Most Welcoming Countries & Cities For Expats

For many people relocating abroad, the question is shifting from “where can I live?” to “where will I actually be accepted once I arrive?”

A country may look appealing on paper, but settling in often depends on far more than salary potential or quality of life rankings. Integration can be shaped by factors such as how locals respond to newcomers, how easy it is to find work, and whether expats feel like participants in society rather than visitors passing through.

Alongside these considerations, planning for life abroad often includes practical factors such as access to healthcare and financial protection. Many expats choose to arrange international health insurance before relocating, ensuring they are covered as they navigate a new healthcare system.

To explore this further, we looked at some of the friendliest and most welcoming countries and cities for expats in 2026.

Key findings: where expats are most welcomed

Smaller, developed countries dominate the top rankings, with Iceland (1st), Luxembourg (2nd), and New Zealand (3rd) offering the strongest overall balance of integration factors.
High foreign-born employment rates, reaching 84.2% in Iceland, are a defining feature of top-performing destinations, indicating that expats are actively participating in local economies.
Large migrant populations support easier integration, particularly in countries like Luxembourg, where international residents form 51.2% of society.
Visa openness alone does not guarantee a welcoming environment, with some countries scoring highly on access without a visa but lower on social or employment integration.
Several popular travel destinations, like Japan and South Korea, rank low (37th and 34th), reinforcing that lifestyle appeal does not always translate into ease of settling.

In this study

What makes a country welcoming for expats?
Which countries are most welcoming for expats?
Which countries are easiest for expats to integrate into?
The most welcoming cities for expats
How to make friends as an expat

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What makes a country welcoming for expats?

A country can be friendly in small interactions, whether that’s polite locals or strong hospitality. But being welcoming often goes further. It reflects how easy it is to find work, navigate legal systems, build relationships, and feel part of everyday life.

Friendliness can be more difficult to measure than practical factors such as employment or visa access. However, positive interactions with local people, openness towards newcomers, and opportunities to build social connections often play an important role in how welcoming a destination feels in practice.

Even destinations with high salaries or beautiful surroundings can feel difficult to settle into if newcomers struggle to integrate socially. Public attitudes towards immigrants can influence how quickly expats feel comfortable building friendships, joining communities, and establishing long-term roots.

A welcoming destination is more about how easy it is to build a life once you arrive than it is about how easy it is to enter. Employment access, healthcare availability, and financial stability all play a real role in whether expats feel settled within the first 6 to 12 months. These factors can be the difference between returning home and relocating long-term.

William Cooper

Director and Co-Owner at William Russell

Practical factors matter too. Visa accessibility can determine how easy it is to relocate in the first place, while strong foreign-born employment rates can indicate whether international workers are able to build stable careers after arriving.

Countries with larger migrant populations may offer more established support networks, multilingual services, and communities that help newcomers settle in more quickly. Language accessibility can also influence the relocation experience, particularly during the first few months of settling in. Destinations where English or other widely spoken languages are commonly used may help reduce some of the practical challenges newcomers face.

Community culture, public spaces, and opportunities for social interaction can also influence how welcoming a destination feels day-to-day. Beyond practical considerations, many expats are ultimately looking for somewhere they can feel comfortable building a stable life, meaningful relationships, and a sense of home over time, whether that means settling down as an individual, a couple or a family.

Safety remains another major consideration, particularly for families, solo travellers, and first-time expats. Feeling comfortable using public transport, accessing healthcare, exploring a new city, or helping children adapt to unfamiliar surroundings can play a major role in how quickly somewhere begins to feel like home.

To identify the most welcoming destinations in 2026, we’ve analysed factors including:

Expat experience¹
Migrant population size²
Foreign-born employment rates³
Public attitudes towards immigrants⁴
Safety⁵
Visa openness⁶

By analysing these factors together, we can better understand which destinations are genuinely welcoming for expats—not just on arrival, but over the long term.

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Which countries are most welcoming for expats in 2026?

Welcoming environments are typically defined by multiple factors. While visa access and safety are important, the ability to find work, build social connections, and navigate daily life without friction ultimately determines how sustainable relocation will be.

Using six weighted indicators, we’ve scored each country out of 10 based on how well it supports expat integration across these areas.

1/ Iceland

Iceland tops the ranking as the most welcoming country for expats, offering one of the strongest environments globally for expat integration.

The country combines a high foreign-born employment rate of 84.2% with strong safety performance and consistently positive expat experience outcomes. Although its migrant population (25.1%) is smaller than in some European countries, such as Austria and Luxembourg, those who relocate may be able to integrate effectively into both the workforce and wider society.

It ranks 18th globally among the best countries for expats, with scores that take into account ease of settling in, quality of life, social life, housing, and more.

In practical terms, this creates an environment where expats face fewer structural barriers when settling in. Employment opportunities are largely accessible, administrative processes can be straightforward, and high levels of social trust contribute to a stable day-to-day experience.

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2/ Luxembourg

Luxembourg ranks as the second most welcoming country for expats, largely due to its exceptionally high migrant population. More than half of its residents (51.2%) are migrants—the highest proportion in the index—highlighting the country’s strong international appeal and diverse population.

This level of internationalisation is reinforced by strong visa openness (93/100), where high scores reflect the number of nationalities that are permitted entry without a prior visa. The country has solid foreign-born employment outcomes (74.9%), suggesting that expats are actively participating in the economy.

A working environment where international mobility is normalised can be highly valuable to expats looking to integrate. Multilingual workplaces, cross-border commuting, and a high concentration of foreign professionals are more likely and may reduce many of the social and professional barriers typically associated with relocation.

In practice, this can mean job listings that don’t require fluency in the local language, colleagues with similar relocation backgrounds, and services like banking and housing that are already designed for international residents.

3/ New Zealand

New Zealand ranks third overall, supported by strong expat experience scores and a highly employed migrant population. Over four-fifths (82.3%) of foreign-born residents are in employment—one of the highest rates in the index—underscoring the country’s ability to attract and integrate working expats.

While its migrant population (28.2%) is lower than Luxembourg’s, it still exceeds the index average of 15.5%. Integration outcomes also remain strong, suggesting that expats who move to New Zealand are generally able to establish themselves successfully in the labour market.

However, visa openness is more moderate (61/100) than the index average (87.57), with fewer nationalities permitted to enter without a visa, suggesting access may be more selective even if long-term integration outcomes are positive.

For those who do relocate, the balance of employment accessibility, safety, and social stability contributes to a relatively smooth transition.

Auckland, as the country’s primary international city, offers the most established expat infrastructure, making it the most accessible entry point for newcomers. It is the 104th-happiest city out of 250, based on factors like quality of life and sustainability.

Alongside this, residents’ worries of being insulted are around a fifth (20.65%) lower than average. Here, expats are more likely to find support networks, relocation services, and communities that make it easier to settle in socially and professionally.

The top 10 most welcoming countries for expats

Iceland

–

25.1%

84.2%

8.94

Luxembourg

51.2%

74.9%

8.69

New Zealand

–

28.2%

82.3%

8.57

Australia

30.4%

77.5%

8.54

Switzerland

31.1%

77.1%

8.36

Ireland

23.1%

77.0%

7.89

Colombia

5.8%

66.2%

102

7.71

Czech Republic

9.5%

79.5%

7.62

Portugal

10.8%

76.5%

7.47

Austria

25.5%

69.5%

7.40

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Which countries are easiest for expats to integrate into?

The data highlights a difference between countries that are structurally set up for expats and those where integration is more conditional.

This often determines how quickly someone can move from short-term uncertainty to long-term stability, including securing a consistent income, accessing healthcare, or building a local support network.

The most welcoming countries for expats often have high foreign-born employment rates

At the top end of the index, countries consistently outperform the global averages of 15.5% migrant population and 69.3% foreign-born employment. Iceland (84.2%) and New Zealand (82.3%) significantly exceed this benchmark, indicating that expats are actively participating in the workforce. Ireland also has high migrant employment rates (77.0%).

Popular countries to visit, like South Korea and Japan, have low migrant employment rates

By contrast, lower-ranking countries show lower labour market inclusion. South Korea, for example, records a foreign-born employment rate of just 5.3%, while Japan’s migrant population sits at only 2.8%, among the lowest in the study. In daily life, this suggests there are fewer established pathways for expats to integrate into professional and social environments.

Logistical factors like emigrating without a visa don’t always mean a smooth transition into daily life

Visa openness also reveals an important contradiction. Türkiye and South Korea both score highly on openness (110), yet rank significantly lower overall (30th and 34th, respectively). This suggests that while entry may be accessible, long-term integration can be more complex, particularly where access to employment or social acceptance is weaker.

Migrants can have positive experiences in countries with smaller international populations

Some of the most interesting cases sit in the middle of the index. Colombia ranks 7th overall despite a relatively low migrant population at 5.8%, supported by strong expat experience scores and high visa openness. This indicates that smaller or emerging expat destinations can still offer highly welcoming environments, even without large existing international communities.

What makes a country truly welcoming?

Across the dataset, the strongest predictor of a welcoming environment is not visa policy or popularity, but how effectively expats can enter the workforce and participate in everyday life.

Countries that enable newcomers to build careers, social connections, and long-term stability tend to offer a more sustainable relocation experience over time.

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The most welcoming cities for expats

While country-level policies and attitudes can influence how welcoming a destination feels, day-to-day experiences are often shaped by the city you live in. City-level data highlights how expat experience can vary within countries, particularly in larger or more diverse economies.

Factors such as safety, happiness, social culture, and opportunities to meet people can differ significantly between cities. For many expats, these everyday experiences play an important role in how quickly they build friendships, settle into local life, and develop a sense of belonging.

Across all cities analysed, the average benchmarks are:

Happiness⁷: 6,068
Safety⁸: 60.0
Worries about being insulted⁹: 39.2

The highest-ranking cities consistently outperform these benchmarks, signalling a safer, happier, and more socially welcoming environment for newcomers.

Zürich is the most welcoming city for expats

Zürich leads globally with a score of 9.06/10, combining high safety (76.7) with low social friction (24.9).

Singapore (8.97) and Tokyo (8.97) follow closely, both exceeding safety averages, at 77.7 and 75.8, respectively, while maintaining lower-than-average social tension. This can translate into feeling comfortable using public transport late at night, navigating the city without language barriers becoming a constant obstacle, and interacting with services without hesitation.

Tokyo’s position is particularly notable given Japan ranks last overall in the country index. Despite a low migrant population (2.8%) and weaker national integration indicators, Tokyo ranks among the most welcoming cities globally. This suggests that major urban centres can offer more accessible, structured environments for expats, even where national-level integration is more limited.

Copenhagen and Munich round out the top five, both combining safety scores above 70 with relatively low perceived social friction, reinforcing the link between stability and overall welcoming performance.

By contrast, globally prominent cities such as London (3.08), Paris (3.16), and New York (1.88) rank significantly lower. Each records higher-than-average social friction, reaching 55.2 in London and 64.4 in Paris, alongside weaker safety scores, highlighting how scale and density can increase day-to-day challenges for expats. This could mean longer waiting times for services, more complex bureaucracy, or a greater sense of anonymity that makes building connections and settling in more challenging.

The top 10 most welcoming cities in the world

Zürich

Switzerland

9.06

Singapore

8.97

Tokyo

Japan

8.97

Copenhagen

Denmark

8.72

Munich

Germany

8.63

Prague

Czech Republic

7.86

Dubai

United Arab Emirates

7.61

Warsaw

Poland

7.52

Seoul

South Korea

7.44

Hong Kong

7.26

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Expert tips for preparing to move abroad

Think about taking these steps if you’re considering moving abroad in 2026:

Arrange healthcare cover before your arrival, ensuring your policy is valid from day one and meets local visa or residency requirements.
Plan for an income gap, particularly if employment is not secured in advance, by building a financial buffer for the first 3 to 6 months.
Research local employment conditions, including how quickly foreign qualifications are recognised and how accessible the job market is for expats.
If you’re relocating with children, research local schooling options early. International schools, public schools, admission requirements, waiting lists, and fees can vary significantly between countries and may influence where you choose to live.
Consider childcare availability and costs, particularly if both parents plan to work. Access to childcare, nursery places, and family support services can differ considerably between destinations.
Check what protection is in place, such as income protection or savings, in case of unexpected disruption during the transition.
Look into how systems work locally, from registering with healthcare providers to opening bank accounts, to reduce delays after arrival.

Joe Holden
Global Relationship Manager

Which countries have the highest migrant population?

Luxembourg has the highest migrant population in the world

Luxembourg is a key player thanks to its international population, with migrants making up 51.2% of residents – more than three times the global average of 15.5%.

This is valuable for expats because it creates an environment where services are more likely to be designed for international residents, workplaces are often multilingual, and processes like renting, banking, or registering for services are more accessible to newcomers. Rather than adapting to a system built for locals, expats can enter one that is already suited to them.

This level is significantly higher than that of other top-ranking countries, including Switzerland (31.1%), Australia (30.4%), New Zealand (28.2%), and Austria (25.5%).

Which countries have the highest foreign-born employment rate?

Iceland has the highest foreign-born employment rate – making it one of the easiest places for expats to find work

Iceland leads for foreign-born employment, with 84.2% of expats in work, outperforming other high-ranking countries such as New Zealand (82.3%), the Czech Republic (79.5%), Slovakia (78.5%), and Hungary (77.9%). This suggests a labour market where international workers are actively integrated.

This can reduce relocation uncertainty, as expats are more likely to secure employment quickly, transition to a stable income, and face fewer barriers to entering the workforce.

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Which is the happiest city in the world?

Copenhagen ranks as the happiest city globally – reflecting a stronger quality of life for expats

Copenhagen has the highest happiness score in the index at 6,954, based on performance across six areas:

Citizens
Governance
Environment
Economy
Health
Mobility

This can translate into a more balanced and predictable experience for those relocating to the city. Reliable public services, accessible healthcare, efficient transport, and a strong sense of community can make it easier to establish routines and feel settled more quickly.

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Which is the safest city in the world?

Dubai is the safest city – offering stability in everyday expat life

Dubai records the highest safety score at 83.8/100, well above the global city average of 60.04.

High safety levels are often one of the most immediate factors influencing how comfortable expats feel when arriving in a new location.

They can shape everything from commuting and socialising to accessing services. Lower crime rates and strong public safety measures can make it easier to move around freely, settle into routines, and build confidence in a new environment.

While the wider region can experience periods of uncertainty, Dubai itself has maintained a reputation for stability, with infrastructure and governance designed to prioritise safety for residents and international communities alike.

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Feeling welcome is only the first step

Choosing a welcoming country can make the transition abroad easier, but settling successfully often depends on the connections you build after you arrive.

Even in destinations with large expat communities and positive attitudes towards newcomers, building friendships and establishing a support network can take time. Feeling accepted by local communities, meeting like-minded people, and developing a sense of belonging are often what transform a temporary relocation into a place that feels like home.

For families, feeling settled often means more than finding the right place to live. It can also involve helping children build friendships, adapt to a new culture, and feel at home in their new community.

How can expats make friends and settle into a new country?

Making friends as an expat can seem like an impossible feat, especially if there’s a language barrier. However, there are things you can do to overcome the initial struggle, and settle into your new home.

How to make friends as an expat

Here’s our five essential steps to making friends as an expat:

Get involved in your local community – It might sound obvious, but the more time you spend out in your local community, the more likely you are to make new connections. Building routines locally can help expats feel more connected to their surroundings. Spending time in neighbourhood cafés, attending local events, or supporting nearby businesses may create more opportunities for everyday social interaction.
Find a job – Another quick and easy way to embed yourself in the local community is to find a job. Even if you’re a digital nomad, taking on a weekend role, or volunteering somewhere local can be worth the extra work, giving you unique opportunities to make friends in a way that doesn’t feel forced.
Join clubs or social groups – Taking up a hobby (or rediscovering an old one) can help you connect with like-minded people who share your interests. Sports clubs, fitness classes, language exchanges, and creative groups can all help newcomers form connections outside of work. Attending local events, community activities, or cultural celebrations can also create opportunities to meet people while helping you better understand your new surroundings. Connecting through shared interests and experiences is a great way to build meaningful friendships.
Connect with local expat communities – Online communities and expat networks can help newcomers navigate practical challenges while also creating social opportunities. Platforms like Meetup and Facebook groups often host regular events specifically for international residents.
Start your own expat community – Can’t find any expat groups nearby? Start your own! It’s easy enough to do online and you’ll probably be surprised just how many local expats are also searching for new friends.

While building new connections is important, maintaining relationships with friends and family back home can also help ease the transition. Regular contact with existing support networks can provide reassurance during the early stages of settling into a new country.

Welcoming and friendly countries for expats

Frequently asked questions

What makes a country friendly for expats?

A friendly country is often one where newcomers feel welcomed by local communities and can build social connections more easily.

While friendliness can be difficult to measure directly, factors such as positive attitudes towards immigrants, opportunities for social interaction, community culture, and the ease of making friends can all influence how friendly a destination feels in practice.

For many expats, friendliness plays an important role in developing a sense of belonging and feeling at home abroad.

What is the easiest country to move to?

The easiest country to move to will depend on your nationality and circumstances, but countries with accessible visa pathways, clear immigration processes, and strong support for international residents are often considered easier destinations for newcomers.

Digital nomad visas, skilled worker programmes, and residency schemes can all influence how straightforward relocation is.

Factors such as finding work, accessing healthcare, opening bank accounts, securing housing, and understanding local systems can significantly affect how smoothly someone settles in the long term.

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Where do expats feel most welcome?

Expats often feel most welcome in destinations where they can build friendships, participate in local communities, and feel accepted by residents.

Positive attitudes towards immigrants, diverse populations, and active social networks can all contribute to a stronger sense of belonging after relocating.

Is it easy to make friends as an expat?

Making friends abroad can take time, particularly when adjusting to a new culture or language.

However, getting involved in local communities, joining clubs or social groups, attending events, and connecting with other expats can help build friendships more quickly.

What countries are best for English speakers?

English-speaking expats may find it easier to settle in countries where English is widely spoken, either as an official language or as a commonly used second language.

Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, and Singapore are often popular choices, while many European countries also have high levels of English proficiency.

For many expats, language accessibility can influence everything from finding employment to navigating rental agreements and administrative processes during the first few months abroad.

Where is it easiest to find work abroad?

Employment opportunities vary by industry, qualifications, and visa eligibility. Countries with high foreign-born employment rates may indicate stronger labour market integration for international workers, while major international business hubs often offer a wider range of opportunities for expats.

How to get a job abroad as an expat

What are the biggest challenges expats face when moving abroad?

Relocating to a new country can involve challenges such as navigating visa requirements, finding accommodation, adapting to cultural differences, overcoming language barriers, and building new social connections. Access to local support networks and expat communities can often make the transition easier.

Learn about some of the most common culture shocks expats face

How long does it take to settle into a new country?

The experience varies from person to person, but many expats report that settling into a new country can take several months or longer.

Factors such as employment, language skills, social connections, and familiarity with local systems can all influence how quickly someone feels comfortable and established in their new home.

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Wherever you go, go with total peace of mind

At William Russell, we have over 30 years’ experience of helping expatriates finding best places in the world to move abroad and settle into their new lives overseas by providing world-class international health insurance.

Making the move to another country can be challenging. But no matter where you go, you can take one thing off your mind. William Russell offers global health insurance that covers you for everything from minor injuries to long hospital stays, and we can even offer emergency medical evacuation to patients who require emergency life or limb-threatening treatment in other countries where it’s not available locally.

Terms & conditions apply to our insurance products and services. You can find full details of what our plans cover (and what they don’t cover) in our plan agreements.

Looking for international health insurance?

Learn more about our plans

Methodology

We ranked the most welcoming and friendly countries and cities, to reveal where in the world is the best place for expats.

We compared OECD countries on the following factors and combined them into a final index score. Where data shows a ‘-‘, the data wasn’t available.

An average score was taken of the remaining available factors:

¹Expat experience (Expat Insider) sourced from Internations.

²Migrant population sourced from the World Bank.

³Foreign-born employment rate sourced from OECD.

⁴Perception of immigrants, taking the host country’s perception of the presence of immigrants score from the civic engagement and social interaction section of OECD.

⁵Safety sourced from Vision of Humanity.

⁶Visa openness sourced from Henley Global.

For cities, we used World’s Best Cities and our older campaign looking at the ‘World’s Friendliest Cities’ to create a seed list of popular expat cities around the world. An average score was then taken against the following factors:

⁷Happiness sourced from the Happy City Index.

⁸Safety sourced from Numbeo.

⁹Public friendliness, looking at the “worries about being insulted” percentage for each city from Numbeo.

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The Most Welcoming And Friendly Countries And Cities For Expats In 2026