Are there any (livable 🥺) countries that basically allow anyone to become a citizen? Specifically where an English speaker could get by.
Edit: by allowing anyone I mean poor people with no skills.
Well, “liveable” is going to be somewhat-subjective.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_border
Examples of open borders
Svalbard
Uniquely, the Norwegian special territory of Svalbard is an entirely visa-free zone. No person requires a visa or residence permit and anyone may live and work in Svalbard indefinitely, regardless of citizenship. The Svalbard Treaty grants treaty nationals equal right of abode as Norwegian nationals. So far, non-treaty nationals have been admitted visa-free as well. “Regulations concerning rejection and expulsion from Svalbard” are in force on a non-discriminatory basis. Grounds for exclusion include lack of means of support, and violation of laws or regulations.[52][53][54] Same-day visa-free transit at Oslo Airport is possible when travelling on non-stop flights to Svalbard.
That’s not citizenship, but it’s living and working there without restriction, which is probably about as good as someone’s going to get in the present day. But it’s probably colder than most people would like.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard
Approximately 60% of the archipelago is covered with glaciers, and the islands feature many mountains and fjords. The archipelago has an Arctic climate, although with significantly higher temperatures than other areas at the same latitude. The flora has adapted to take advantage of the long period of midnight sun to compensate for the polar night. Many seabirds use Svalbard as a breeding ground, and it is home to polar bears, reindeer, the Arctic fox, and certain marine mammals. Seven national parks and 23 nature-reserves cover two-thirds of the archipelago, protecting the largely untouched fragile environment.
EDIT: And income looks pretty solid, even by Western standards:
In 2006, the average income for economically active people was 494,700 kroner, 23% higher than on the mainland.
Converting to 2006 USD and then rolling forward inflation to December 2023, that’d be ~$110,463.54/year.
But part of the reason that they’re gonna be paying that is because the people living there are gonna have to be living in polar twilight for a hefty chunk of the year.
Most remote areas also have a lot higher cost of living since most things need to be shipped into the extreme environment.
That’s a good point. I know that in the US, pretty much everything costs more in Hawaii. Though…hmm. I’d bet that a big chunk of that might be the Jones Act, which requires any shipping from a US port to a US port without intermediate stops abroad to be done on a US-flagged ship with American crewmen, which is quite expensive. Net result, as I understand it, is that a lot of shipping between US destinations will do an intermediate stop at a port abroad. That works for, say, the Caribbean. But there isn’t any non-US territory anywhere near Hawaii, so a shipper won’t be able to readily use that approach.
googles
Yeah, it sounds like it’s a factor and a bit of a touchy point for Hawaii.
https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/jonesact/
The 1920 Jones Act requires that all cargo transported between U.S. ports be on ships that are U.S. flagged, built and mostly owned and crewed by Americans. It is well known that the act adds to Hawaii’s high cost of living…
So I dunno if it’d be as bad for Svalbard.
Also, Svalbard’s gonna be cold – even if it’s warmer than places at a similar latitude, it’s still in the Arctic – so heating costs will be higher there than most other places that people live.
Just finding a job elsewhere in your own country might be a better option, plenty of smaller towns with cheap rents and businesses looking to hire…
Assuming you don’t mean the US, but it’s basically the only place that let’s anyone in, even if it’s a limited amount by region.
The United States and the United Kingdom.
This is not at all true for the UK. You generally need a job offer to get a visa to stay for longer than six months.
He’s presumably being sarcastic, I assume because he’s grouchy about illegal immigration (which isn’t what OP is asking about…he’s asking about legal immigration).
Oh… I’m not trying pay off any government employees.
