Immigration Series: Best countries for expats in 2022 (2023)

In 2022, Mexico was the best place for expats, followed by Indonesia and Taiwan, according to the Internations Expat Insider 2022 Report. Of the 52 countries surveyed for the Internations report, Hong Kong, New Zealandand Kuwait were the worst places for expats. The USA is ranked 14, Canada 23 while the UK is a rank lower than India at 37.

The Expat Insider 2022 survey, conducted by InterNations, ran from February 1-28, 2022.The survey took views from11,970 expats, representing 177 nationalities and living in 181 countries or territories.

Top 10 Countries for Expats (according to Expat Insider ranking):

1. Mexico: Expats find it extremely easy to get settled in Mexico and are happy with their personal finances.

2. Indonesia: Expats in Indonesia find it easy to get settled in but are unhappy with the low quality of life.

3. Taiwan: Expats are particularly happy with the high quality of life, the ease of settling in, and their personal finances.

4. Portugal: Expats enjoy the high quality of life, find it easy to settle in, and are happy with their personal finances.

5. Spain: Expats are extremely happy with the quality of life and find it easy to get settled in.

6. UAE: Expats love the quality of living and their working life, but struggle with their finances.

7. Vietnam: Expats find it very easy to get settled in but struggle with the local language and the environment.

8. Thailand: Finance and leisure options are no trouble for expats, but they struggle with their working life.

9. Australia: Expats love the environment, business culture, and employment prospects.

10. Singapore: Expats love the transit options and career opportunities with no language barriers.

Bottom 10 Countries for Expats (according to Expat Insider ranking):

52. Kuwait: Kuwait not only ranks last in the Expat Insider 2022 survey overall, but also in the bottom 10 of each index.

51. New Zealand: New Zealand (51st) is the worst-performing country in the Personal Finance Index (52nd): 49% of respondents claim their disposable household income is not enough to lead a comfortable life.

50. Hong Kong: Among the bottom 10 in the Personal Finance Index (44th), and 68% of people surveyed said they are unhappy with the general cost of living.

49. Cyprus: Expats are particularly dissatisfied with their personal career opportunities.

48. Luxembourg: Expats’ money does not go a long way in Luxembourg (51st).

47. Japan: Dissatisfied with their working hours and work-life balance. Additionally, 63% do not agree that the local business culture encourages creativity and thinking outside the box.

46. South Africa: 25% rate their overall job satisfaction negatively. South Africa also does not impress with its job security or local job market.

45. Turkey: Last place (52nd) in the Salary & Job Security Subcategory and Work & Leisure (52nd).

44. Italy: Expats in Italy are not paid fairly for their work, and nearly half (45%) are unhappy with the job market in Italy.

43. Malta: Travel & Transit is an issue for expats in Malta (49th), so is Environment & Climate (50th).

Quality of life:

The top 5 countries are on this parameter are: Spain, Taiwan, Austria, Portugal and the UAE.

Rating factors: Travel & Transit, Environment & Climate, Leisure Options, Health & Well-Being, and Safety & Security.

Taiwan is the undisputed winner when it comes to Health & Well-Being. Expats love Austriaparticularly in matters of Travel & Transit. The UAE, the only Middle Eastern destination in the top 10, is loved for its Leisure Options (3rd) and Travel & Transit (5th).

India ranks low in the Quality of Life Index: India is at the bottom 10 spot for all subcategories except Health & Well-Being (19th). The expats rated India as the worst country worldwide for air quality (52nd). They are also dissatisfied with their safety, both in general (48th) and when trying to get around on foot or by bike (51st). 33% rate the availability of public transit options negatively and 55% are dissatisfied with the infrastructure for cars.

Ease of Settling In:

Top 5 countries are: Mexico, Indonesia, Philippines, Brazil, Oman.

Rating factors: Local Friendliness, Finding Friends, Culture & Welcome

Mexico is the uncontested winner here, placing first for each rating factor. Indonesia also has a very strong performance in all three subcategories.The Philippines does especially well with regard to Finding Friends.

Kuwait (52nd) comes last in the Ease of Settling In Index, with Norway and Sweden in the Bottom 3.

Working Abroad:

Top 5 countries are: Denmark, Australia, Ireland, Netherlands, UAE.

Seven out of the top 10 countries in the index are located in Europe. Asian countries make up 4 of the bottom 10 destinations in the index.

Denmark is popular for its work-life balance and working hours. Expats in Australia and Ireland are happy with the local job market. Although Ireland places 3rd in the Working Abroad Index - 68% expats in Ireland rate the local job market positively. An even higher share (72%) rates the personal career opportunities positively (vs. 58% globally). Nearly 74% of expats in Ireland agree that moving to the country has improved their prospects (vs. 60% globally).

Estonia (6th) particularly impresses expats with its local business culture and everyone loves Belgium’s job security. For 35% of the expats in Greece, moving to the country has not improved their career prospects and expats in Italy are not paid fairly for their work.

Turkey, Kuwait, and the Philippines make up the bottom 3 of the index. Kuwait ranks 51st in the Working Abroad Index and last overall. Expats are especially unhappy with the business culture in Kuwait, landing it in last place in the Work Culture & Satisfaction Subcategory (52nd).

Expat Essentials:

Rating factors: Digital life, Admin Topics, Housing, Language

Top 5 counties are: Bahrain, UAE, Singapore, Estonia, Oman.

Bahrain makes life abroad convenient regarding language and admin topics. The UAE shows very similar strengths. Singapore impresses expats with its Digital Life & Language - it is the best-rated country for high-speed internet access at home.

All Gulf States, except for Kuwait, make it into the top 10. Six of the bottom 10 destinations for Expat Essentials are located in Europe. Germany, Japan, and China make some of the basics very hard for expats to sort out. Vietnam is the only Southeast Asian destination in the bottom 10. Vietnam performs very poorly for Language (47th), Digital Life (49th), and Admin Topics (51st) but ranks in the top 5 for Housing (5th).

Housing:

Top 5 countries are: Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Vietnam.

Worst countries for housing are: Sweden, Netherlands, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Ireland.

India is ranked 18 in this Expat Essential Subcategory.

How do other countries fare (according to Internations Expat Insider 2022 Report):

• USA: Expats love the career prospects and work culture but worry about the affordability of healthcare.

• Switzerland: The country offers expats a high standard of living, but expats need to brace themselves for a hard time settling in.

• Germany: The country does well for working abroad, but expats struggle with settling in and disappointing digital services.

• South Africa: Expats are particularly unhappy with the Quality of Life (43rd) and Working Abroad (46th).

• Hong Kong: Expats struggle with their finances, political stability, and environmental issues.

• Sweden: Expats are very satisfied with their working experience but find it quite hard to find friends.

• Ireland: Expats enjoy their working life, but healthcare, housing, and their personal finances are major issues.

• The UK: Expats find it rewarding to work there but are unhappy with their personal finances.

• Norway: Expats enjoy their working life, as well as the above-average quality of life in general, but they struggle hard with settling in.

• China: Expats are happy with their personal finances but dissatisfied with the digital life and business culture.

• Finland: Expats get a pristine environment, a high level of digitisation, and a great work-life balance, but they face major issues with settling in.

• Denmark: The country’s great results for working abroad and the quality of life are canceled out by the high living expenses and the difficulties with settling in.

• Austria: The country receives stellar results in the Quality of Life Index but other factors, especially those related to settling in, impact its placement.

• The Netherlands: Expats love their working life but are put off by high living expenses and difficulties settling in.