Visas are the part of a family move that generates the most anxiety and, in my experience, the most wasted research hours. People spend weeks reading about visa options for countries they haven't decided to move to yet. Or they assume visas are harder than they are and use the uncertainty as a reason to delay.
Let me try to cut through some of that.
The question you should actually be asking
Most families start by asking "what visa do I need to move to X?" That's the right question eventually, but it's not the right starting point. The better question is: what's our situation — and what visa categories does that open up?
Your situation includes things like: do either of you have EU ancestry? Are you employed or self-employed? Do you have provable passive income? Are you planning to work for local employers or keep working remotely for clients elsewhere? These factors determine which visa routes are realistically available to you and which ones aren't worth your time.
The main categories that work for families
Digital nomad and remote work visas have expanded significantly in the last three years. Portugal, Spain, Greece, Costa Rica, Mexico, Indonesia, and others now have specific visa categories for people working remotely. These typically require proof of remote income above a threshold (usually $2,000-$3,500/month), a clean criminal record, and health insurance. They're usually 12-month visas, renewable, and some lead to residency. They're not perfect but they're purpose-built for people in our situation.
Passive income visas (Portugal's D7, Spain's non-lucrative visa) are designed for people who can demonstrate they don't need to work locally. Rental income, dividends, pensions, or investment returns. The thresholds are lower than you'd expect — Portugal's D7 requires demonstrating roughly €760/month per adult, €380 for a partner, and around €230 per child. Not cheap, but achievable for many families.
Investor and entrepreneur visas — the famous Golden Visas and startup visas — are a different category. Higher thresholds, faster residency timelines, and often a path to citizenship. Portugal closed its Golden Visa to real estate investment but still offers it for fund investment and job creation. Spain's is still open. These make sense for some families but they're overkill for most.
Ancestry visas are underused and often overlooked. If either of you has a grandparent (and in some countries, a great-grandparent) from Italy, Ireland, Portugal, or several other countries, you may have a right to citizenship by descent. This doesn't require income thresholds, investment, or bureaucratic approval — you're claiming an existing right. It takes time and paperwork but can be the cleanest route to full EU residency. Worth researching before assuming you need a visa at all.
The things that actually slow people down
Not the visa itself — the supporting documents.
Every visa application requires proof of income, and how you prove it depends on how your income is structured. Employed people need payslips and a letter from an employer. Self-employed people need tax returns, bank statements, and sometimes a letter from an accountant. People with passive income need documentation of the source, the amounts, and their regularity.
If your income is inconsistent, mixed-source, or from multiple countries, getting this documentation together can take two to three months. Start earlier than you think you need to.
Criminal record checks also take time — often four to six weeks in the UK and longer if you've lived in multiple countries (you may need checks from each).
Health insurance proof needs to specifically cover the country you're applying from, with minimum coverage amounts. Generic travel insurance usually doesn't qualify.
A note on applying from inside the country
For some countries and visa types, you can apply while on a tourist visa already in the country. For others, you must apply from outside. This affects your sequencing — you can't always just turn up and figure it out. Check whether the visa you want requires consular application before you book flights.
What I'd actually recommend
Pick your destination first. Then research the two or three visa routes that are realistically available to you. Find a local immigration lawyer in that country and pay for an hour of their time to tell you exactly what your best route is and what you need to prepare.
The hour you spend with a lawyer is worth ten hours of independent research. The visa rules change, the implementation varies by consulate, and you want someone who processes applications every week, not someone who read the same government website as you.
If you want help working out which countries and visa routes make sense for your specific situation, book a session and we'll work through it together.
