These guidelines explain how every guide on Retire in Europe is made. They apply to every writer, editor and reviewer, and to every page on the site.
Our standard
A guide is only finished when a reader can act on it: they know which route fits them, what it requires, what it costs, how long it takes, and where to confirm the details. If a page can’t do that, it isn’t ready to publish.
Sources
We rank sources in this order and use the highest one available:
- Primary official sources: laws, government immigration and tax portals, consulates and embassies, official statistics.
- Professional sources: guidance published by bar associations, tax bodies, and the licensed experts who review our pages.
- Reputable secondary sources: established news outlets and international organisations, used for context and never as the only source for a rule or figure.
We don’t use forums, social media posts or other relocation blogs as evidence for a requirement, fee or threshold. Reader experiences can inform what we cover, but every fact is checked against an official source.
Each page lists its sources with the date they were last checked.
Expert review
Pages about visas, residence permits, taxes, pensions, healthcare and money are reviewed before publication by a licensed professional who practises in the relevant country or field. Reviewers check that the rules, thresholds and steps are accurate and complete, and that nothing important is missing for the readers we describe. The reviewer’s name, credentials and review date appear on the page.
Reviewers are not paid per positive review, and they cannot change a page to promote their own services.
Keeping pages up to date
Immigration and tax rules change often. We:
- recheck visa, tax and healthcare pages at least every six months, and other pages at least once a year;
- update a page within five working days when we learn an official rule, threshold or fee has changed;
- show the last reviewed date on every page, and change it only when a full review has actually happened.
Rankings and comparisons
Ranking pages explain the criteria and data used before the ranking itself. Commercial relationships never affect a country’s position or whether a service is mentioned.
Use of AI tools
We may use AI tools to help with research planning, outlining and first drafts. Every page is then rewritten and fact-checked by a human editor against the official sources listed on the page, and pages in the categories above are reviewed by a licensed expert before publication. We don’t publish AI-generated text that hasn’t been through this process.
Some images on the site are generated with AI to illustrate everyday life in a country. They’re always labelled “AI-generated image” in the caption, and we never use them as evidence of a specific place, building, document or person.
Independence and conflicts of interest
Writers and reviewers must declare any financial interest in a company, programme or property they write about. Where a page links to a partner that may pay us, the link is labelled. See how we make money.
Corrections
If you find a mistake, please tell us through the contact page. We investigate every report, correct confirmed errors quickly, and note significant corrections at the bottom of the page with the date.