Dreaming of retiring abroad? An increasing number of Americans, for various reasons, are considering making the move. For some, the best option might be a retirement visa, and Global Citizen Solutions (GCS) has released the Global Retirement Report 2025, evaluating 44 destinations as the best places to retire abroad. These visas differ from golden visa programs or ancestral visas, but are intended for individuals seeking to retire on a passive income or utilize non-lucrative visas.
Last year, GCS focused on the American diaspora, but this year, they broadened the approach. GCS collected 20 indicators for each destination across five indices: quality of life, economics, taxation, safety, and citizenship, as well as the difficulty or complexity of the procedure. GCS then combined these indices into an overall index.
Best Places To Retire Abroad—Portugal Scores Highly
For 2025, the following ten countries score highly across all dimensions, making them attractive for retirees:
- Portugal
- Mauritius
- Spain
- Uruguay
- Austria
- Italy
- Slovenia
- Malta
- Latvia
- Chile
The best choice for you depends on your reasons for wanting to retire abroad. Perhaps it is to enhance your quality of life, access better healthcare, live in a more cost-effective destination, reunify family members, optimize taxes, or, increasingly, due to political dissatisfaction.
Many of the countries that rank highly offer a path to permanent citizenship, allowed dual nationality, and permit holders to bring their children and parents.
Portugal came top with its D7 passive income visa. It is pretty accessible, requiring an income of $1,054 per month (€900) for a single person, which increases with family size, as is the case in most countries offering this type of visa.
The lower threshold makes it very appealing, says Pucco Aldalberto, Head of Global Mobility at GCS, and after five years, holders can apply for residency. The climate, safety, and infrastructure are also significant advantages, and the expat community is very active and generally welcoming.
Pucco also notes that Portugal offers English-speaking expats a high level of English proficiency in certain parts of the country, making it easier to adapt to the country than in other destinations. (The Portuguese government is currently considering making the path to citizenship more complicated, but the government has not yet decided.)
Uruguay ranks highly as it doesn’t tax foreign pensions, and Mauritius is very tax-efficient. EU countries, such as Latvia and Slovakia, offer borderless travel throughout the European Schengen region, access to excellent healthcare, and good infrastructure. Italy offers a flat tax in some southern areas.
Greece, a top favorite among Americans searching for a home in Europe, ranks 12th.
Best Places To Retire Abroad—Digital Nomad Visas And Golden Visas Offer Another Option
In many countries, the retirement visa is just one option among others, including digital nomad visas or golden visas, particularly for individuals who are still working or planning to work. Portugal and Italy are the current favorites in Europe.
Mike Swigunski, author of GlobalCareerBook.com, suggests using the NOMAD acronym when thinking of where to retire, why, and how:
- Network and Community. Having one or two friends already in place can be a significant boost and very helpful compared to knowing nobody. It also offers an opportunity to test the place out by visiting beforehand, and can identify if a location is a good place to live.
- Opportunities for Geo-Arbitrage, where you earn a high salary but live in an inexpensive place where the cost of living is cheaper.
- Mobility and Long-Term Visas. Every visa is different, and Swigunski makes the point that the Destination Thailand Visa is a swift, inexpensive, and online process that allows for a 5-year stay.
- Amenities and Safety. These issues become more important when living in a destination, more than when you visit.
- Desirable climate. Whether cold or hot, there is a perfect temperature for everyone.
Among the decision when choosing the best places to retire abroad, it is worth considering the ethical dimensions to geo-arbitrage and golden visas and how they may be viewed by locals on the ground and even the political class.
In certain pockets, across some EU countries, this sort of geo-arbitrage or the existence of golden visas are viewed as negative, because of the view that expats can price locals out of the market for rents and cost of living. A good example is the recent demonstrations against tourists across Spain.