Destination database

One country, one guide.

Each page is written for that country’s schools, visa logic, and birth rules. A baby born in Brazil is not in the same legal position as a baby born in Thailand. We say so.

• Brazil

  How a family plans Brazil: jus soli for a child born there, Rio and São Paulo schools, private healthcare, and why the parents do not become Brazilian because the baby is.

• Chile

  Santiago as a family base: who is Chilean at birth, who is only in transit, schools in the capital, and private health cover.

• Peru

  Lima as the practical family city in Peru: schools, private clinics, altitude if you are not in Lima, and what a birth does and does not do for the parents.

• Mexico

  Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara as family bases: nationality by birth in Mexico, temporary residence, schools, and private hospitals.

• Thailand

  Bangkok as a family base: visas that are not tourist stamps, international schools, private hospitals, and why a birth in Thailand does not make the baby Thai.

• Vietnam

  Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi for families: work permits, international schools, and a birth certificate that does not confer Vietnamese citizenship.

• Dubai and the UAE

  Dubai and Abu Dhabi for families: residence through work or a golden visa, fee-paying schools, mandatory insurance, and no citizenship by birth.

• Portugal

  Portugal for families: AIMA appointments, schools in Lisbon and Porto, public healthcare once you are in the system, and a nationality rule that is not American-style jus soli.

• Spain

  Spain by region: non-lucrative, digital-nomad and work visas, schools in Madrid and Barcelona, and a birth that does not make the parents Spanish.

• Germany

  Germany for families arriving from abroad: Anmeldung, school obligation, public insurance, and when a child born in Germany is German.

• Switzerland

  Cantonal permits, compulsory health insurance, and schools that follow the language of the commune. A birth in Switzerland does not make a child Swiss.

• Austria

  Vienna and the other cities: Red-White-Red and family permits, German-language school, and a birth that follows the parents’ nationality.

• Canada

  Province by province: a child born in Canada is Canadian, the parents are not, and healthcare, school, and immigration all sit with the province as well as Ottawa.

• United States

  A state, not a country, for schools and insurance. A child born in the United States is a citizen. The parents are not.