Where Handling the Essentials Abroad Is Easy & Hard in 2026

The UAE, Panama, and Saudi Arabia make it easy for expats to manage the basics of life abroad. European destinations? Not so much.

➡️You’re welcome to use these 2026 Expat Insider results. Please remember to credit InterNations as the source, and where possible, include a link to www.internations.org.

In this article:

Methodology
Visas & Language? No Problem in the UAE (1st)
A Housing Paradise in Panama (2nd)
Smooth Starts in Saudi Arabia (3rd)
Analog & Overwhelmed in Germany (31st)
Learning the Language Is a Challenge in Czechia (30th)
Red Tape & Language Barriers in Italy (29th)
Trends in the Top 10
Trends in the Bottom 10
Full Ranking
Further Reading

Top 5 of the Expat Essentials Index 2026 and its subcategories; details in description

Methodology

The Expat Essentials Index is made up of four subcategories with two to four underlying factors each:

Admin Topics takes into account how easy respondents say it is to get a visa for their host country, deal with local bureaucracy, or open a local bank account.

Digital Life reflects the availability of high-speed internet, the restrictiveness of online services in general, the online availability of admin and government services specifically, as well as availability of cashless payment options.

How easy it is for expats to find and cover the costs for accommodation is reflected in the Housing Subcategory.

And lastly, the ease of learning the local/official language(s) of a host country, and whether it’s difficult to live there without speaking it, is summarized in the Language Subcategory.

All these points are rated on a scale of one (very bad / disagree completely) to seven (very good / agree completely). A minimum of 50 respondents per destination is required to be featured in the index. In 2026, 31 countries met this threshold.

Visas & Language? No Problem in the UAE (1st)

The UAE* ranks 1st out of 31 destinations in the 2026 Expat Essentials Index, topping both its Admin Topics and the Language Subcategories. Getting a visa to move there is the easiest worldwide, according to 80% of respondents (vs. 55% globally). A staggering 59% even give this factor the best possible rating (vs. 30%). Four in five expats (80%) also find it easy to live in the UAE without speaking the local language (vs. 48% globally) — another 1st place.

Opinion

I appreciate the safety and easy access to government services. (Sudanese expat in Ras Al Khaimah)

Opinion

Dealing with the local bureaucracy (3rd) and opening a bank account (3rd) are almost as easy. Digitalization certainly helps: 88% praise the availability of administrative services online (vs. 61% globally), and high-speed internet (3rd) and cashless payments (5th) are readily accessible. There’s one digital exception, though — just two-thirds (67%) agree that access to online services such as social media is unrestricted (vs. 83% globally), placing the UAE 29th for this factor.

Housing (7th) rounds out the UAE’s strong performance in this index: expats find it easy to secure a place to live (64% vs. 44% globally), and its affordability (9th) also beats the global average.

A Housing Paradise in Panama (2nd)

Panama places 2nd in the 2026 Expat Essentials Index, with the world’s best results in the Housing Subcategory (1st). Not a single respondent rates the ease of finding housing negatively — 90% rate it positively (vs. 44% globally). And close to three-quarters (73%) consider housing affordable, more than double the global average (32%).

Getting into the country is simple, too: Panama ranks 2nd worldwide for the ease of getting a visa (82% positive ratings vs. 55% globally). That’s likely welcome news for the many expats who move there for lifestyle reasons — 18% relocated to retire abroad and 16% for a better quality of life (vs. a global 4% and 9%, respectively).

The Language Subcategory (6th) shows further strengths: about half (51%) find the local language easy to learn (vs. 39% globally), though according to 62%, you can also get by without speaking Spanish (vs. 48%). And close to a quarter of respondents (23%) already speak it natively (vs. 10%).

Digital Life (9th) mostly delights as well, with excellent high-speed internet access (94% positive vs. 81% globally) and unrestricted access to online services (93% vs. 83%). Only the everyday admin lags slightly behind: Panama receives about average results for the availability of online administrative services (62% vs. 61% globally) and ranks 22nd for the ease of opening a local bank account.

Smooth Starts in Saudi Arabia (3rd)

Saudi Arabia* completes the top 3 of the 2026 Expat Essentials Index. Expats are off to an easy start there: the Admin Topics Subcategory ranks 5th, with above-average results for getting a visa (62% vs. 55%), opening a local bank account (72% positive ratings vs. 63% globally), and dealing with the local bureaucracy (51% vs. 38%).

Language (4th) is little trouble either. About two in three expats (64%) find it easy to live in Saudi Arabia without speaking the local language (vs. 48% globally), and 45% even consider it easy to learn (vs. 39%). Housing (8th) adds to the appeal, being both comparatively affordable (43% positive vs. 32% globally) and easy to find (57% vs. 44%).

Digital Life (17th) is the country’s weakest subcategory — despite a strong 7th place for the availability of online administrative services. The reason: Saudi Arabia ranks 30th for unrestricted access to online services such as social media, with only about two-thirds (66%) rating this factor positively (vs. 83% globally).

Most expats accept the trade-off. Nearly four in ten (38%) moved to Saudi Arabia because they found a job there (vs. 17% globally), and another 16% were recruited internationally (vs. 6%).

Analog & Overwhelmed in Germany (31st)

Every year since the introduction of the Expat Essentials Index in 2022, Germany has finished last — and 2026 is no exception (31st). In fact, the country lands in the bottom 5 of all four subcategories.

Digital Life (31st) is the biggest failure: Germany places last for the availability of online administrative services, for easy access to high-speed internet at home, and for cashless payment options. The offline experience isn’t any better. Only a fifth of expats (20%) find it easy to deal with the local bureaucracy (vs. 38% globally), while 61% rate it negatively (vs. 39%).

Opinion

It’s a very slow and bureaucratic country. You need papers and letters for everything. (Portuguese expat in Bonn)

Opinion

Expats seem to know what awaits them — 22% already named bureaucracy as a concern before moving there (vs. 14% globally), and more than half (55%) worried about the language barrier (vs. 32%). Rightly so, as it turns out: just 17% consider German easy to learn (vs. 39% globally), and less than a third (30%) find it easy to live in Germany without speaking it (vs. 48%).

Housing (28th) completes the gloomy picture. Only 19% of expats describe housing as easy to find — less than half the global average (44%) — and an equally low share (19%) considers it affordable (vs. 32% globally).

Learning the Language Is a Challenge in Czechia (30th)

Czechia ranks 30th in the 2026 Expat Essentials Index, held back above all by the Language Subcategory (30th). Learning Czech seems nearly impossible: more than three-quarters of expats (77%) rate this factor negatively (vs. 40% globally), the worst result worldwide. And since only 42% find it easy to get by without local language skills (vs. 48% globally), it’s no surprise that 62% named the language barrier as a concern prior to relocating — nearly double the global average (32%).

Housing (23rd) causes headaches, too. Close to two-thirds (64%) rate its affordability negatively (vs. 49% globally), and just about a third (32%) find it easy to secure a place to live (vs. 44%). In the Admin Topics Subcategory (22nd), the local bureaucracy stands out negatively: 56% find it difficult to deal with (vs. 39% globally).

Opinion

Housing prices are higher compared to other European capitals and growing every year. (Russian expat in Prague)

Opinion

Digital Life (21st) is Czechia’s best subcategory result. Expats particularly appreciate the unrestricted access to online services such as social media (4th), but a lack of online admin services (24th) keeps Czechia from a better result.

Red Tape & Language Barriers in Italy (29th)

Italy lands in the bottom 3 of the 2026 Expat Essentials Index (29th) — and dead last in the Admin Topics Subcategory (31st). Only 19% of expats find it easy to deal with the Italian bureaucracy, while 63% rate it negatively (vs. 39% globally). Getting a visa (30th) and opening a local bank account (27th) are similarly frustrating. Expats saw the paperwork coming: 32% named bureaucracy as a concern before their move, more than double the global average (14%).

Opinion

The fact that English is not spoken fluently makes things a bit challenging. And the process for visas and permits has a lot of red tape. (South African expat in Albinea, Reggio Emilia)

Opinion

Digital Life (29th) doesn’t offer much relief. Italy ranks 29th for the availability of online administrative services — just 44% view it positively, compared to 61% of expats worldwide — and 30th for easy access to high-speed internet at home.

The Language Subcategory (23rd) presents a split picture: Italy ranks last worldwide for the ease of living there without speaking the local language, but an above-average 45% find Italian easy to learn (vs. 39%). Many expats are motivated students, it seems — 41% already speak the local language very well (vs. 32% globally), and 18% moved for love, which may help with practice.

Housing (15th) is Italy’s only average subcategory result in the index, with its affordability (35% positive vs. 32% globally) close to the global norm.

Trends in the Top 10

UAE
Panama
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Malaysia
Mexico
USA
Thailand
Luxembourg
Brazil

The two destinations from the Middle East show a common pattern: the UAE (1st) and Saudi Arabia (3rd) both rank in the top 5 for Admin Topics and Language, but at the very bottom for unrestricted access to online services such as social media (29th and 30th, respectively).

Southeast Asia is strongly represented by Singapore (4th), Malaysia (5th), and Thailand (8th) — each with a distinct profile. Singapore boasts the world’s best online admin services and high-speed internet (1st for both) but expensive housing (29th for affordability). Malaysia and Thailand shine with affordable housing (3rd and 1st, respectively), yet Thailand ranks last for the ease of opening a local bank account (31st) and 28th in the Admin Topics Subcategory overall.

The Americas claim four spots: Panama (2nd), Mexico (6th), the USA (7th), and Brazil (10th). Housing is the common strength — Mexico (3rd) and Brazil (5th) join Panama (1st) in the top 5 of this subcategory. The US stands out in the Language Subcategory (5th), though getting a visa in the first place is a hurdle (29th).

Luxembourg (9th) is the only European destination in the top 10 — with the world’s easiest bureaucracy (1st) and fully unrestricted online services (1st). Its Achilles’ heel is Housing (30th), including a second-to-last place for its affordability (30th).

Trends in the Bottom 10

Ireland
Portugal
Poland
Austria
France
Japan
Türkiye
Italy
Czechia
Germany

Europe dominates the bottom 10 of the 2026 Expat Essentials Index: Germany (31st), Czechia (30th), Italy (29th), France (26th), Austria (25th), Poland (24th), Portugal (23rd), and Ireland (22nd) claim eight of the ten spots. Bureaucracy is a common theme — for the ease of dealing with local authorities, Portugal ranks last (31st), followed closely by Italy (30th), Germany (29th), France (28th), and Czechia (27th).

Ireland is the exception that proves the rule: it ranks a solid 8th in the Admin Topics Subcategory but last in Housing (31st), placing 31st for both the affordability of housing and the ease of finding it. Poland, meanwhile, achieves the bottom 10’s best digital results — 1st worldwide for cashless payments and 2nd for unrestricted access to online services — but loses ground in the Language Subcategory (28th). Over seven in ten expats (71%) consider Polish hard to learn, with 43% even saying it’s very difficult (vs. a global 40% and 14%, respectively).

Japan (27th) and Türkiye (28th) are the geographical outliers. Japan ranks last in the Language Subcategory (31st) and struggles with online availability of admin services (27th), though its housing results (9th in the subcategory) are among the best in the bottom 10. Türkiye ranks last for unrestricted access to online services such as social media (31st) and places in the bottom 10 of the Digital Life (30th) and Admin Topics (25th) Subcategories.

Full Ranking

*) Please note that this year’s Expat Insider survey was conducted by InterNations from 1 February to 31 March 2026. Since data collection took place both before and after the outbreak of the US-Iran war, the findings should be interpreted as only partially reflecting its impact on expats living in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.