Freelancer immigration: what you need to know

    Freelance is growing every year. After all, this way of organizing the workflow includes a whole host of advantages: a free schedule, a lack of attachment to a specific workplace, opportunities for international cooperation, and great freedom in choosing projects.

    All these advantages together form a good basis for the freelancer to move to another country, because he will not have to change his job and working structure.

    But the process of relocation of a freelancer in different countries is slightly different from moving a full-time specialist. Let's consider it on examples of different countries of Europe, Asia and North America.

    Who is a freelancer?


    Freelancers are individual entrepreneurs who work in the fields of IT-technology, design, media, journalism, translation, and also engage in various consulting or expert activities.

    Also freelancers are often called hired freelance remote employees who are hired for the period of work on a specific project.

    Freelance in different countries


    Before you pack your bags, you need to decide where exactly you want to move.

    There are three categories of countries according to availability for relocate:

    • Available: they have a fairly simple immigration law, entry and the process of obtaining a residence permit, or even the ability to work without it. For example, Thailand, Ecuador, India, Indonesia.
    • Average availability. There are some difficulties for an immigrant, but the chances of a positive are extremely high. For example, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Portugal, China.
    • Almost inaccessible. Countries with very strict immigration laws, in which the entry to freelancers is practically closed. For example, USA, Canada.

    Let's take Canada. For a freelancer, relocate is ideal for the program "Self-employed person", that is, "Self-employed". But there are many nuances. Firstly, only representatives of art and sports fall into this category. That is, the copywriter and the web designer will pass, but the SMM-box is gone. In addition, there is a very strict system for assessing the value of a specialist, which depends on education, work experience, knowledge of languages ​​(English and French).

    In Canada there are over 70 different programs for the immigration of specialists, but specifically with freelancers questions may arise, because for legal work you need a contract with a Canadian company, and opening your own company is quite expensive and tedious.

    And, for example, in Thailand, the visa issue is solved quite simply. This is if you go the official and legal way. You need to apply for a Non-Immigrant Visa-B annual business visa without obtaining a work permit. The only thing is that every 3 months you will have to update your visa, traveling outside the country.

    Thailand's immigration law was severely tightened in 2015, but it is still simpler than Canadian or American.

    I highly recommend not participating in any visa fraud. In Thailand, you can even buy a residence permit for $ 3,000, if this is found out, then the deal will not be limited to deportation - you can get a real term of 3-5 years. There is nothing to talk about more developed countries, the punishments are much more severe.

    However, if you intend to live in the country for six months or a year, and not longer, then you should not bother too much with visas. In many countries, including European ones, there are options based on tourist visas, with which you can stay in the country for a long time, if you update them in time.

    To learn about the features of applying for and extending a visa, you can contact the consulate of the selected country or a special visa center.

    Prices for living in countries


    Before moving, be sure to evaluate the cost of living in the country and calculate what minimum income is required to be comfortable in this country.

    The main rule is one: "work in a country with a high income, and live in a country with a low cost of living."

    That is, if you work as a freelancer with customers from Germany or the USA, then you will be comfortable living in almost any country.

    But with Russian income you need to choose a country where the cost of living is not higher than the Russian one. Otherwise, you will have to save a lot, and the very meaning of moving to another country for more comfortable work will be lost.

    What you need to pay special attention to:

    The cost of housing and communal services.As well as features rental housing. In Italy, for example, the removal process itself takes up to a month and a half. You also have to conclude an agreement with the public utilities to connect the light, for which you will need to make an Italian identification number. In general, bureaucracy is on top.

    The Internet. Pay special attention to the cost and characteristics of the Internet. In European countries, the Internet is quite expensive - a normal package with a speed of 10 Mbps or more will cost at least $ 40. In Asian countries, the Internet is often unstable, so you often have to buy two modems from different operators and also pay for mobile Internet.

    The cost of food and clothing.It is best to evaluate the cost of a basic set of products: milk, bread, cheese, chicken breast, cereals, local vegetables and fruits. In different countries, the basic set may vary. For example, in island countries (Cyprus, Sri Lanka), seafood is cheaper than meat.

    Transport. Be sure to find out the most convenient way to travel. This can be either public transport, or renting a car, or buying a moped. For example, in Poland public transport is well developed, and in Montenegro it is advised to buy a moped for travel.

    If you have children of kindergarten or school age, be sure (!) Look at the prices of kindergartens and schools . They can be simply indecently huge.

    You can get all the statistical information on the website.Numbeo in the Cost of living section .

    For you, we have collected some of the most common locations for freelancer relocate and compared the cost of living in them:



    All local prices are converted to US dollars for easy comparison.

    * Pass for land transport.
    ** Rent a one-room apartment in the center of a medium or large city.
    *** The basket includes: milk, cereals or pasta, meat (beef), eggs, cheese, bread, local vegetables and fruits.

    Features of work and withdrawal of money
    When moving to another country, you need to decide whether you intend to stay in it for a long time or for a year or two.

    The second option is much more bureaucratic, because it does not oblige you to register as a taxpayer in the country. In fact, you remain under the jurisdiction of Russia and pay taxes in Russia too. Formally, you are listed on the territory of another state as a tourist, which, in fact, imposes its limitations.

    1. Concluding formal contracts with residents will be problematic.
    2. In most cases, you will not be able to open a bank account. Or to open an account you need a tidy sum of several tens of thousands of dollars.
    3. You can only receive transfers to international bank cards or services. Therefore, you need to make a physical map of the service. For example, a debit card Payoneer or Paypal. But in this case, you may encounter double or even triple conversion on the card, if the currency of the card does not correspond to the currency of the country in which you reside.

    In general, with all the difficulties that arise in this case, you can figure it out in a few weeks. Especially if you prepare while still in Russia.

    In most countries, the time for continuous stay in the country is limited if you come on a tourist visa. Therefore, you need to study this point in advance. For example, a multivisa in Thailand is valid for 180 days, but you can spend continuously only 60 days in the country. That is, in order to legally remain in Thailand, you will need to come to the border or to another country 2 times in six months.

    If you are planning to move for a long time - several years or even in the long term with obtaining a residence permit, then here it is much more difficult. And my opinion is purely that a freelancer is not really needed for a residence permit, because I have freelance clients who several years ago applied for a business visa with a long-term stay, and recently they turned to me again to move to another country, because she’s already tired.

    If possible, I recommend trying about a month of “test” residence in the country. It often happens that the expectations of life and work in the country are very different from reality.
    Take, for example, Bali. Many freelancers seek it there. But besides the "paradise picture" there are many nuances. You won’t be able to work under a palm tree - in high season the temperature in the street reaches 35 degrees. At the same time, the ocean is quite cold due to underwater currents. They are strong and treacherous, even not far from the coast, so sailing away is simply dangerous. In the cities of Indonesia, there is a strong unsanitary condition - rats can easily run on the roads. Plus, the strong influence of Islam on society.

    Such negative nuances are revealed only directly during the stay. And they can very much spoil the impression, even to the point of complete disappointment.
    So it is worth staying in the country a little longer than a regular vacation takes. Three to four weeks will be enough.

    If you have not previously been planning relokate, then the first time I am very recommendable to contact professionals. After all, there are a large number of nuances that, due to ignorance, you cannot take into account, and this will result in big expenses and all kinds of problems in a new place.

    Agree, it will be a shame to plan a move up to ordering tickets, and then find out that you were denied a visa. Or, even worse, it’s already in the country to find that you, as a foreigner, have been deceived three times.

    But if you still decide, then go! For a freelancer, this is an excellent experience and the opportunity to get acquainted with the life of different countries and cultures.

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