The visa is the most underweighted variable in most relocations. The checker scores the route on a 1 to 10 scale, lists every visa class open to you, and flags the deal breakers. Numbers are May 2026.
In our 2026 relocation survey, 41 percent of moves that fell apart inside the first 18 months collapsed because of a visa issue: a denial on first application, a renewal that did not clear, a spouse work right that did not transfer, or a residency period that triggered an unexpected tax. The visa is rarely the headline of any move, but it is the variable that most often kills the move. The checker is designed to put it on the spreadsheet alongside cost, tax, and salary.
The score on a 10 point scale: 1 means same passport, no visa needed; 4 means open digital nomad visa or working holiday route; 7 means employer sponsored work permit at the senior salary level only; 10 means closed to most applicants. The checker pulls from the May 2026 Henley Passport Index, the national immigration authorities, and our own running database of approval rates by route. For long form context, see the visa guide 2026 and the nomad visa guide 2026.
Pick passport, target city, and purpose. Returns a 1 to 10 score and a list of viable visa classes.
For each match the checker returns the visa class name, the income or investment requirement where applicable, and the typical processing time.
Pick your inputs to see the route.
Practical reading. A 1 to 3 score is operationally trivial: book the flight. A 4 to 6 score requires a paperwork project that takes 8 to 16 weeks; allocate the calendar before you start. A 7 to 9 score requires a real strategy: an employer that sponsors, a salary above the local threshold, or a passive income stream that meets the digital nomad floor. A 10 means the route is closed for now; check the visa guide for the routes that recently opened.
For the full set of route guides see the visa guide 2026. For nomad routes specifically, the best cities for digital nomads ranking sorts the 47 cities that now offer one.
Visa due diligence sits at the bottom of the relocation checklist for most applicants, where it is regularly skipped or done late. Run the checker first. If the score is 7 or higher, the visa becomes the longest item on the timeline; everything else has to schedule around it. If the score is 4 or lower, you have an opening. For the long form read on every supported route, the visa guide sits next to this tool.