It started with a problem we lived through
wheretoemigrate.io was born in Lisbon — a city that knows a thing or two about people leaving and people arriving. Portugal has been one of Europe's most popular destinations for expats in recent years, and Lisbon is where we watched the emigration landscape up close: the excitement, the bureaucracy, the costly mistakes, the life-changing wins.
But we didn't start as observers. We started as emigrants ourselves. Members of our team have relocated across continents — from South America to Europe, from Europe to North America, from Asia to the Middle East. We've dealt with the visa paperwork, the savings calculations, the agonising "is this the right country?" question at 2 a.m. We've hired immigration lawyers who charged thousands before telling us what we could have figured out in an afternoon with the right information.
The gap we set out to fill
Here's what we discovered: the information you need to make a smart emigration decision exists. It's scattered across government websites in different languages, buried in Reddit threads, hidden behind expensive consultancy fees, or wrapped in marketing fluff by countries trying to attract your money.
Nobody had put it all together in one place and built a tool that could actually match your specific profile — your nationality, savings, profession, age, language skills, priorities — against real visa requirements and tell you, plainly, which countries are realistic for you and which ones aren't.
So we built it.
What we actually do
We built an assessment engine that cross-references your personal data against the immigration requirements of dozens of countries. Not theoretical eligibility — practical eligibility. Can you actually get in, afford it, and build a life there?
Our free assessment gives you a ranked list of your best-fit countries. Our paid reports go deeper: specific visa pathways, realistic cost breakdowns, timeline estimates, and concrete next steps. Everything is written by people who've been through the process themselves, verified against official sources, and reviewed on a semi-annual cycle to keep up with changing requirements.
Between review cycles, some programmes may not reflect the very latest changes — immigration law moves fast, and governments don't always announce changes in advance. We're upfront about this: every pathway in our database shows when it was last reviewed, and we always recommend verifying specifics with official sources before committing.
We don't sugarcoat. If a country looks great on paper but the reality on the ground is different, we'll tell you. If a popular destination doesn't fit your profile, we won't pretend it does just to keep you happy.
What we are not
We're not an immigration law firm. We don't submit visa applications or represent you before any government. We're not financial advisors. We don't tell you what to do — we give you the information you need to decide for yourself.
Think of us as the research phase done right. The part that should come before you hire a lawyer, before you book a one-way flight, before you commit your savings to a path that might not work.
From Lisbon to everywhere
What started in a flat in Alfama has grown into a platform used by people from over 80 countries. Our users include software engineers in Lagos looking at Canada, retirees in London considering Portugal, teachers in Manila exploring the Gulf, digital nomads in São Paulo weighing up Southeast Asia, and families in Johannesburg planning a move to Australia.
We cover emigration pathways across Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and beyond — because the question "where should I go?" doesn't respect borders, and neither do we.