Regardless of visa-free relocation to the continent coming to an finish following Brexit, the UK is seeing an exodus of expert labour, as staff search for improved wages, entry to public companies, and the reasonable prospect of reasonably priced housing. In keeping with a brand new research from Feather Insurance coverage, Amsterdam is now the best metropolis for UK nationals to relocate to in Europe, because of its increased degree of accessible work, and its high-proficiency in English as a second-language.
There’s a continued rise in individuals searching for to maneuver overseas in the UK. Whole UK emigration numbers jumped by over 6% in 2025 based on the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics, with 252,000 residents leaving the UK, whereas solely 143,000 individuals returned.
Of those that departed, 76% of them have been below the age of 35 – reflecting the want to construct a greater life elsewhere, as wages proceed to stagnate in Britain, under-funded public companies are lowered or dismantled, and the price of proudly owning a house turns into unobtainable for youthful professionals or households with out inherited wealth. In the meantime, decrease relative prices of dwelling, environment friendly public transport, a stronger emphasis on work-life steadiness and a cleaner dwelling atmosphere are additionally engaging components for life on the mainland.
Supply: Feather
The transfer is now not so simple as it was, although. For the first time in generations, staff transferring to the European Union must take care of visas, and a expensive settlement course of following Brexit. In the meantime, with overseas languages having by no means been prioritised by British training, solely one-in-five UK residents can communicate one other language fluently – making navigating this new degree of forms a real impediment.
To assist navigate this, Feather Insurance coverage has drawn up its 2026 Relocation Index. Trying to shift the dialogue from the query of “The place can I afford to reside?” to a “extra helpful” “The place can I realistically relocate?”, the researchers sought to make clear which international locations and cities make a transfer overseas best for UK residents, by assessing components together with openness to immigration to administrative complexity.
Vincent Audoire, seasoned expat and co-founder at Feather Insurance coverage, commented, “Extra individuals need to go away the UK in search of hotter climates, a brand new way of life, or a decrease price of dwelling. However too typically the challenges an expat faces and the processes concerned when transferring overseas are ignored and underestimated. From discovering a spot to lease and sorting visas and insurance coverage, to settling into a brand new atmosphere, relocating could be advanced. That’s why we created the Relocation Index, to spotlight the best locations to maneuver to and assist individuals perceive the advantages and challenges of every destination.”
The results of the information sourced by the firm means that Western Europe dominates the supreme locations for British staff. However whereas three of the top 5 areas have been based mostly in Germany, the Netherlands’ capital metropolis finds itself at the peak of the rating.
Supply: Feather
Whereas studying Dutch is a tough course of, the Netherlands has been recognised by numerous analysis as the main nation relating to English proficiency as a second language – since it’s taught in state faculties from an early age. That is partly due to the nation’s place as a European commerce hub – with English serving as a helpful frequent language to speak enterprise round the world.
That is emphasised in Amsterdam – the top metropolis for UK emigrants – which is the nation’s monetary centre. Meaning it ranks first in the variety of job openings throughout the evaluation – at 42 vacant positions per 1,000 residents. However the metropolis can be notably English-language-friendly, on account of its fame as a multicultural metropolis. With greater than a 3rd of Amsterdam’s inhabitants was born in different nations, English can be adopted as a helpful second language to talk throughout its many nationwide communities.
Taken collectively, these components make Amsterdam an important selection whether or not you’re an entrepreneur or an worker. Nowhere comes with out threat, although. Town does have the next price of dwelling than most of the different cities in the listing. In Amsterdam, renting a median one-bedroom condominium takes up almost half of your wage. This could make it a much less fascinating possibility if price of dwelling issues are your major cause for relocating – whereas the nation’s continued housing disaster signifies that even discovering that degree of lodging can take a nerve-shredding diploma of luck – not to mention laborious work.
Supply: Feather
Internet migration
The findings come at a pivotal second for the subject of migration in the UK. Immigration has been welded to the front-pages of mainstream information sources over the final decade. One in all the main marketing campaign points throughout the UK’s pivotal Brexit vote was ‘border-control’, one thing which Reform UK – the opposition celebration led by Nigel Farage – has made hay with since 2024, at present main in the polls amid common dialogue of mass deportations, ought to the celebration kind the subsequent authorities.
The UK’s incumbent Labour authorities has additionally taken purpose at migration, in a bid to focus on Farage’s support-base. In 2025, House Secretary Yvette Cooper promised to overtake the UK’s household reunion coverage, which permits individuals to carry their companions and kids to the nation as soon as they’re granted refugee standing.
In the meantime, the administration has been getting ready new guidelines geared toward an general discount in immigration of all types. Modifications embody: a rise in the time it takes to achieve everlasting settled standing, from 5 years to 10 years; elevated English language necessities for many varieties of visas, together with household visas; and a tightening of standards for expert employee visas, resulting in a surge in companies and people searching for authorized recommendation to settle in the UK.
And with a gradual stream of British residents additionally exiting the nation, Warwick College lately printed a research which recommended the UK may see destructive internet migration, the place extra individuals go away than arrive, as quickly as the finish of the 12 months. With companies persevering with to complain of a expertise scarcity in the nation, whereas important sectors together with well being and social care are already short-staffed relating to catering to the wants of an ageing inhabitants, destructive impacts of destructive migration have lengthy been speculated. However with expert labour coming into the nation shrinking, whereas home staff proceed their exodus, the precise outcomes might turn out to be seen sooner, moderately than later.
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