Destinations Spotlight: Planning for Safety Abroad This September

Planning for safety abroad can begin with a practical question: where could I build a life that supports my needs? For LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and others considering leaving the United States, the answer involves more than a country’s reputation. It includes permission to stay, access to care, a place to live, and people to turn to.

This month’s Destinations Spotlight looks at Canada, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, and Costa Rica. Each raises different questions. A useful comparison starts with your circumstances: your citizenship, family, work, health, finances, and priorities.

You do not need to decide everything at once. Understanding one realistic option can make the next step clearer.

Start planning for safety abroad with the legal pathway

Before comparing cities, identify the route you would use to live there. Work, study, family, and other residence pathways have their own requirements. Refugee protection involves a separate legal assessment of the danger a person faces.

A visa described as suitable for retirees may not permit employment. A remote-work route may require income from outside the destination country. Meanwhile, a country may recognize persecution related to gender or sexuality without granting every LGBTQ+ applicant asylum.

Ask a qualified immigration professional in the destination country to assess the route that fits your situation. Bring questions about work rights, dependents, renewals, and what happens if your circumstances change. If you hold another citizenship or may qualify through family, include that in the conversation.

• Canada’s 2026 asylum changes deserve close attention. Bill C-12 became law on March 26. Among other changes, it introduced a rule preventing referral to the Immigration and Refugee Board for certain claims made more than one year after a person’s first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020. The new eligibility rules apply to claims made on or after June 3, 2025. Read IRCC’s explanation of the enacted changes.
• Separately, the June 20 Canada Gazette publication sets out proposed asylum regulations. That publication alone does not establish that those proposals took effect.
• There is also an important distinction for U.S. citizens: the Safe Third Country Agreement does not apply to them. However, that exemption does not establish eligibility for refugee protection. People living in the United States who hold other citizenships may face different rules.

Planning step:

Have a qualified Canadian immigration lawyer review your citizenship, previous entries, and proposed pathway before you rely on a border crossing or filing timeline.

• For people exploring Spain, the ability to work is an early question to settle. Spain’s non-working residence visa guidance requires sufficient financial means and explicitly excludes work, including remote work. The consulate directs people who intend to work online to its separate telework visa information.
• That distinction matters if you plan to keep a U.S. job after moving. Do not build a budget around earnings that your chosen permission does not allow.

Planning step:

Review the requirements of the Spanish consulate responsible for your home address. Ask how your income, employment arrangement, health insurance, and family circumstances fit the route. Then compare specific communities using current rental listings and direct conversations with providers and local organizations.

• Portugal’s migration policy has been changing. A June 2025 government statement outlined revisions concerning immigration, asylum, and citizenship. It describes the government’s direction at that time; it cannot, by itself, establish the requirements for an application today.
• For that reason, treat older relocation guides as a starting point for questions. Avoid making commitments based on an assumed route from arrival to residence or citizenship.

Planning step:

Confirm the current requirements for your specific visa and residence permit with the responsible Portuguese consulate and a qualified professional. Ask about appointments, renewals, work permission, and family applications. Before choosing a municipality, also check whether you can reach the healthcare and community support you need from housing you can afford.

• The Dutch immigration authority, IND, describes a revised asylum procedure tied to the EU Migration and Asylum Pact from June 12, 2026. Its Migration Pact guidance explains that implementation continues in phases and that some previously standard procedural steps will no longer happen automatically.
• IND also cautions that changing a system at this scale takes time. An official goal of faster decisions should not become a personal promise about when you will receive an answer.

Planning step:

If you are considering refugee protection, seek advice about the procedure and support available in your circumstances. Discuss any interpretation, disability, or trauma-related needs early. If you are exploring another residence route, confirm its requirements separately from asylum guidance.

• Germany’s official Opportunity Card portal offers a starting point for people seeking qualified employment. Eligibility may follow recognition as a skilled worker or a points-based route. The portal includes a self-check and links to application requirements.
• This is one option to investigate if your education or work experience may support an employment pathway. It does not tell you whether a particular city, employer, or healthcare arrangement will meet your needs.

Planning step:

Check eligibility before spending money on an application. Review qualification recognition, language requirements, financial support, and permitted work. Alongside that research, identify employers, accessible housing, and providers in the same region so that each part of the plan can work together.

• Costa Rica’s remote-worker category has specific financial conditions. Its official digital nomad requirements specify qualifying income from services provided to people or entities outside Costa Rica: at least US$3,000 per month for an individual, or US$4,000 when applying with dependents. Applicants must document that income under the program’s rules.
• Those thresholds describe one immigration category. They do not establish what a household will actually spend or whether it can access particular healthcare services.

Planning step:

Confirm whether your income qualifies, then build a separate budget for housing, insurance, care, transport, and application costs. If ongoing treatment matters to your move, contact providers about services and payment before relying on general descriptions of the country’s healthcare system.

Make continuity of care part of planning for safety abroad

For someone taking hormones, managing a chronic condition, or arranging disability support, a move also means transferring care. Start with the services you personally need.

Ask prospective providers and insurers:

• Can I access this service with my expected immigration status and coverage?
• Are you accepting new patients, and when could I have a first appointment?
• What referrals, records, or assessments will you need?
• What will I pay for appointments, medication, and monitoring?
• Can you meet my language and accessibility needs?

Work with your current clinician on a transition plan, including what you may legally bring and how to arrange follow-up. Where possible, get clear answers before committing to a move. A statement that a country offers gender-affirming care cannot answer these questions for an individual person.

Build a plan around everyday life

A workable budget should include deposits, temporary accommodation, utilities, transport, food, translation, application fees, and healthcare. Use actual listings in the area you are considering, and allow for delays where you can. You can download our Free Budget Worksheet to help get you started.

Compare affordable housing with the places you need to reach. A lower rent may offer little relief if it puts essential care or work beyond your reach. Local LGBTQ+ and disability organizations may help you identify useful questions about daily life, accessibility, and community.

There is no single savings target that makes every move possible. Limited resources do not make your need for safety less valid. They make accurate information and realistic support especially important.

Choose one manageable next step: verify a residence route, contact a provider, or compare two neighborhoods. You can gather information without committing to leave, and you can revise your plan as your needs change.

For questions about The Asylum Project’s resources and programs, contact TAP. Please avoid sending sensitive legal or medical records by email. TAP shares information and resources; it does not provide legal representation or individualized legal advice.