A note first: the profile below is a synthetic composite modeled on the 40-plus tech-professional readers who've run the Plan B report or emailed us since Monday's Ireland analysis. Sarah's specifics are constructed. Every number, threshold, and program detail is real.
Sarah's setup — the reader profile
- Age: 34, single, one dog
- Role: Senior software engineer at a Boston fintech
- Base salary: $145,000/yr (W-2 employee, fully remote-capable)
- Savings: $95,000 liquid + $180,000 in retirement accounts
- US ties: parents in New Jersey, no property owned, no kids
- Goal: Legal EU residency within 12 months. EU passport within 5–7 years. Minimal disruption to career trajectory. Not willing to learn a language from zero unless the math strongly justifies it.
- Not willing: to spend €600,000 on Malta. To move somewhere where her dog needs to quarantine.
Sarah ran her profile through Plan B on Monday, right after reading our Ireland analysis. Here's what the top-3 look like for her specifically.
Country 1 — 🇮🇪 Ireland · 92% match
Why Ireland wins for Sarah:
Sarah's role (senior software engineer) is on the Irish Critical Skills Occupation List — one of the most represented professions on it. Her $145K salary is roughly 3× the €38,000 shortage-list floor, meaning she qualifies with room. The Critical Skills Employment Permit gives Stamp 4 access at year 2, and citizenship application at year 5 total.
The tax math for Sarah in Dublin:
- Salary: €135,000 (roughly her USD converted at 2026 rates)
- Standard Irish PAYE + USC + PRSI: roughly 42% effective on that band
- Estimated take-home: ~€78,000/yr
- Dublin realistic single-professional monthly: €3,000–3,800
- Net saving capacity: ~€3,200–4,000/mo
The tax rate is Ireland's real cost. It's not competitive with Portugal IFICI or Spain Beckham. But her net saving after Dublin costs still clears $3,000/mo — because the salary math scales with the city.
Where Ireland breaks down for her: it doesn't. This is a clean win for her specific profile.
Timeline: legal residence by month 4 if she lines up a Dublin fintech role first. Stamp 4 at year 2. Citizenship application filed year 5 (roughly Q3 2031).
Country 2 — 🇵🇹 Portugal · 87% match
Why Portugal is close but doesn't quite win:
Portugal's D8 income floor is €3,680/mo — Sarah clears it 3× over. The interesting question for her is whether IFICI (the NHR successor) applies. Software engineering is on the eligible sector list — but IFICI eligibility turns on the exact contract structure and whether her employer's Portuguese entity qualifies as an "innovation-oriented" employer.
If IFICI applies:
- 20% flat rate on qualifying Portuguese-source income
- Foreign-source income generally exempt (which is huge for stock comp, dividends, US-side savings)
- 10-year regime
That would put Sarah's effective tax in the low 20s vs Ireland's low 40s. Roughly €25,000/yr more take-home in Portugal.
Why Portugal is not #1 for her:
- 10-year citizenship path (post-May 19, 2026) vs Ireland's 5 years — she'd wait twice as long for a passport
- IFICI eligibility is fact-specific — she'd need a Portuguese tax advisor to confirm it applies to her actual employment structure, and a wrong assumption is a very expensive mistake
- Fintech scene in Lisbon/Porto is real but much smaller than Dublin; if she wants career growth in the local market, Ireland offers a materially bigger pool
Portugal wins on lifestyle and potentially on tax. Ireland wins on passport speed and career optionality. For someone in Sarah's specific position, the 5-year passport edge dominates.
Where Portugal fits: if her actual answer to Plan B changes ("I want to slow down and value lifestyle over career growth"), Portugal becomes #1.
Country 3 — 🇩🇪 Germany · 84% match
Why Germany makes the top 3:
Sarah qualifies easily for the EU Blue Card at $145K (Blue Card floor for shortage occupations including software is roughly €45,000 in 2026). Blue Card → 33 months to permanent residency IF she reaches B1 German. 21 months if B1 German is achieved sooner. Full citizenship at year 5 (also gated on language + integration exam).
Berlin and Munich have the strongest tech ecosystems in the EU. Salary bands are higher than Ireland, though tax is also higher (roughly 45% effective).
Where Germany breaks down for Sarah:
- B1 German is not optional for the citizenship timeline — it's the gating factor. Sarah said she wasn't willing to learn a language from zero unless the math strongly justifies it. Germany does not clear that bar for her.
- 10-year timeline without B1 — same as Portugal
- Housing scarcity in Berlin is comparable to Dublin (top-tier friction)
Germany is #3 because it's a viable path if her language stance changes. If she's willing to invest 300–500 hours in German over the first 2 years, Germany becomes a real contender.
What's held back to the Plan B report
The full Plan B report for Sarah's profile includes:
- Countries #4 and #5 — with a specific reason each is close but doesn't win the top 3
- 90-day action plan for Ireland — LinkedIn strategy for Dublin fintech recruiters, CSEP application timeline, dog import logistics (Ireland is pet-friendly with no quarantine from the US), FBI apostille, temporary Airbnb strategy for the first 60 days
- The full salary optimization — negotiating a Dublin-based role that stays on her US-side benefits vs a clean transfer to a European entity
- Housing math for Dublin with specific neighborhoods filtered against dog-friendly + 30-min commute to Dublin's fintech corridor
- Tax residency timing — if she moves mid-2027, does she trigger dual tax residency for that year and how to structure it
- The Portugal contingency plan — what her decision tree looks like if IFICI eligibility clears and she wants to pivot from Ireland after year 3
What Sarah actually decides to do
Coming to the end of a Plan B report gives you a top-3 with match percentages. What it doesn't tell you is which one you'll actually pick. That's your decision, not ours.
For Sarah's profile, the honest 30-second synthesis is: Ireland is the mathematically strongest fit because of the 5-year passport and career optionality. Portugal is the emotional pull — better lifestyle, potentially better tax if IFICI clears. Germany is the wildcard if she's willing to learn German.
A composite Sarah wouldn't necessarily pick Ireland just because the tool ranked it #1. Real applicants at this profile split roughly 60/30/10 — most choose Ireland, a meaningful minority choose Portugal for lifestyle, a small fraction choose Germany because they wanted to learn German anyway.
What this means for you (if you're not Sarah)
The point of the Plan B tool isn't to hand you an answer. It's to run your profile through the same 122-country dataset and surface which 3 countries actually fit your specific income, family situation, career, and passport timeline. Then to hold back enough of the reasoning that the report is worth reading — not just the ranking.
If you're an American tech professional under 40 without EU heritage, Sarah's top-3 will probably look a lot like yours. If your profile is meaningfully different — retiree, family of four, freelance not W-2, non-tech sector — the top-3 shifts, sometimes dramatically.
Run your own Plan B walkthrough — $19, generates in 3–5 minutes, delivered as a report you can hand to your family or accountant.
Related this week
- Ireland Is Now the Fastest EU Passport for Americans — the setup for Sarah's #1 country match; the 5-year math and the 5 Stamp 4 routes.
- Spain vs Portugal for American Digital Nomads in 2026 — the tax comparison that explains why Portugal is Sarah's #2 despite lower absolute tax; also the IFICI-eligibility question referenced above.
Quick reference — Sarah's top 3
- #1 Ireland — Critical Skills EEP, 5-year passport, €135K → ~€78K net after Dublin tax
- #2 Portugal — D8 + IFICI potentially, 10-year passport, potentially €25K/yr more take-home than Ireland if IFICI clears
- #3 Germany — Blue Card, 10-year passport (5 with B1 German), highest salaries but highest friction from language requirement
Note on methodology: match percentages and the "Sarah" profile are illustrative. The Plan B tool uses your actual answers to generate top-3 country matches weighted against 122 country profiles. All income thresholds, tax rates, and program details cited are verified against primary sources. This is not immigration, tax, or legal advice — consult qualified advisers before making decisions.
Your personal Plan B · $19 one-time
Don't just read — plan.
Top 5 countries ranked for you, the visa pathway for each, tax angle for your nationality, and a concrete 90-day action plan. Built in ~2 minutes from current 2026 data.
Enjoyed this article?
Subscribe for more expat tips and guides.
Which country is right for you?
Answer 6 quick questions about your budget, lifestyle, and priorities. Our AI ranks 122 countries and builds a personalised relocation plan.
Enjoyed this article? Share it with fellow expats
