to Italy ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น permanently, all they need to leverage is their advantage of EU citizenshipโ€”they can technically move and settle in Italy permanently within less than a day without caring for anything else people outside the EU would often have to work towards, such as passing an Italian language test, or show that they have enough finances to qualify.

Below is a list of 27 countries in the EU.

  • Western Europe (7):
    Austria ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น , Belgium ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช, France ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท, Germany ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช, Ireland ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช, Luxembourg ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ, Netherlands ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ

  • Central / Eastern Europe (8):
    Bulgaria ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ, Croatia ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท, Czech Republic ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ, Hungary ๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ, Poland ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ, Romania ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด, Slovakia ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ, Slovenia ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ

  • Southern Europe (6):
    Cyprus ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡พ, Greece ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท, Italy ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น, Malta ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡น, Portugal ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น, Spain ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ

  • Baltic Countries (3):
    Estonia ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช, Latvia ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ป, Lithuania ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น

  • Nordic Countries (3):
    Denmark ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ , Finland ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ, Sweden ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช

European Economic Area (EEA)
European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

Citizens in EU countries also enjoy freedom of movement to countries in the EEA / EFTA, and vice versa.

Both EEA and EFTA have Iceland ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ, Norway ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด, and Liechtenstein ๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฎ as their member states. Switzerland ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ is only in the EFTA (it is not in the EU nor the EEA).

2. Mercosur in South America

Another example of countries with a freedom of movement agreement is Mercosur in South America.

Citizens in a Mercosur Member State (Argentina ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ท, Brazil ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท, Paraguay ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡พ, and Uruguay ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ) can live in and work in:

  • Another Mercosur Member State, and
  • 5 Mercosur Associate States (Bolivia ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ด, Chile ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ, Colombia ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด, Ecuador ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ, and Peru ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช).

3. Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement (TTTA)

Also take a look at the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement (TTTA), which allows:

  • Australian ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ citizens and permanent residents to live and work in New Zealand ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ without needing a visa, and
  • Conversely, also allows New Zealand ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ citizens (excluding permanent residents) to live and work in Australia ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ without a visa.

4. Common Travel Area (CTA)

The CTA allows citizens of United Kingdom ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง and Ireland ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช to live, work, and study in either country indefinitely without a visa.

5. Compact of Free Association (COFA)

Citizens of United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ can live, work, and study without a visa in:

  • The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฒ, and
  • The Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ญ

Citizens from FSM and RMI can also live, work, and study in the United States indefinitely.

The Republic of Palau ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ผ is also part of the COFA agreement and its citizens can live, work, and study in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ indefinitely. However, US citizens can only reside in Palau for up to 1 year. Beyond that, a visa is required.

6. Union State of Russia ๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ and Belarus ๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡พ

Citizens of Russia and Belarus can live, work, and study in either country indefinitely.

Want to Move Abroad?

Learn about the cons of moving abroad, and how to get a visa if you think moving is right for you. More about this here.