Last checked: October 2026. Visa rules and income figures change often, so confirm the current figure on the official site before you act.
The TL;DR
"Could I actually afford to move abroad on what I earn?" It's often the first thing people wonder, long before it's a real plan, and it's surprisingly hard to get a straight answer online.
The short answer is that many people can. If you work remotely, the route most people look at is a digital nomad visa (some countries call it a remote worker visa). To get one, you need to show you earn a minimum amount. For one person in Europe, that's a salary of roughly £22,000 to £47,000 before tax. If you're moving with a partner or children, some countries ask for more, but not all do.
In about seven minutes, you'll know which countries your salary puts within reach and what to check next. One thing to know first: this guide is about whether you meet each visa's income requirement. Whether your money will actually stretch far enough once you're there is a separate question, which our guide to the cheapest places Brits can legally live abroad answers.
Covered in this article
1. How do you earn? 🧭
How you earn your money is the first thing that decides which kind of visa to look at.
💼 You earn from work, as an employee or freelancer, for employers or clients outside the country: a digital nomad or remote worker visa is usually the route to look at. That's what this guide covers. If you're an employee, your employer also has to agree to you working from abroad, and several of these visas ask for proof, such as a letter from them.
🏡 You live on a pension, rent or investments: there are separate visas for you, which often ask for less but don't let you work. Our guide to the best European visas for living on passive income covers those.
Next step: if your income comes from work, read on. If it doesn't, start with the passive income guide.
2. Do you earn enough? 💷
Each digital nomad visa sets a minimum income, usually linked to the country's minimum wage or average pay. We've turned each one into the rough UK salary you'd need before tax, so you can check it against your own pay.
Why these countries? We've picked Europe's best-known digital nomad visas, plus three well-known options further afield (the UAE, Malaysia and Thailand). Most are countries we've covered in depth before, and every one publishes a clear income figure you can check. Want more options? Our guide to which visa is actually right for you covers 15 destinations.
The chart shows the salary each visa needs if you're moving on your own. Find your salary on the scale: every bar that ends before it is a visa where your income is high enough. Pink bars mean you don't need to earn any more to bring your family.
Bringing a partner or children? Here's the rough UK salary each visa needs for your household, from lowest to highest:
Digital nomad visa | Just you | You + partner | You + partner + 2 children |
|---|---|---|---|
🇲🇾 Malaysia (tech jobs) | £18,000 | £18,000 | £18,000 |
🇮🇹 Italy | £22,000 | not published | not published |
🇪🇸 Spain | £25,000 | £34,000 | £40,500 |
🇦🇪 UAE (Dubai) | £31,500 | not published | not published |
🇲🇹 Malta | £35,500 | £35,500 | £35,500 |
🇨🇾 Cyprus | £44,500 | £55,500 | £73,500 |
🇬🇷 Greece | £44,500 | £55,500 | £73,500 |
🇲🇾 Malaysia (other jobs) | £45,000 | £45,000 | £45,000 |
🇭🇷 Croatia | £46,500 | £48,500 | £53,000 |
🇵🇹 Portugal (D8) | £47,000 | not published | not published |
Rough salary before tax for an employee in England in 2026/27, with no pension contributions or student loan, rounded up. Converted on 16 Oct 2026 at the European Central Bank rate of €1 = £0.84385 (about £0.84) and $1 = £0.75. If you're self-employed, don't rely on our employee salary conversion. Use the visa's own monthly income requirement instead; we give that figure for every country in section 3.
If someone's coming with you, plan on the main applicant's income meeting the full requirement. None of the official pages say a partner's earnings can be added, and Malta and the UAE say it must be the applicant's own. So it's usually best for the higher earner to apply.
⚠️ Watch out:
Aim above the line. Several figures rise every year (from 2025 to 2026, Spain's went up about £60 a month and Portugal's about £170), so aim to earn around 10% more than the figure.
Bringing a partner? If you're not married, Spain, Croatia, Greece, Malta and Portugal accept unmarried partners with proof, such as a registered partnership certificate. Cyprus doesn't, and the UAE's official page doesn't say.
Single parent? Start from the figure for just you, then add the amount per child given in each country's entry in section 3.
Italy splits the visa in two: one for the self-employed and one for employees. Employees must also be paid at least the rate in Italy's national collective agreement for their job, and no less than Italy's official average gross pay, which can mean more than £22,000.
Thailand isn't on the chart because it has no salary requirement. Instead, you need to show about £12,000 in savings.
Next step: find your salary on the chart, or in the table if someone's coming with you, and note two or three countries within it that you'd actually consider living in.
Your salary is only the first filter. Before you pick a country, check that it accepts your type of work, that your employer will let you work abroad, who can come with you, and whether they can work there.
