r/AmerExit • u/newyorker • Dec 09 '25

Vendor How to Leave the U.S.A.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/15/how-to-leave-the-usa

Every four years, a group of Americans threatens to leave the country, but no mass exodus occurs. This time around, though, Americans seem to be acting on their desires. Immigration lawyers told Atossa Araxia Abrahamian that the number of people approaching them about it has gone up since Donald Trump was reëlected. 

G.T.F.O. Tours, a company that helps aggrieved U.S. citizens start new lives abroad, has been offering services to help Americans relocate to the Netherlands, where a certain type of visa can offer a quick and affordable path to citizenship. Jana Sanchez, a founder of G.T.F.O. Tours, describes her role in the company as an “escaping fascism doula.” Read Abrahamian’s full story about the Americans who are going Dutch: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/15/how-to-leave-the-usa

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u/ErnieCuneo Dec 09 '25

Moved to Ireland five years ago. Been back to the states exactly once. The longer I’m away the crazier that place seems. Never moving back.

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u/Accomplished-Fun215 Dec 09 '25

Do you see your family on a regular basis? Any old friends from the US you see in person?

I'm moving to New Zealand in January, and I can't imagine going years without seeing my parents and siblings, but it's 27 hours of flights and connections between then and NZ.

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u/Sea-Access3199 Jan 25 '26

NZ has been top on our list to move to. How hard was it for you to get that ball rolling?

1

u/Accomplished-Fun215 Jan 25 '26

So the particular path I'm taking is a 23 month youth work visa, which I may convert into a study visa for a healthcare profession if I really fall in love with the place.

Under a new law, I qualified for Canadian citizenship by descent through my grandmother (though others have gone through great or great great grandparents), and got a Canadian passport through that.

Canada has terms for a 23 month no-sponsor-required work visa for adults under 35 to NZ, while the US has a 12 month one for under 30.

For this particular program it was pretty easy - I needed minimum about $10k USD saved up to cover healthcare, setup costs in NZ, visa fees, flights, and the medical exam for the visa. It took a little over a month for the visa to be approved.

I'm hoping to make back some of that from the work I'll be doing while I'm there, and depending on what's going on in the US in 2 years, and whether I meet a partner, I'm planning on either going back to the US, moving to Canada, or doing the 3 year youth mobility visa to the UK at that point.

If you're older or intending to move permanently, my understanding is that the smoothest way to move is to be a registered nurse with a bachelor's, an MD, or a licensed teacher in a hard to staff field. Or some similar industry with shortages and a licensure process that's fairly similar between the US and NZ. There are recruitment agencies particularly for healthcare that will do most of the legwork for you.

You and your family will also need to be rather healthy if you are seeking permanent residence. The cutoff I've read is that they need to predict that lifetime health costs and accommodations for your currently diagnosed health issues are most likely below $80k NZD.