Want to take the leap, but not sure if you can? This post looks realistically at some of the factors you need to consider when asking how to move abroad with NO money.
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I want to state very clearly here: Having NO MONEY is not the same as doing NO PREPARATION!!!
I can tell you as someone who moved abroad with VERY little money: doing so took a TON of preparation! I had to job hunt, get my visa, and do SO many things to prepare for moving abroad.
So if you think that this post is going to tell you how to just “wing it” into a new country, with no money and no plans…then this isn’t for you.
But if you’re a calculated risk-taker who wants to make big changes and is willing to put in the work, even if you don’t have a lot of money in the picture, then this post should be helpful!!
How To Move Abroad With No Money: My Story!
Hey! My name is Nat, and I’m an expat who’s been living abroad for five years.
I moved abroad right after finishing my degree at 21 years old, and I had just $300 left in my bank account, which isn’t far from “broke” when it comes to travel!
To be honest with you: moving abroad with SO little money is not a wise thing, and it can be very risky. I want to share how I did so with you, but I also want to be up front and say that caution must come first.
You should ONLY consider moving abroad with minimal personal finances if you ALREADY HAVE these four things lined up:
- A way to earn money in your new country,
- The appropriate visa for your purpose in that country,
- A place to live,
- A fallback plan, in the event that nothing works out.
While it’s possible to move abroad with no money, it’s not always a good thing to do. Is this kind of adventure for you? Check out the factors I’m listing below, as they may help you to better evaluate your situation!
Factor #1: Define “No Money”
First question: what does NO MONEY mean? Does it literally mean that you have NO money to your name?
Hear me out: to move abroad, you usually need a VISA to live in that country, as well as AIRFARE to get there. These costs are often a couple thousand dollars at least!
If you literally possess $0 dollars, you’ll ONLY be able to move abroad if you can travel BY LAND to another country which also happens to be VISA FREE for you to live in.
Is it possible? Maybe, but not likely. And it’s far less likely to work out well for you.
When I moved abroad as a 21-year-old, I had $300 dollars to my name after travel expenses. That was IT! For me, that’s as close as I’ve come to having no money in my adult life.
However, there are a few things to note here:
- My workplace helped with my visa fees (which were over $500)
- I had a college degree and teaching license, and I set up my new job BEFORE I moved abroad
- I got financial help with buying my plane ticket, which was a HUGE leg-up!
- My new workplace provided an apartment for me!!!
In other words: even though I had no money, I had supportive people at home, an apartment, AND a job already lined up. That’s a LOT of security!
Factor #2: What Visa Will You Get?
As I mentioned earlier, I had a college degree AND a teaching certificate. I was able to get a teaching job in China, so I didn’t have to worry about supporting myself. These factors qualified me for a work visa.
In addition, my workplace covered my work permit costs, and their HR handled all of the headaches that came with that. So I just had to send my documents to someone, and didn’t have to handle much paperwork.
If you don’t have a college degree, it will most likely be much more difficult to get a job and thus a working visa abroad.
Research your visa options VERY well. You may be limited as to which countries you can live or work in depending on your qualifications and what they require for a visa.
Factor #3: What will You do For Housing?
Is there a relative/friend in that country who will host you short or long-term? Or will your workplace provide a place for you to live?
If either of the above is the case, then if you DO move abroad with no money (or little money), then this is a LOT of stress off of your shoulders!!
If you literally have no money, then hotels aren’t an option for you. There are options like hostels which are very cheap…but there are more safety risks to these options. Plus, I don’t know if you can “live” there long-term.
There also exist some “work exchange” programs abroad which provide housing in exchange for you doing some kind of volunteer work, but usually they require registering in advance or even a formal application.
When moving abroad, consider factors such as: “Do I know anyone in that country? Is there someone I can stay with while I figure things out?”
If you’re going to be totally on your own, broke, and without housing…that’s a recipe for disaster.
As I said earlier, I moved immediately into an apartment which was provided for me by my workplace in China. Sure, it wasn’t a very pretty space, but it was mine and it gave me some security. Plus my belongings were safe.
Unless its a dire situation, I would NOT recommend moving abroad if you don’t know what housing opportunities you’ll have.
Factor #4: Do You Have a Fallback?
When I moved abroad, I knew that if EVERYTHING fell apart, I could always come home to live with my parents and find work locally again.
And let’s imagine that everything DID fall apart! Sure, I would have lost some money that I’d spent getting there and getting established…but I still had something to go back to and start over in.
Because of this, I ultimately knew the risk wasn’t too high, because there was a place for me at home.
I’m ALL for taking calculated risks, but the reality is that moving abroad requires a lot of planning, and has a lot of moving parts. So every step should be researched, calculated, and safely executed.
So Should You Move Abroad With No Money?
To quickly review: if you want to try to move abroad with no money, you need to make sure you have these four things lined up:
- A way to earn money in your new country,
- The appropriate visa for your purpose in that country,
- A place to live,
- A fallback plan, in the event that nothing works out.
If you move abroad with these four factors figured out, then even if you don’t have much money to get you started, you’ll be in a situation which you can soon build your finances back up and have more security.
If you came here wondering how to move abroad with no money, I hope that this post gave you realistic expectations and advice about the process! Still have questions? I’d love to answer in the comments!
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Moving Abroad RUINED My Life! The Cons of Expat Living
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