5 Countries Brits Can Move In 24 Hours And No Income Required

So, yesterday a viewer signs me a screenshot of a YouTube thumbnail. Big yellow letters, leave UK in 24 hours, Big Ben, a bearded middle-aged guy with a red arrow. Really familiar because it's me. It's my AI sloth face, which is in a way kind of flattering. Somebody took my video, Five Countries Americans Can Move to in 24 hours, swapped the stars and stripes for Union Jack, put on a British robot voice, slapped AI, me on the thumbnail, and got a couple hundred thousand views in a day. I could be mad. Bloody teaing, limey robots doing identity theft. But honestly, who cares? Copying and borrowing is kind of the name of the game online. Lesson learned. If my face is going to be on a video telling Brits where to move and hundreds of thousands of them are going to click, it might as well be me. My actual face saying actual face, actual numbers, actual cost. So today, five countries a British passport gets you into in 24 hours. No visa, no income, no application. Going to rank them by how long you get to stay from 6 months to forever for everyone. I'll run the real maths. Rent, cost, health insurance you suddenly need. I'll put it next to the full state pension price and tell you whether it actually works. Spoiler, once you add insurance, the state pension on its own covers exactly one of these five countries. You can stick around to find out which one. I'm Evan A, retired at 40 in Asia, Canadian, so kind of neutral.

And if you're curious about life abroad and leaving the West, hit subscribe. Maybe I'll get some new limey followers. Okay, three quick rules then we go. One, Brexit changed the map. Spain, France, Portugal, the places most Brits dream about now only give you 90 days to 180. Stay longer, you'll need a visa. Most of them want proof of income. So, they're not on the list. We can cross them off immediately. Two, your passport is not the same as an American passport. And this is where the American version of this video, the one I made first, will get you in trouble. Two countries on my American list fall off this one completely. Albania gives Americans a full year. Brits get 90 days. Panama gives Americans 6 months. Brits only get three. That's just the facts, folks, and I can't do much about it. But appreciate you all regardless of where you're from. So, if anyone ever hands you a list that looks suspiciously like an American list with a Union Jack slapped on the front, check it. Three, the money. The full new state pension this year is £24130 a week. It's about £1,045 a month. I have no idea how many dollars that is, so I'm just going to put it on screen for you. Yes, keep that number in your head. It's my line. I'm taking it back.

It's what I usually do on my channel when I talk about social security numbers. Here's the part almost nobody tells you, though. Leave the UK and in most the world, your state pension is frozen. You still get it, but it never goes up. Not next April, not in 10 years. Unless you live in the EU or one of a short list of countries that have a deal with the UK. How much does that cost you? Well, this April's rise alone is worth £570 a year. If the pension only goes up at triple locks floor of 2.5% after 10 years, a frozen pension is about 22% less than your mate back home. It's about £18.5,000 you've missed out on over the decade. After 20 years, it's almost 75,000. So if you do leave, you essentially cost yourself these ongoing social security pension raises. Every country tonight gets a stamp on its card frozen or rises. So you know for the cost, same yard stick for every country. I use Numio's everyday living cost plus about 15%. There's a lot of add-ons. Onebedroom in the city center. looking at health insurance, a rate for that.

That's just standard because the moment you live outside the UK, the NHS isn't going to cover you anymore and the EU is not coming to bail you out. If you have problems, questions about that, put them in the comments. As always, for comparison, the same model in an average British city comes to about £1,965 a month living cost. Let's go. Number five, my old home, Mexico. Mexico Estoen Canantara Tovia. I love Mexico. It's one of the most beautiful places in the world. An incredible place, but it's not number one. It's number five. Mexico is on the American list, too, at the bottom. And for the same reason, the headline number is 180 days, but the person deciding how many of those you get is an immigration officer with a pen. It's a bit of discretion here. When you land, you get a stamp with a number of days written on it. Gov.uk says it ply. You're only allowed to stay how long they let you. Some people get the full 6 months. Plenty get 30, 60, 90. You need to have a return ticket, proof of address, and be pleasant at the desk because you literally are at the hands of the single man, woman, or no children. I hope where I live, probably Marita in the Yucatan is consistently rated one of the safest parts of the country. It's a big reason it's become a favorite with retirees. I want to be right in the central and one of the old neighborhoods like Santa Anna, Santiago with a little park and a church and a taco stand down at every corner. Sunday mornings they close the pasio to Monteo, the big grand boulevard to cars and the whole city comes out on bikes and foot.

40 minutes north there's the beach at Progresso and all around the city there are cenotees. These little limestone sink hose full of cold clear water where you can swim in a cave before lunch. They're very beautiful. They're a big tourist straw. Google them. They look cool. Okay, so what does it cost to actually retire and live in Marita? Again, we're going to do this in pounds, but on the graphic on screen, we'll include dollars and other prices for our nonUK normal viewers. It's about 1320 a month for one person with insurance, that's about £270 more than a full state pension. Ran outside the center and you're about 140 short. For a couple on two pensions, you're almost exactly break even. The pension's frozen and Mexico doesn't have the deal. The catch, that stamp, you don't know how long you've got until you're standing at the desk. And Marita and May is like living inside a haird dryer. It is hot as balls, folks. Number five, Mexico. Cheap tacos, great cenotees, and an officer with a pen who decides your summer. Next up, number four, Armenia. This is an interesting one to me. It's changing.

It's developing. And this one's a guarantee. Gov.uk says you can visit Armenia without a visa for up to 180 days in a year. No application, no fee, no income check. You are in UK, folks. But read it carefully. It's 180 days in a year, not 180 days at a time over and over. So, on its own, Armenia is a 6-month home, which honestly is a lovely way to retire. 6 months somewhere ancient, 6 months somewhere else. I like to call these the slow travel retirement loop. It's a real option for a lot of people. Where I live, Yetan, the capital. They call it the pink city because so much of it is built from that rosy volcanic stone. I want to be in Kentron, the center near the cascade, which is a giant stone staircase with art at every level and a view to Mount Ararat. Weekends there's ver and massive open air markets, carpet, chess, Soviet cameras, absolutely all kinds of old niche kit. This one's for the Brits. The story goes that Winston Churchill was very fond of Armenian brandy and that Stalin used to send him cases of it. The error at Brandy Factory is right there in Yeravan and you can do the tasting tour. I'd have a bunch. What it costs and it surprised me. Some of these places truly are beautiful, affordable, and realistic places to retire or at least do winters. about £1,600 a month for one person. That's the most expensive country on this list after number one, which is kind of a joke.

Rents in Euran shot up after thousands of people moved there from Russia. They haven't come back down since 2022. Even outside city center, £350 short on your state pension, which is frozen. The catch, rent, as you just saw. Less English outside the capital. And the UK government advises against all travel to parts of Armenia near the border with Azerbaijan. So stick to the city. Number four, Armenia. Six guaranteed months a year. Brandy with the Churchill story and a rent bill that's well, frankly, chasing Manchester. So, maybe it's not the one for all of you, but it is a beautiful historical bit. Quick confession here before we hit number three. I've been doing this a long time now. There's a ton of these videos I've made. The thing that always catches people out isn't the visa. It's the rule changing after they've moved. So, I'm already trying to help people. And when I do consults, we always need to build a personalized plan cuz country laws change. Every week I put the changes that matter in my newsletter. It's free. It's about cost of living and expat life abroad. My website, the cost of living abroad.com. You can just comment the word news though. Do that below and I'll send you the link to sign up to the newsletter so you can stay informed.

Number three is Georgia. Another reference to Stalin. We're not talking about Atlanta. Number three is Georgia, the country, not the state. No peaches here, folks. This is the big one. Gov.uk word for word. You can visit Georgia without a visa for up to one year. So you land, you get a stamp, you've got a whole year, no income test, no interview. And that's pretty sweet. Here's what's new. Since this year, every vidder has to have an health and accident insurance covering their whole stay worth at least 30,000 George and Li. The airline at the border is going to ask to see it or not let you fly. So this is absolutely mandatory. You do need health insurance. Speaking of which, I use Safety Wing. If you don't have your own, they can do a wonderful program called the Nomad Complete. It's great. Sign up when you're younger sooner. It's linked below. Where I live to Billy, I'd look into Salaki, the neighborhood, climbing up the hill with carved wooden balconies in every house or bak if I wanted to leave a bit posher. Then I'd spend my evenings at Fabrica, an old Soviet sewing factory turned into a courtyard of bars and cafes full of people younger than me, and I'd have a fantastic time. There are sulfur bath houses in the old town under brick domes where you can get scrubbed down by a man who takes his job very seriously. And Georgia has been making wine for about 8,000 years in clay pots buried in the ground. And I drink tons of it. You know why not? They've had time to get it right. The founding place, the original wine spot, an old favorite of Anthony Bourdains. And the food, the kacapuri, which is basically a bread boat full of cheese with egg on top. I should not about be near it. I'm in, man. Like I want Georgia. I would.

This is a place I would legit like three months, six months, a year, whatever. It would be included in my Eastern European rotation. It's got everything I want. About £1,300 35 a month for one person with insurance, you're now legally required to have. Outside the city center, it's about £1.65. Full state pension on its own doesn't quite get there. A couple on two state pensions, about £75 short. Basically break even. So when someone tells you a single state pension covers a comfortable life in deily ask them they're talking about health insurance your pension of course is also going to be frozen that's always going to be catch Georgia's far from home winters are real and old soviet flats can be cold English fades fast outside to billy and the UK advises to travel to certain regions so make sure you check it out number three Georgia a full year on one stamp the best cheese bread on earth and an insurance policy you're not allowed to skip now we're going to land way closer to me here in Vietnam we're going to talk about a beautiful island archipelago. Number two is the Philippines. And this is one where I'd seriously look at hardest if I were a British pensioner.

Obviously, if you want my help again relocating to Southeast Asia, check out my website costlingabroad.com. You land with 30 days, no visa. Before you fly, register on their free e travel system and have proof you're leaving at some point. Once you're there, you can apply to extend and keep extending. A visa-free visitor can stay up to 36 months in totals. That's 3 years without ever leaving. The Philippines is extremely easy to get your feet to land to set up. Of course, it's also English- speakaking and some think full of beautiful women. The extensions aren't free though. The first one is a few,000 pesos, about £40. They go up from there. After 2 months, you need an ID card, and if you stay 6 months or more, there's an exit clearance before you fly home. Budget a couple hundred a year in paperwork. Still the cheapest 3 years you'll ever buy by far in a beautiful place. Here's the big one, though. The Philippines is one of the few countries outside Europe where your state pension is not frozen. The UK has a social security agreement with the Philippines. Your pension goes up every April just like it would at home. Huge freaking bonus. Next door in Thailand, frozen.

Here in Vietnam, frozen. So, this matters. And English is an official language. The doctors speak it. The landlords speak it. The paperwork is in it. The dating is in it. where I'd live, Sabu for the big hospitals and the international airport near it park where there are restaurants and cafes and everything's walkable or across the bridge on Maktan for the beach on weekends a few hours south there's tons of beautiful snorkeling there's sardine runs I mean it's beautiful right it's one of those things I want to see most in Asia and I haven't yet done is go down to the islands Dumageti Boray you know a seaside university town with a boulevard along the water a lot of British and American retirees are already down there you'll have company let's talk about what it costs cuz it is more expensive than Vietnam, but it's a lot cheaper than some of these other places we've talked about so far. And realistically, you'll be saving a huge amount if you're on a state pension. It's about £1,100 a month for one person with insurance. That's £53 more than a full state pension. But if you rent outside the city center, if you're thrifty, you're going to get under about 950, right? 980 maybe. So that's your answer. Out of five countries, once you're paying for real health insurance, this is the only place where a full state pension by itself actually covers a single person. and a couple on two full state pensions in the center has about £270 left over every month and your numbers actually rising every April. Is there a catch? Of course.

There's typhoons in the second half of the year. There's air conditioning that'll get your electricity bill. The UK advises against travel to parts of now. There's Manila, which BGC is great, but it's a bit more expensive. So, number two, the Philippines, 3 years on extension, English everywhere, dating state pension keeps going up, which is great. Brings us to number one. And this one isn't measured in days at all because it's kind of a joke. If you watch my original video, you know what joke is coming. For the Brits, this joke may or may not be new to you. It may or may not land. I don't care. I like to have fun. Number one is Falerbad, and it's the number one as my American video because nothing else on Earth comes close to it on paper. Falbrad is a group of islands in the Arctic Ocean about halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. Belongs to Norway. But in 1920, a treaty was signed that said citizens of the countries that signed it could live and work there on equal terms. No visa, no residence permit, no time limit. One of the original signatorries, the United Kingdom. So there you go, folks. If you want to have a beautiful snowy, icy, freezing, [ __ ] cold, white out, winter, wonderland, retirement. You got it. A 100 years ago, some men in very serious mustaches in Paris signed a piece of paper. That piece of paper means you can move to the Arctic tomorrow. Thank you, gentlemen. Mercy buckets. Where I live? Well, there's really only one choice. Longer bien, the main town, about 2 and a half thousand people, colorful wooden houses, snowmobiles parked outside like cars.

The northernmost brewery in the world is there. And by god, I'd be drinking. There's a restaurant called Huset, an old building. And just up the hill is global seed vault where the world keeps a backup copy of seeds in case everything goes wrong, which if you're moving to Swallowbad, maybe it's already dystopian. Fun facts for the Brits. Alcohol is rationed. You get a card with a quota. Outside town, people carry rifles because of polar bears. Actual legitimate real polar bears. Is there a catch? Well, other than everything, yeah, brace for it. It ain't cheap. Oh my god. Let's talk about the cost of living in Swallerbad. Schwallerbader. Am I saying that right? Numeo barely has data for Schwallerbat. one contributor. So, I'm using Oslo's living cost and one rent number, but it's actually way more. We're talking about £2,500 a month, more than living in Britain, more than double your state pension. So, no, you're not moving to Sparob to save money. You're doing it because you're some kind of ex-convict or you're a criminal. You're trying to get away. Let's make the argument against what I've said. First, Ireland, the robots, number one. And honestly, a very good answer. The common travel area means a British citizen can live in Ireland forever. No visa, no permit. You can use an S1 for healthcare. And your state pension keeps rising. It's not on my list because there's a list of places to run away to and Ireland is not really that far away.

It's not really leaving the UK. Maybe that's an American take. Whatever. Insurance. I used to do about £2,500 a month. Past 70. International health insurance can cost a lot more than that. And some insurance won't take you at all. Price out your age before you price anything. If you're younger, use safe doing. Third, visa-free isn't residency. There are long legal stays. They don't let you work. They don't lead to citizenship, and countries can and do tighten them with no warning. Fourth, tax. Moving abroad doesn't automatically stop UK tax on your pensions. And some of these countries can start taxing you once you're there long enough. Talk to a crossber adviser before you go, not after. Fifth, the frozen pension thing. If you're 65 and you move to Georgia, that freeze is fine for a few years, but at 85, it's a real pay cut. It's cost you a ton of money, which argues against the whole thing. Here's the list. One person, same model, against a full state pension. Five, Mexico up to 6 months if the officer likes you about 1320 a month frozen. Four, Armenia six guaranteed months a year about 1,600 frozen. Three, Georgia a full year on one stamp about 1335 insurance required frozen. Two, the Philippines up to 3 years about 1,100 or under 1,000 outside the center and it rises onebard forever about 2450. Bring a rifle to kill those polar bears or watch the [ __ ] out cuz you're about to get eaten. So, here's what I'd do. If I were a 66-y old Brit on just the state pension, I'd spend a year in Georgia on the free stamp to see if I liked living abroad. Then I moved to the Philippines, right outside the center, and let my pension keep rising every April. And if you see my face on another channel's

thumbnail, it's not me. I'm the one who checked, did the actual work. Comment the word news for my free weekly newsletter below. I'm Evan A, retired early in Vietnam, traveling around Southeast Asia. Use the links below to get in touch through my website costlabroad.com. We can build you a personalized relocation plan to Southeast Asia if you want my help. Whether you're a Brit, Yankee, or Kuck. By the way, here's the original video I made that was copied by the AI slop if you want to watch it. And here's my list of countries that I would seriously move abroad or retire early in. Thanks so much.