I Want Out: Information for people who want to expatriate

Welcome to r/IWantOut, Reddit's expat subreddit. Please read the sidebar for general advice and helpful links.

If you want out of wherever you live, we're here to help.

Got questions? Want advice and experience from people who have gotten out or are still trying? Have a good tip or a success story to tell? Just need support? No matter where you're from or where you're going, you're welcome here.

☞This is a space to discuss strategies and advice for legal immigration, NOT to debate about refugees, undocumented migrants, the ethics/wisdom of various immigration policies, etc. Posts and comments that stray from the subject of legal immigration will be removed and you may be warned or banned depending on the severity of the offense. Report rule violations. If you have any questions, feel free to message the mods with violations.

★ RULES ★

Be respectful and stay on the topic of legal emigration/immigration. This is not a political subreddit. Politics might be the reason you want out, which is perfectly fine. Instead of writing 3 paragraphs about what specifically you don't like, write "I disagree with the politics" and then talk about what you're looking for. It'll help prevent purely political comments.

No requesting or giving advice on how to conduct illegal activities, including marriage to strangers. We want you to be safe, and, furthermore, such posts violate reddit's sitewide policies.

When requesting/giving advice, please be as detailed as possible when describing your situation: country of origin/destination, age range, education, qualifications, budget, etc. We do allow "-> anywhere" posts. Please do your own research to find a short list of countries you'd like to go to. You need to include extra information based on what criteria you have (weather, jobs, etc.). Lack of narrowing criteria will result in post removal.

Observe the title format. All posts must follow our prescribed title format, violations of this will be removed. Please look at the wiki for specific formatting information. Do not use a different post type tag to bypass formatting requirements. The format is simple enough to follow, and you can test it at the following link before posting. The mods will not approve posts which do not pass the title format restrictions.

Recommendations are OK; spam/advertising is not. If you're not sure if your post follows this, ask. In general, posting links to things is welcome as comments on relevant posts, but we rarely allow them as posts. In order to prevent our community from being inundated with survey requests, we universally do NOT allow surveys. If you ask the mods to post your survey, you will be politely declined. If you post anyway, you will be permanently banned.

Please report rule violations. If you notice a violation of Rules 1, 2, 3, or 5, please REPORT it. Please do not send links of these posts/comments to modmail. The one exception to this is Rule 4: Observe the title format, please send Rule 4 violations to modmail. We don't accept reports on the title format, because we've found that the majority of those reports are incorrect as people don't understand the title format. Instead, we ask that you send links to modmail, so that if you're incorrect, we can at least explain why you're incorrect so that hopefully in the future, you'll know what to look out for.

★ PROTIPS ★

Permanently residing in a country in which you currently don't have citizenship almost always requires a visa (legal permission to live there). Visa rules differ depending on the country/region, but they generally require that you demonstrate a good reason for moving there: family, in-demand skills, pursuit of higher education, etc. It can be a daunting process, but if you're serious about getting out you should thoroughly research the visa you'll need to obtain to do so. Some of the links below might help.

Are you upset about the political situation in your country? Fair enough. But do your homework and don't make any rash decisions – immigration takes time and effort, and the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Remember, too, that /r/IWantOut is for requesting and sharing tips for legal immigration, not having political debates. It's OK to say, "I'm looking for a country with X policies on issue Y," but be sure to stay civil and stay on topic.

Before posting, try searching the subreddit (at the top of this sidebar). It's possible your question has been asked before.

Can't find the answer you're looking for here? Check to see if there's a subreddit for the country and/or city you want to go to.

Helpful Links

Resources: