Choosing your country: five criteria beyond taxation

These two items determine a household’s budget far more than tax does, and they do not offset each other. In several destinations, there is no public alternative open to foreigners.

Health insurance becomes expensive, then difficult to take out, with age and medical history. Pre-existing conditions and guaranteed renewal must be checked before leaving, never after.

Some destinations require evacuation to a third country for major treatment: Vanuatu to Australia, the Philippines to Singapore, Cape Verde to Europe. The corresponding cover is essential and expensive.

French schooling abroad is dense in countries with a long-standing French presence and very sparse elsewhere. The availability of a place cannot be negotiated, and consular grants follow a timetable that runs ahead of the start of the school year.

A sixth criterion is worth adding for couples: the spouse’s ability to work locally. Most permits granted to retirees, people of independent means and remote workers do not give the right to work locally, and a permit derived from a spouse even less so.

This is a frequent cause of early return, and it should be dealt with before departure by checking precisely what each member of the household will be allowed to do.

Language determines access to administrative procedures, the local job market and relations with neighbours. It also determines children’s schooling, particularly in countries where state schools operate in a regional language.

Distance, for its part, is measured in flight hours but also in time difference. A remote worker whose clients are European depends on being reachable during European business hours.

Cape Verde, a few hours’ flight away and practically in the same time zone, offers an advantage on this point that Bali or Medellín lack — whatever their taxation.

The cost and frequency of trips back to France are the corollary. For those with elderly parents or clients who require occasional presence, this variable determines whether the plan is feasible at all.

A preferential regime can be closed to new entrants overnight. Portugal demonstrated this by replacing its non-habitual resident status, and Spain abolished its residency by real estate investment.

A standard rate, such as Romania’s 10%¹ or Bulgaria’s 10%², does not expire: it can only change through a reform affecting the whole population.

A residence scheme can also be suspended: Malaysia did so, and Vanuatu lost the visa exemption that gave its passport its value, which fell to about 95³ destinations.

This distinction between what falls under the standard rules and what falls under a special regime is probably the most useful criterion, and the least used.

Several destinations reserve land ownership for their nationals: Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia. A foreigner there holds only a right of use or a condominium unit, within quotas.

Nominee arrangements are unlawful there and penalised by loss of the property, with no effective remedy. This is the most serious risk in such projects, and it is systematically played down.

Inheritance is the second aspect of this question. Inheritance taxes vary considerably: 0%⁴ in the direct line in Monaco, 4%⁵ in Italy with an allowance of €1,000,000⁶ per beneficiary, 6%⁷ in the Philippines.

Andorra, Mauritius, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands levy none. This parameter weighs more over the long term than a time-limited preferential regime, and it is rarely highlighted.

Taxation therefore comes last — not because it is secondary, but because it can only be usefully quantified once the other five questions have been settled.