Plan your finances before you cross the border.
Independent guides for remote earners, founders, and global families. Model take-home pay, local tax exposure, housing costs, and visa requirements before moving to the UAE, Spain, Portugal, or Thailand.
Explore your relocation budget
One destination, your salary, a first-pass illustration.
How BorderCents works
Find a starting point for your move.
Tell us what matters. Compare the trade-offs. Then put the practical details in order.
Define your priorities
Choose the life you have in mind, your work setup and who is moving with you. No account or email needed.
Choose my prioritiesCompare the trade-offs
See how example cities compare across five everyday decisions. Explore the country guide and build your own 90-day plan.
Find my starting pointFour destinations: UAE, Spain, Portugal and Thailand. A research shortlist—not a visa decision, tax calculation or promise of savings.
Four destinations, covered in depth
A different way of life.
A different set of money decisions.
Find the city that fits. Then understand what renting, banking, earning, and settling in will really involve.
Employment-income hub0% UAE wage taxUAE
Dubai · Abu Dhabi · Ras Al Khaimah
- Remote visa income
- Depends on emirate & route
- Upfront rent
- Deposit + fees + rent cheques
- First-home mortgage cap
- Up to 80% LTV*
EU city life24% Article 93*Spain
Madrid · Barcelona · Valencia · Málaga
- DNV income evidence
- 200% SMI + family uplifts*
- Upfront rent
- Deposit + solvency documents
- Mortgage availability
- Lender & residency specific
Atlantic connectionsD8 · IFICI conditionalPortugal
Lisbon · Porto · Algarve · Madeira
- Remote-work income
- 4× minimum wage*
- Upfront rent
- Advance rent + agreed security
- Mortgage availability
- Lender & residency specific
More room in the budgetDTV · 5-year validity*Thailand
Bangkok · Chiang Mai · Phuket · Samui
- DTV financial evidence
- THB 500,000 funds*
- Upfront rent
- Deposit + advance rent
- Property ownership
- Foreign land restrictions
Figures are conditional, not eligibility decisions. UAE: 80% LTV is a regulatory maximum for qualifying expatriate first homes up to AED 5 million; lenders may offer less. Spain: SMI means the Spanish minimum wage; Article 93’s 24% employment rate applies only if eligible and up to €600,000. Portugal: income evidence and IFICI qualification are separate. Thailand: THB 500,000 is financial evidence, not a monthly salary requirement; five-year visa validity is not a continuous five-year stay. Each country Blueprint links to the rules, exceptions, and primary sources. Photos: Unsplash.
Remote Worker Tax Comparison: UAE, Spain, Portugal and Thailand
Compare the conditions behind a headline rate. Research, not a personal tax audit.
How to Transfer $50,000–$500,000 Abroad: Bank Checks and Documents
Know which documents to prepare before your money moves.
Relocation runway simulator
Put tax, housing, school, and everyday costs in the same budget.
Your document checklist
A trackable 90-day plan. No uploads or sensitive-document storage.
Have a more complicated route? Start with your work and residence.
Start with your route
Tell us where you're headed to get a personalized starting point.
We will show the decisions most likely to matter before you commit to the move. This is general guidance, not a tax or immigration conclusion.
Start with your situation
The same city creates different questions for different people.
Choose the description closest to your move. You can refine it later in the Blueprint.
Locally employed
Separate base salary, allowances, benefits and what changes if the job ends.
Map the employment package → 02Remote employee
Check employer permission, payroll, social security and where the work is physically done.
Check the remote-work route → 03Freelancer
Plan local registration, invoices, tax payments and a reserve for uneven income.
Build the independent-worker route → 04Founder
Map where decisions, contracts and services may create company obligations.
Review the company route → 05Retired
Connect residence, healthcare, pensions, investment accounts and estate documents.
Plan the retirement route →Featured guides and tools
Go deeper when a decision becomes real.
Use a guide to understand the rule and a calculator to pressure-test your own numbers.
Can Expats Get a UAE Mortgage with Foreign Income?
Regulatory ceilings, evidence, underwriting and the full cash-to-close requirement.
Read the guide →Spain Digital Nomad Visa: Tax Residence and Employer Obligations
Why permission to live in Spain is not the final answer on payroll or tax.
Read the guide →Thailand Tax Residence and Foreign-Income Remittances Explained
Track residence, source, earning year, remittance and foreign tax before filing season.
Read the guide →Look at the whole move
Tax, family costs and the decision to leave
Before moving money or changing contracts
The bigger financial decisions
For savings, investments and work arrangements that do not stop at the border.
How to Transfer $50,000–$500,000 Abroad: Bank Checks and Documents
How to compare the amount your recipient actually gets, document the source of your savings, and leave room for bank checks when moving substantial capital.
Read the guide →Tax & cross-border planningSpain Wealth Tax by Region: Madrid, Andalusia, Catalonia and Valencia
Why “Madrid is tax-free” is too simple: regional allowances, solidarity tax, filing duties and the conditional Article 93 treatment of foreign assets.
Read the guide →Tax & cross-border planningWorking Abroad on Foreign Payroll: EOR vs Genuine Contracting
What your employer needs to check before saying yes, why becoming a contractor is not a shortcut, and how to compare the full employment package with an independent fee.
Read the guide →Tax & cross-border planningCrypto Tax Abroad: UAE, Portugal, Spain and Thailand Compared
Separate investing from business activity, disposal from remittance, and tax from reporting before relying on a zero-tax headline or Portugal’s 365-day rule.
Read the guide →