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Move & retire

UK

No retirement visa, and the health service you came for has a queue.

4/4
ingredients confirmed
Every ingredient this page asks for has a figure and a source.
Living
87.3% of US prices
A comparison of prices, not a budget: it says what things cost here against the United States, not what a month will cost you. Compared at country level, so capital cities and large metros run higher. The price level prices the basket residents buy, and a foreign renter cannot reach the cheap end of local housing — poorer countries may still sit too low here.
Safety
1.73 · 39th of 163
ResidencyUnder review
No retirement route
Work, business or close family only. Settlement normally follows several years on a qualifying visa
Healthcare
Free at the point of use, with a queue
Out-of-pocket spending is 14.6% of current health expenditure here (World Bank, 2024, CC BY 4.0). Read it with care: the measure counts only what insured people pay — not premiums, and not the uninsured — which is why the United States comes out at 10.9%, ahead of most countries on this site.

More is being checked.

Where these figures came from

One row per ingredient. Open any of them for the source, how far we trust it, and when we last checked.

Living87.3% of US prices

World Bank, 2024, CC BY 4.0: the PPP conversion factor for household consumption is 0.6827 local currency units per international dollar, against an official exchange rate of 0.7824 to the US dollar. Their ratio, 0.873, is the price level against the United States, whose own ratio is 1 by construction. Both figures are theirs; the division is ours. See the Pathoff method, section 12.

A comparison of prices, not a budget: it says what things cost here against the United States, not what a month will cost you. Compared at country level, so capital cities and large metros run higher. The price level prices the basket residents buy, and a foreign renter cannot reach the cheap end of local housing — poorer countries may still sit too low here.

Confidence
made by us from the source
Safety1.73 · 39th of 163

Global Peace Index 2026, Institute for Economics and Peace: score 1.73, ranked 39 of 163. Both figures are theirs; we publish them as they are.

Confidence
printed in the source
ResidencyNo retirement route

Pathoff outcome rubric (the Pathoff method, section 10-4), residency band "Work, family or business only": No route for arriving with means; work or family only, then settlement after five years. At the foot of the band because the qualifying period has been subject to change.

Work, business or close family only. Settlement normally follows several years on a qualifying visa

Confidence
made by us from the source
Rule
Under review — do not plan around the current terms
Last checked
Never against a source
HealthcareFree at the point of use, with a queue

Pathoff healthcare rubric (the Pathoff method, section 13-2), band "Covered, with a private top-up in practice": Residents join the health service, but migrants pay the immigration health surcharge upfront for the length of the visa, and non-urgent waiting times are the documented weak point. At the foot of the band for both.

Out-of-pocket spending is 14.6% of current health expenditure here (World Bank, 2024, CC BY 4.0). Read it with care: the measure counts only what insured people pay — not premiums, and not the uninsured — which is why the United States comes out at 10.9%, ahead of most countries on this site.

Confidence
made by us from the source
Rule
No change known to us
Last checked
Never against a source

What it is like here

The route for people of independent means closed decades ago, so without work or close family there is generally no way in. For those who do qualify, the health service is free at the point of use but you pay an upfront surcharge for access and then join waiting lists that are a live political issue. Costs are high, the language is easy, and the door is mostly shut.

How the process works

1

Find a qualifying visa

There is no passive-income or retirement category. Work, business or family are the realistic options.

Timing not confirmed
2

Budget the health surcharge

Paid upfront for the whole visa length, per person.

Timing not confirmed
3

Settlement after the qualifying period

Requires continuous residence plus language and knowledge-of-life tests. The qualifying period depends on the route and has been subject to change.

Timing not confirmed

Where people settle

New Malden, London
The largest Korean community in Europe

Open any ingredient above to see where its figure came from, how far we trust it and when we last checked. Nothing here is a substitute for the official source. Last reviewed 2026-09-03.

Photograph of UK, licensed Pexels License, via Pexels.