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) 🇪🇺
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 🇧🇪 is looking to move to Italy 🇮🇹 permanently, all they need to leverage is their advantage of EU citizenship—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.
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Western Europe (7):
Austria 🇦🇹 , Belgium 🇧🇪, France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, Ireland 🇮🇪, Luxembourg 🇱🇺, Netherlands 🇳🇱
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Central / Eastern Europe (8):
Bulgaria 🇧🇬, Croatia 🇭🇷, Czech Republic 🇨🇿, Hungary 🇭🇺, Poland 🇵🇱, Romania 🇷🇴, Slovakia 🇸🇰, Slovenia 🇸🇮
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Southern Europe (6):
Cyprus 🇨🇾, Greece 🇬🇷, Italy 🇮🇹, Malta 🇲🇹, Portugal 🇵🇹, Spain 🇪🇸
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Baltic Countries (3):
Estonia 🇪🇪, Latvia 🇱🇻, Lithuania 🇱🇹
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Nordic Countries (3):
Denmark 🇩🇰 , Finland 🇫🇮, Sweden 🇸🇪
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 🇮🇸, Norway 🇳🇴, and Liechtenstein 🇱🇮 as their member states. Switzerland 🇨🇭 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 🇦🇷, Brazil 🇧🇷, Paraguay 🇵🇾, and Uruguay 🇺🇾) can live in and work in:
- Another Mercosur Member State, and
- 5 Mercosur Associate States (Bolivia 🇧🇴, Chile 🇨🇱, Colombia 🇨🇴, Ecuador 🇪🇨, and Peru 🇵🇪).
3. Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement (TTTA)
Also take a look at the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement (TTTA), which allows:
- Australian 🇦🇺 citizens and permanent residents to live and work in New Zealand 🇳🇿 without needing a visa, and
- Conversely, also allows New Zealand 🇳🇿 citizens (excluding permanent residents) to live and work in Australia 🇦🇺 without a visa.
4. Common Travel Area (CTA)
The CTA allows citizens of United Kingdom 🇬🇧 and Ireland 🇮🇪 to live, work, and study in either country indefinitely without a visa.
5. Compact of Free Association (COFA)
Citizens of United States 🇺🇸 can live, work, and study without a visa in:
- The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) 🇫🇲, and
- The Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) 🇲🇭
Citizens from FSM and RMI can also live, work, and study in the United States indefinitely.
The Republic of Palau 🇵🇼 is also part of the COFA agreement and its citizens can live, work, and study in the United States 🇺🇸 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 🇷🇺 and Belarus 🇧🇾
Citizens of Russia and Belarus can live, work, and study in either country indefinitely.
