How much does it cost to move abroad?
Each calculator adds up what a move really costs in the new country's currency: visa and permit fees from the official fee lists, flights, shipping ranges published by movers, the rental deposit the law allows, setting up and a buffer until your first payday. Every line names its source and the date we checked it.
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US to Ireland
One adult, Critical Skills Employment Permit, renting in Dublin: €15,939 – €20,795+
Moves from the US to Ireland nearly doubled in a year, and most of them start with an employment permit.
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UK to Australia
One adult, Skilled Independent (subclass 189), renting in Sydney (NSW): A$29,300 – A$39,080
Most of the cost of moving from the UK to Australia sits in three places: the visa charge, the distance your belongings travel, and the first months of rent before you are paid.
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UK to Canada
One adult, Express Entry permanent residence, renting in Toronto (Ontario): CA$20,123 – CA$31,648
Canada’s visa fees are a fraction of Australia’s, but the rent in Toronto and Vancouver and the proof-of-funds rule for Express Entry change the picture.
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US to Canada
One adult, Express Entry permanent residence, renting in Toronto (Ontario): CA$21,653 – CA$33,036
Moving from the US to Canada is the shortest of these moves, and often a drive rather than a container.
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Ireland to Australia
One adult, Skilled Independent (subclass 189), renting in Sydney (NSW): A$34,435 – A$46,243
Australia is one of the main destinations for Irish emigrants, on working holiday and skilled visas alike.
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Ireland to Canada
One adult, Employer-specific work permit, renting in Toronto (Ontario): CA$23,070 – CA$33,044
Canada draws thousands of Irish workers each year through International Experience Canada, and more through work permits and Express Entry.
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US to Australia
One adult, Skills in Demand (subclass 482), renting in Sydney (NSW): A$28,358 – A$39,259
Moving from the US to Australia means a long-haul flight, a long sea voyage for your belongings, and a visa charge set in Australian dollars.
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US to UK
One adult, Skilled Worker visa (up to 3 years), renting in London: £18,999 – £23,213
For most Americans the biggest UK cost is not the visa fee but the Immigration Health Surcharge, paid up front for every year and every family member.
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Australia to UK
One adult, Skilled Worker visa (up to 3 years), renting in London: £18,785 – £24,150
Australians head to the UK on the Youth Mobility Scheme or a work visa.
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Canada to UK
One adult, Skilled Worker visa (up to 3 years), renting in London: £19,141 – £24,175
Canadians can move to the UK on the Youth Mobility Scheme up to age 35, or on a work visa.
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Ireland to UK
One adult, No visa needed (Irish citizen, Common Travel Area), renting in London: £14,737 – £18,738
Irish citizens need no visa to live and work in the UK, so this move has no visa line at all.
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UK to Ireland
One adult, No visa needed (British citizen, Common Travel Area), renting in Dublin: €15,064 – €19,763
British citizens need no visa to live and work in Ireland, so this move has no visa line.
What every calculator includes
- Visa and permit fees per adult and per child, from the official fee page, with a note where an employer usually pays.
- Flights, as our estimate of a one-way economy fare; type your own.
- Shipping from suitcases to a 40 ft container, as the ranges movers publish.
- Deposit and first month's rent, from official rent statistics and each place's deposit law.
- Setting up and a buffer until the first payday, as our estimates you can change.
- The rules that cost money after you arrive: tax when you arrive or leave, swapping your driving licence, when public health cover starts, and what happens to your state pension, each from the official source.
- Proof of funds where the law asks for it, such as Canada's Express Entry, shown as a separate check rather than a cost.
How we check the numbers
These pages rest on 55 government sources (fee lists, rent statistics, tenancy law, tax and licensing rules) and 11 sets of published removal prices, each named next to the figure it supports. Every source carries the date we last read it, most recently 1 November 2026, and our build fails if any source goes more than a year without a fresh check. Visa fees mostly change on known dates (Australia each 1 July, the UK usually in April), so those are re-read when they change. When we get a figure wrong, the fix is listed in our corrections log.
Fees only, not immigration advice
These pages show what things cost. Whether you qualify for a visa, and which route suits you, is for the official immigration site or a registered adviser (MARA in Australia, RCIC in Canada, the Immigration Advice Authority (formerly OISC) in the UK) or a solicitor. Fees change on fixed dates: Australia on 1 July, Canada on 30 April and the UK in April, so check the official page on the day you pay.
Totals are converted to your home currency at the European Central Bank reference rate of 28 October 2026. More country pairs are on the way. For the running cost of life once you arrive, see our cost comparisons across six countries, and for the cash cushion to hold, the emergency fund calculator.