American citizens received 80,424 first EU residence permits in 2024, up 1.9% from 78,911 in 2023 and the highest annual total in Eurostat's series going back to 2013. The increase came as overall EU permit issuance declined, making Americans one of the few nationality groups to record year-over-year growth.
US citizens in Iceland reached 1,049 in 2025, up 80% from 583 in 2016, while American long-term permits tripled to 247. What the small-base numbers show.
Sweden enacted legislation on June 15, 2026 authorizing the Swedish Migration Agency to revoke residence permits for non-criminal conduct, including permits already granted. The first measure of its kind since 2005, the law takes effect July 13 and applies to all non-EU migrants, including Americans, on equal terms.
Kuwait's Cabinet Resolution No. 651 of 2026 established a 15-year investor residency permit requiring a minimum investment of $16.3 million through a licensed entity, attaching the permit to an operating business rather than a passive deposit. The pathway is available to Americans and other foreign nationals considering relocation to the Gulf.
Japan's parliament passed immigration legislation on May 29 raising the legal ceiling on permanent residency application fees from ¥10,000 ($62) to approximately ¥200,000 ($1,240), a roughly twentyfold increase. The law sets the maximum; the actual fee will be established separately, leaving the final figure unresolved for applicants planning ahead.
Japan's government expert panel has pushed its recommendations on foreign property purchase restrictions to fall 2026, delaying a decision that had been expected by midsummer. For the approximately 70,000 registered American residents in Japan, the postponement is a reprieve rather than a resolution.
Portugal's immigration authority AIMA was working through a backlog of outstanding court decisions in May 2026, slowing residence permit issuance for new applicants. The delays are landing on Americans mid-application at a moment when the U.S. population in Portugal has never been larger.
Americans moving to Brazil now sit among the country’s largest foreign residence cohorts, a slow climb back from the pandemic floor that the permit data only partly explains.
A proposed Bahamas immigration change would authorize the minister to issue residence certificates to citizenship applicants he rejects, for a $500 fee that undercuts the cost of an annual Bahamian work permit. The provision, surfaced during a budget debate, has drawn the most scrutiny of any element in the broader proposal.
Belize’s US-born population climbed to 3,574 in the 2010 census, then fell to 2,985 by 2022. The reversal, and the retiree program the count can’t see.
The Dominican Republic issued 2,491 residence permits to Americans in 2025, with temporary residence accounting for 64% of the total at 1,591 permits. Every other category trailed by a significant margin.
Mexico tightened its residence visa rules on May 16, with amendments to the General Guidelines for the Issuance of Visas published in the Official Gazette the previous evening. The changes fall hardest on foreigners employed by Mexican companies.
Spain issued 15,638 first residence permits to Americans in 2024, more than double the 7,383 issued in 2015 and the largest American pipeline in Europe after France. The resident stock stands at 57,379 U.S. citizens with valid permits, alongside 76,180 U.S.-born residents, a gap reflecting decades of dual nationality. Settlement concentrates in Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia.
Americans filed 616 residency applications in Uruguay in 2025, more than double the 303 filed in 2024, per Dirección Nacional de Migración figures. January 2026 added another 56. The historical American resident stock has hovered around 3,000, modest against a country of 3.6 million, but the rate of change is new.
