Moving to United Kingdom
Visas and residency, citizenship, tax, company and banking, cost of living and the places to live in the United Kingdom, in one place.
Northern Europe
Navid lived hereThinking about moving to the United Kingdom?
In the United Kingdom, I lived in London.
Here's how long you can stay, the ways to live there for good, what you'd pay in tax and what everyday life costs, each figure from an official source.
In this guide, I'll show you:
- How long you can stay, by passport
- The visas and residency routes that let you live there
- How long citizenship takes
- How tax works, with the rates
- What it costs, and the internet and safety
- The best places to live
- The basics: capital, currency and languages
Pick your passport at the top of the page, and the stay rule shows for you.
TL;DRKey takeaways
United Kingdom at a glance
How long can you stay in the United Kingdom?
It depends on the passport you hold.
Here's the rule for the most common ones:
US passport- Rule
- eTA before you fly
- Stay
- 180 days
EU passport (German)- Rule
- eTA before you fly
- Stay
- 180 days
Canadian passport- Rule
- eTA before you fly
- Stay
- 180 days
Australian passport- Rule
- eTA before you fly
- Stay
- 180 days
Indian passport- Rule
- Visa needed
- Stay
- –
For any other passport, pick yours at the top, or see every country on the visa-free countries map.
Visas and residency in the United Kingdom
These routes don't need a local job either:
- Innovator Founder visa (startup visa), and it can lead to permanent residency
- Global Talent visa (talent visa), and it can lead to permanent residency
See the investor routes side by side in the golden visa finder, and the ones for retirees in the retirement visa finder.
Citizenship in the United Kingdom
Naturalization takes about 5 years of residence.
Dual citizenship is allowed, so you can keep your passport.
Work out your own timeline with the second passport calculator.
Tax in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom taxes its tax residents on their income from anywhere.
See where it sits among every country on the territorial tax map.
The main rates:
- Lowest income tax band – 0%
- Top income tax rate – 47%
- Corporate tax – 25%
- VAT or sales tax – 20%
- Capital gains tax – 24%
New residents can use 4-year foreign income and gains regime.
See how it works in tax breaks for new residents.
Where you're a tax resident usually comes down to days.
Count yours with the 183-day rule calculator.
Company and banking
Compare the banks and cards that work for people abroad in the bank account finder.
Move money for less with the money transfer comparison.
Setting up a company here?
See the fees and yearly costs in company formation compared.
Many people who live abroad run a US LLC instead; check yours with the US LLC for non-residents checker.
Cost of living in the United Kingdom
Everyday prices in the United Kingdom are about 89% of US prices.
That's the World Bank's price level for 2025: its purchasing power conversion factor divided by the exchange rate.
It's close to US prices, or above them.
A night's stay in a whole place, by Inside Airbnb's median:
- London – $314
- Edinburgh – $368
Convert what things cost with the currency converter.
Is the United Kingdom safe?
The US State Department rates the United Kingdom Level 2 ("Exercise increased caution", updated 2026-09-09), the same level it gives France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Levels 1 and 2 are both everyday travel; the US only asks you to reconsider a trip at Level 3. Some advisories are stricter for parts of a country, so read the full advisory before you go.
See every country's level on the travel advisory map.
Internet in the United Kingdom
In M-Lab's open speed tests across the United Kingdom over the last 12 months, half came in above 81 Mbps download.
The fastest quarter of lines came in above 241 Mbps, closer to a good fiber connection (65,152,677 tests).
By place:
- London – 68 Mbps typical
- Edinburgh – 90 Mbps typical
Test your own line when you arrive with my internet speed test.
The best places to live in the United Kingdom
Compare them with places everywhere in digital nomad locations.
United Kingdom: the basics
| What | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Capital | London |
| Currency | British pound (GBP) |
| Languages | English, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic |
| Population | about 66.5 million |
From GeoNames' country data (CC BY 4.0).
More tools for the United Kingdom
- Passport index and compare passports
- Time zone overlap calculator for calls with home
- eSIM finder for data when you land
- Card fees abroad calculator before you spend
United Kingdom FAQs
eTA before you fly, for 180 days.
Pick another passport at the top of the page to see its rule.
It depends on your passport.
Pick yours at the top of the page to see the days, and whether you need a visa first.
Not that I've found in official sources as of 2026-09-29.
The digital nomad visa finder lists every country that has one.
About 5 years of residence.
Yes.
Check that your own country allows it too.
The United Kingdom taxes its tax residents on their income from anywhere.
Check the details with a tax adviser before you move.
Everyday prices are about 89% of US prices, by the World Bank's price level for 2025.
Rent in the biggest cities can be higher than that suggests.
The US State Department rates it Level 2.
Levels 1 and 2 are everyday travel; read the full advisory for any regions it warns about.
Half of M-Lab's tests there came in above 81 Mbps download over the last 12 months.
The fastest quarter of lines passed 241 Mbps.
The places I cover there are London and Edinburgh.
Each has its own guide with the weather by month, internet and costs.
The British pound (GBP).
The main languages are English, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
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