Relocation glossary
The words that decide where you can move
Moving countries runs on a vocabulary most people meet for the first time mid-decision — tax residency, territorial taxation, permanent residence, golden visa. Plain-English definitions of the terms that actually shape a move, and why each one matters.
ApostilleAn international certification under the Hague Convention that authenticates a public document for legal use in another member country.Citizenship by descentA right to citizenship based on having a parent, grandparent, or sometimes great-grandparent from that country.Cost-of-living indexA normalized number that compares how expensive it is to live in one place versus another, often set against a benchmark city.Digital nomad visaA residence permit that lets you live in a country long-term while working remotely for an employer or clients based outside it.Exit taxA tax some countries levy on unrealized gains when you give up tax residency or renounce citizenship.Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE)A US tax provision that lets qualifying Americans living abroad exclude a large slice of their earned income from US federal tax.Golden visaResidency granted in exchange for a significant qualifying investment, such as real estate, a business, or government bonds.NaturalizationThe process of becoming a citizen of a country you weren't born in, after meeting residence, language, and other requirements.Non-dom (non-domiciled status)A tax status for residents whose permanent home (domicile) is considered to be in another country, often limiting tax on their foreign income.Non-resident alienA US tax classification for a non-citizen who doesn't meet the tests to be treated as a US tax resident.Permanent residence (PR)The right to live in a country indefinitely — and usually to work there — without holding its citizenship.Remittance basisA tax approach where foreign income is taxed only if and when you bring (remit) it into the country.Retirement visaA long-stay visa for retirees and people with passive income, usually requiring proof of a minimum pension or investment income.Schengen 90/180 ruleA rule letting visa-free visitors spend up to 90 days within any rolling 180-day period across the Schengen Area as a whole.Tax residencyThe status that decides which country has the right to tax your income — usually triggered by spending enough time there or making it your main home.Tax treatyA bilateral agreement between two countries that stops the same income being taxed twice and sets rules for which country taxes what.Territorial taxationA tax system that taxes only income earned inside the country, leaving foreign-source income largely untaxed locally.The 183-day ruleThe common threshold where spending 183 or more days in a country during a year makes you a tax resident there.Worldwide taxationA tax system that taxes a resident's income from everywhere — local and foreign alike — once they become tax-resident.
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