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News and data on Americans abroad, in your inbox weekly. Subscribe.

EU Residence Permits for Americans Rose 1.9% as the Overall Total Fell 8.3%

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A picture of a Social Security card representing Social Security abroad payments to beneficiaries living outside the United States.

711,778 Received Social Security Abroad, SSA Report Says

Social Security abroad has become an $8.39 billion annual line in the federal record of Americans living beyond the United States. The Social Security Administration counted 711,778 Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance beneficiaries in foreign countries in December 2024, including 463,480 retired workers. OASDI is the formal program behind Social Security retirement, survivor and disability benefits. The agency reported $682.8 million in monthly payments to foreign countries that month. Retired workers accounted for $493.1 million of that total. That doesn’t count Americans abroad. It maps something narrower. It shows where the U.S. government sends Social Security payments outside the country, one of the few federal datasets that attaches a recurring dollar figure to life overseas. Japan and Canada top the foreign table Japan had the largest foreign-country count, with 108,161 beneficiaries receiving Social Security payments in December 2024. Canada followed closely with 106,904. Mexico ranked third with 58,067 beneficiaries. The

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People wait in line outside Argentina's Registro Nacional de las Personas office in Buenos Aires, where foreign residents process paperwork affected by the Argentina naturalization rules

Argentina Naturalization Rules Require 2 Unbroken Years

Argentina naturalization rules changed in 2025, and the toughest new condition only shows itself when an applicant leaves the country. One trip abroad can reset the clock to zero. President Javier Milei’s government rewrote the path to an Argentine passport by decree. Most of the changes make it harder. What the residency clock now requires The core change rewrote how Argentina counts the years toward citizenship. Decree 366/2025, published in

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The Swedish Parliament building in Stockholm behind a waving Swedish flag, where lawmakers passed Sweden's good behavior law

Sweden’s Good Behavior Law Reaches Americans on Work and Family Permits

Sweden’s good behavior law, passed by parliament June 15, lets the Swedish Migration Agency revoke residence permits for conduct that isn’t criminal, and it reaches permits already granted. That’s a first since 2005. The change takes effect July 13, and it lands on Americans the same way it lands on every other non-EU migrant: through their work, family and study permits. The conduct the law now counts The law revives

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Finnish presidential palace in Helsinki flying the national flag, where the Finland citizenship test takes effect in 2027

Finland Citizenship Test Becomes Mandatory for Naturalization in 2027

Finland’s Parliament passed a new Finland citizenship test into law June 12, requiring naturalization applicants to pass an exam on Finnish society, history and culture starting Jan. 1, 2027. The vote was 153 to 21. Support reached past the governing coalition to the Social Democratic Party and the Centre Party. The measure makes a passing score a formal condition for a Finnish passport. Finland had no such test before. It’s

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