Analysing 35 cities across six continents, the evaluation was made focusing on seven key criteria: cost of living, safety, air quality, healthcare, ease of integration, English language proficiency, and enhanced mobility, linked to the power of the passport and freedom of movement without visas.
In the ranking, cities received a score between 0 and 100, with the criteria of safety and healthcare weighing the greatest.
Lisbon scores highly across all criteria
With five European cities in the top ten, and four of them even being in the top five, Europe clearly dominates the ranking. Lisbon secures the top position for its consistent qualities across the entire scope of categories. The report also highlights Lisbon as one of the most affordable cities in terms of cost of living, especially compared to cities such as Amsterdam or Copenhagen. High English proficiency, air quality, and safety levels higher than many European cities were also cited as reasons for the Portuguese capital taking the top spot in the ranking.
The report concludes that expatriates value factors related to the daily quality of life and long-term stability over criteria such as taxation and climate. Another key criterion making Lisbon especially attractive for expatriates is the existence of various legal residency mechanisms for foreigners, including visas for digital nomads and residency-through-investment programs.
Global relocation trends
According to data from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs cited in the report, more than 300 million people currently live outside the country where they were born, almost double the number recorded in 1990. After the pandemic, there has been an increase in digital nomads, retiring abroad, and career-driven relocations.
According to the report, Lisbon is the ideal combination of safety, accessibility, environmental quality, and ease of international integration for expatriates looking to live and work abroad.
The 10 best cities for expatriates
Lisbon: 88.49/100
Amsterdam: 81.97/100
Melbourne: 81.79/100
Vienna: 81.07/100
Barcelona: 80.7/100
Singapore: 80.58/100
Auckland: 80.15/100
Tokyo: 79.78/100
Copenhagen: 79.57/100
Seoul: 78.89/100
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Português (Brasil)
Lisbon is indeed a wonderful place to live as an expatriate — at least in the beginning.
But EU citizens considering Portugal should be aware of a serious administrative trap that often appears after five years, when the CRUE residence certificate expires or when a driving licence must be renewed or exchanged.
Under both Portuguese law and EU free movement rules, EU citizens only need to prove that they genuinely reside in Portugal. Residence rights derive directly from EU law and cannot depend solely on possession of a specific document.
In practice, however, IMT (the authority responsible for driving licences) demands a “Cartão de Residência” issued by AIMA if the CRUE has expired — even though Portuguese law does not clearly require this for EU citizens.
The problem is that AIMA is currently unable to produce these residence cards within any reasonable timeframe. Many EU residents therefore end up trapped in an administrative deadlock:
• AIMA cannot issue the document.
• IMT refuses to proceed without it.
• EU citizens are effectively deprived of rights they are entitled to under EU law.
This is not a complex legal issue. It could be solved quickly through a government instruction requiring authorities to accept the alternative proofs of residence already recognised under Portuguese and EU law.
Many people are affected.
What is Portuguese government waiting for?
By Nicklas Andén from Lisbon on 23 May 2026, 08:16