American relocation companies and websites that help people immigrate say that, at any given time in recent years, a significant number of Americans have shown interest in leaving their homeland, citing issues including political divisions and gun violence.
By Politico.eu
As Donald Trump’s second term in office approaches 100 days, a growing number of Americans are looking to relocate to Europe. Blaxit, a company that helps black Americans relocate abroad, says the number of people looking to leave has increased by more than 50% since the US election. “Trump’s re-election was confirmation that I made the right decision because this time, the electorate chose to bring him back despite everything that went wrong in the first administration, despite the poor handling of the pandemic and the return of rhetoric and division. Given that the second return is worse than the first time, this decision is the right one,” said Chrishan Wright, founder of Blaxit Global.
Wright, originally from New York, moved to Portugal two years ago. “I think Americans are still flocking to European countries, and especially Portugal,” said Chrishan Wright, founder of Blaxit Global.
Doris Davis and Susie Bartlett, a lesbian couple living in New York City, made a life-changing decision to move abroad when Trump won his second term in November 2024. The couple said they had been willing to give Trump a chance during his first term, but felt intimidated when the White House President rolled back a series of policies aimed at promoting racial equality and LGBTQ+ rights. “We love this country, but we don’t love what it’s become. I’m not proud of any of Trump’s catchphrases, but making America great again means restoring that respect we have for each other and for the world, and leading with compassion, not vengeance,” said Doris Davis, an education consultant.
According to Doris, Trump’s second victory pushed her more and more towards making the decision to leave.
“When your identity is attacked, there’s a personal feeling, you know, of anger, frustration. When your identity is also used as a political pawn, and so members of the LGBTQ community, who are themselves being attacked for part of their identity, feel in different ways that they have to fight back,” said Doris Davis, an education consultant. They have shown interest in Portugal and Spain, attracted by the lifestyle in southern Europe, and are considering a digital nomad visa. “We considered Italy for a while because it’s certainly a beautiful country, there are wonderful people. We’ve enjoyed traveling there, but politically it’s probably leaning a little too far to the right now. Spain and Portugal seemed more appealing to us because the political climate aligns better with our values,” said Susise Bartlett, a retiree.
But Americans have no illusions that Europe will be perfect, as right-wing populist parties are achieving political victories across the continent, including in Italy.
Although the political situation in some European countries is “disturbing,” many Americans remain interested in coming to the continent despite this. Digital nomad visas for remote workers in countries such as Portugal, Spain and Italy are popular, and retirement visas, work permits and student visas are also in high demand. Wendy Newman, a 57-year-old photographer, moved to London with her husband in 2022. She said she felt her rights were safer in Britain, where she wants to stay permanently.
“We’re happy to be here. We feel safer. We feel like our rights are more protected in the United Kingdom compared to what they might be in the United States. We believe in democracy,” said Wendy Newman, a photographer.
The 57-year-old hopes her daughter, who still lives in the US but is applying to university in Britain, can also move. “It’s definitely in our plans to stay here permanently. So we’ve been here for almost three years. It’s going to be five years before we can apply for permanent residency. Our goal is to apply for citizenship so we can maintain and keep dual citizenship,” said Wendy Newman, a photographer. Thea Duncan, founder of the Milan-based business Doing Italy, says she has been receiving requests almost every day since the US election from ordinary Americans wanting information.
“The number of applications has definitely increased. In fact, I’m a little surprised by how much it’s increased. Italy is a place that Americans dream about, love, and have been for years. The difference I’m seeing now is that I’ve seen people say, ‘This was something I dreamed about, but it’s something I have to do now.’ And so they’ve gone from thinking about it to actually doing it,” said Thea Duncan, founder of Doing Italy. Government data on visas and citizenship show a growing number of Americans considering moving to Europe since Trump’s election, though the numbers remain relatively small for a nation of 340 million. Applications from Americans for Irish passports were at their highest level in a decade in the first two months of this year. These applications in January and February of nearly 4,300 were about 60% higher than last year, according to data from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.
In France, government data shows that long-term visa applications from Americans reached 2,383 in the first three months of 2025, compared with a total of 1,980 during the same period last year. From January to March, French authorities granted 2.178 long-term visas compared with 1.787 a year earlier.
UK passport applications also hit a record high in the last three months of 2024, with 1.708 applications filed. American relocation companies and websites that help people immigrate say that at any given time in recent years, a significant number of Americans have expressed interest in leaving their homeland, citing issues including political unrest and gun violence.
