THINKING OF LEAVING BRITAIN? FOUR COUNTRIES COULD ATTRACT UK WORKERS IN 2027
246,000 BRITONS LEFT THE UK IN A YEAR — WHERE COULD THE NEXT WAVE BE HEADING?
An estimated 246,000 British nationals left the UK for at least 12 months in 2025. For workers considering following them in 2027, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Australia present four very different answers to the increasingly important question of where career opportunity and quality of life can best be combined.
For generations of British workers, moving abroad has been associated with sunshine, retirement or adventure. Increasingly, however, international relocation is also becoming a career decision.
An estimated 246,000 British nationals left the UK to live overseas for at least 12 months in 2025, according to Office for National Statistics figures cited in material supplied for this feature.
For those contemplating a move in 2027, salary and job prospects will inevitably matter. But they are only part of the calculation.
Housing and living costs, climate, language, immigration rules, proximity to Britain and lifestyle can determine whether an attractive destination is also somewhere a worker can realistically build a career.
Four countries illustrate the choices particularly well: Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Australia.
PORTUGAL: LIFESTYLE MEETS A GROWING DIGITAL ECONOMY
Portugal’s attraction is perhaps the easiest to understand.
Warmer weather, Atlantic coastline and established international communities have made the country an increasingly visible destination for internationally mobile workers.
But there is an economic proposition alongside the lifestyle appeal.
More than 120 foreign companies are reported to have established digital-sector operations in Portugal during the past decade, creating opportunities for professionals who want an international career without abandoning the European lifestyle.
Portuguese remains the official language, although English is widely used in many business and internationally oriented environments.
For Britons, therefore, Portugal offers an appealing combination: significant cultural change without moving to the other side of the world.
The trade-off is that relocating and working there requires more immigration planning than before Brexit, while learning Portuguese could become increasingly important for anyone seeking deeper professional and social integration.
IRELAND: THE SIMPLEST MOVE?
Ireland offers almost the opposite proposition.
There is no promise of Mediterranean sunshine or dramatic cultural reinvention. Instead, its strength for British workers is familiarity and ease.
English is the dominant language, Britain is close enough for relatively easy trips home and, crucially, the Common Travel Area gives British citizens the right to live and work in Ireland without requiring a visa, residence permit or employment permit.
That removes one of the biggest obstacles associated with international relocation.
For someone wanting overseas experience without completely detaching from British professional and family networks, Ireland could therefore be one of the most practical choices.
It is international relocation with considerably less friction.
SPAIN: THE BRITISH FAVOURITE EVOLVES
Spain’s appeal to Britons is hardly new.
At the beginning of 2025, the country had 281,584 UK-born residents, according to figures supplied for this feature, demonstrating the scale of the established British connection.
Climate and outdoor living remain obvious attractions, but working-age Britons now have to think more carefully about how they will legally work there.
For eligible professionals, Spain’s international remote-worker arrangements can provide a route for continuing to work for an overseas employer while living in the country.
Language represents another consideration. English-speaking expatriate communities may make initial relocation easier, but Spanish can become substantially more important for anyone seeking to build a long-term career within the domestic economy.
For some workers, of course, learning the language may be part of the attraction rather than an obstacle.
AUSTRALIA: THE BIG LEAP
Australia requires a very different level of commitment.
The distance from Britain is considerable, but culturally and linguistically it remains one of the most accessible major overseas destinations for British workers.
The connection is already enormous.
England was Australia’s second-largest overseas birthplace, with 970,950 England-born residents recorded in June 2025, according to figures supplied for this feature.
Australia also offers opportunities for skilled professionals, although gaining the right to work there can be considerably more complicated than moving to Ireland.
Skilled migration routes can be points-based, with eligibility influenced by factors such as occupation, qualifications, professional experience and age.
Employer-sponsored routes, including Skills in Demand and Employer Nomination Scheme visas, offer alternatives for some workers with qualifying job offers.
Australia may consequently offer the biggest lifestyle transformation of the four destinations — but potentially requires the greatest commitment and preparation.
THE NEW RELOCATION EQUATION
The decision facing internationally mobile workers is therefore becoming more sophisticated than simply choosing where they would most like to live.
Ireland offers accessibility and minimal immigration friction.
Portugal combines lifestyle appeal with an increasingly international business environment.
Spain provides an established British community and potential opportunities for eligible remote workers.
Australia combines a shared language and substantial British diaspora with the possibility of a much bigger professional and lifestyle change.
None is automatically the “best” destination.
The more useful question for British workers considering leaving in 2027 may be whether the country they dream of living in is also somewhere they can realistically earn, progress and build a sustainable life.
With hundreds of thousands of British nationals already making long-term moves overseas, that calculation could become increasingly important to both employees — and the British employers trying to retain them.
Scott Winter, an Employer of Record (EOR) provider, said: “People still want many of the same things from a move overseas”.
