No Stupid Questions

No way to help with zero information. What’s your degree? What country?

googling “move to XXX” just gives me a ton of websites loaded with either overly generic or overly complex government information and adverts for specialists

Not my experience. I just tried 3 different countries and the official sites are easily recognizable. Maybe use a different search engine? Google is shit.

overly complex

well it's not going to be an easy process.

The laws are different in each country. You're going to have to trawl through their documentation, I'm afraid. It can be incredibly frustrating. I have a Turkish friend who is a qualified doctor who, despite having the right papers, is still waiting for permission to practice after 18 months here, even though the country is desperate for doctors.

Perhaps look for a company in that country that offers expat services? They may be able to bridge the gap on local customs for your situation.

Something that people often forget: Contact the embassy in the country.

They know all the stuff, have networks and can send you in the right direction. It might cost something if they need to do any kind paperwork, but in my experience they'll gladly give you contact info for free to someone who can help you.

I posted this comment on another thread before:

The 3 most common options are through:

• Work - you need a company based in your destination country to sponsor you. Apply for jobs that offer sponsorship and relocation support. Or work for a company in your country that has an office in your desired destination, and ask to be relocated.
• Education - attend university in your desired destination.
• Marriage - fall in love with a citizen of your desired destination and get married. - Obviously this does not apply in your case.

You’ll have to get in through a visa based on the above categories, then apply for permanent residency once you’re in. Only after a few years of being a permanent resident can you apply for citizenship. Note that this can take years depending on the category and the country you’re from.

As for the license-to-practice thing, make sure to do your research on the requirements in your destination country, because it might be easier if you already have some credentials on the get-go; or you might need to actually earn credits there an not just go for the exams. Also, you have to check if they even recognize the licenses that you get in the US, otherwise it will be a waste. Good luck.

I would suggest considering completing the licensing before moving. I have seen just way too many times when people jumped the line in similar ways and it ended up biting them in the rear eventually.

You may end up wanting to return in a couple of decades. Or it could streamline something if you move again to another country. Or you could end up being needed while traveling. Or being offered a position that needs that license for some online work without ever moving back. You could have a death or illness in the family that forces you to return. Or any of a million other reasons that you would want that, and not getting it now could mean eliminating options in the future. I knew a guy who's wife was a doctor in another Mexico for years before immigrating to the US, and she had to start over from scratch. Just something to consider.

Years ago we briefly moved to the USA. We used a recruiter from the the US who specialized in recruiting foreign talent. They handled everything and received payment from our employer.

We moved before the internet so we found the recruiter from a magazine.

I’ve helped plenty of people move to my country, always on subreddits and now on lemmy communities, I sometimes receive DMs asking for information.

So I’d say, find a community for that country and ask questions. If they are none on lemmy then you might get a provisional authorization to ask on reddit.

I think the best fit would be an immigration lawyer? Those ppl are incredibly expensive (probably in the $1000s to begin with) and are country-specific, so mostly only ppl who have difficult cases do that...

Can try to search the subreddits r/iwantout and r/immigration first, they have lots of good resources and past posts. Also can try expat.com

Also don't make my mistake... finding a job in a foreign country is incredibly hard, even with a doctorate. So it helps to cast a wide net and/or get a job offer first before making further plans

Their embassy.

When you google something add "reddit" at the end to avoid those poor websites

[email protected]

I suggest you ask an AI, like Deep Seek, that can give you a bunch of info for your exact situation. e.g. mention what country you are coming from, and ask for a list of options based on what you want the process to be like, ideally. Then ask follow up questions as needed.

And if it's not obvious, don't tell the AI personal stuff like your name. They shouldn't upload anything from your conversation, but it's best to be safe, in case they upload data anyway.