Self-employed and want to move to the EU

[Wandering Writer]

I'm a member of what seems to be the most unwanted class of immigrant anywhere: the poor and self-employed. I'd like to move somewhere in the EU to be with my girlfriend. (She's English, I'm American.) We don't want to get married at the moment. We just want to live somewhere that we're both allowed to, and work on our respective projects - I'm working on a video game; fortunately or un, I'm too realistic to expect said game to actually make me rich enough to qualify as the type of migrant they let in for economic reasons. I support myself with odd bits of contract work (most of which I can do over the Internet), but they don't pay all that well.

I've seen a bit of stuff from 'perpetual tourist' types claiming that you can just hop across the border a week or so before your visa stamps expire and hop back in, but I don't know if that's reliable or if that's just the way they wish things were, and they seem rather prone to starry-eyed idealism and concerns about tax avoidance that aren't really relevant unless you already have a few hundred thousand to avoid paying taxes on.

Our preferences would be for a socially liberal place where the fact that the only languages we know well are English (she knows a little French) won't make us completely unable to get by; we're willing to try to learn other languages (but obviously can't guarantee success) if that helps. We don't drive, so we need an okay public transportation infrastructure - it doesn't have to be great, though. Since we're both paid in dollars by predominantly-US firms, someplace with a relatively weak economy is actually _ better_ for us than somewhere with a strong economy. We'll settle for a place that doesn't lynch foreigners, isn't being shelled, and lets us both in.

Any suggestions?

[Wanderer]

How long have you lived together?

[Administrator]

.

I've seen a bit of stuff from 'perpetual tourist' types claiming that you can just hop across the border a week or so before your visa stamps expire and hop back in,

Be very careful about depending upon that strategy. Laws have changed pretty radically over the past several years.

Very generally speaking (there is a bit of variation around the EU), what non-EU citizens from countries such as the U.S. can do these days is to enter a country for no more than 90 days ("de facto tourist visa").

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO WORK.

Then you must leave for 90 days before you can enter again.

In some countries, such as where I am in Latvia, they allow you to stay a total of 90 days in the first six months of the year and a total of 90 days in the second six months of the year. You may not stay in the country for more than 90 consecutive days (e.g. - if you enter on 01 May, then you become an overstayer on 02 August, unless you cross the border at some point).

With the expanded Schengen zone, you will have to go out of your way to get your passport stamped to prove you left & re-entered. Research and plan for that.

Again, any countries that are of interest to you, you will need to research some.


One thing you need to keep in mind: If you are working for any income, every country requires by law that you have a permit to perform work. There are many types of permits for various reasons, but if you do not have permission from a country to work, to receive income, then you are breaking the law.

How seriously you will be punished for it depends on country by country. However, if you are caught by any EU nation, it will become part of your records and you will then have to be honest about such infractions on all your future visa applications.

This can extend to attempts at entry into countries such as Australia & New Zealand, for example.

Be very cautious about this strategy. Mistakes can follow you for many years.

the Admin

[ EDIT :

Regarding your last paragraph, there are a number of options. Some I can't speak directly to, so I'll shut up.

However, Vilnius, Lithuania is pretty open & friendly toward English-speaking foreigners. There are 'opportunities' there for people who just want to 'get by' and enjoy life for a while.

Given your parameters, you'll need to consider fairly large cities .. over 500,000 or over 800,000 to give you the flexibility you'll need.

You have the choice of picking up Lithuanian or Russian. Native Lithuanians will not very much appreciate foreigners who come in speaking Russian, but a bit of Russian will get you by and is not too offensive if you use it as necessary to back up your English and attempts at Lithuanian.

I DO NOT recommend Latvia or Estonia given the circumstances you describe ... those countries require resources and very focused and strong will. You will be competing in very tough economies against people who are very experienced at getting the upper hand by deception. Not to say that Lithuania would be a cake-walk.

You didn't mention race, but I would, from personal experience, suggest that non-white folks plan very carefully about locating to to points Poland and east & north in Europe. Native xenophobia can run high, especially toward folks who are visibly foreign.

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