What we do
We cover 22 European countries with the numbers that actually matter: what a visa costs, what income it requires, how long it takes, and what life costs when you land. Every figure is dated, sourced to the official body, and re-verified on a schedule. If a rule changes, we change the page and log it on the updates page.
Who it's for
Mostly people aged 50 to 70 who are past the "one day" stage: retirees and near-retirees working out which country their pension stretches to, remote workers who can pick a base, and couples comparing two or three shortlisted countries on money rather than on holiday memories. No hype, no upsell. If a visa takes nine months, we say nine months.
Who's behind it: Nick and Nick
Europe Unlocked is run by the two founders of Algarve Addicts, a licensed relocation and property-buying agency in the Algarve (RNAAT 729/2025, AMI 25099). Between them they answer the questions on this site for real clients every week: which visa, what it really costs, what the tax bill looks like, and what nobody mentioned until after the move. That work is disclosed below because it shapes what we cover and how we make money.
Nick Smith, founder and editor, writes and edits the guides. He has worked in property for around 25 years and has lived in Portugal for around 15 of them, and is the co-founder and CEO of Algarve Addicts.
Nick Robinson, co-founder, runs Algarve Addicts with Nick Smith and co-founded 378 Real Estate, the pair's seller-side property agency. He reviews the property, pricing and buying-process material on this site against what the two of them see in live transactions.
How we research a page
Every threshold, fee and timeline starts from the primary source: the immigration authority, tax office, health service or statute of the country concerned, in the original language where the English version lags. We record the date we checked it, and the "last verified" line on a page changes only when someone has actually re-checked the source, never on a timer. Where an official figure is a proposal rather than an enacted rule, we say so. Where consulates apply a published rule inconsistently, we say that too, rather than presenting the rule as the whole story. Secondary sources (news reports, forums, other guides) can point us to a change but are not treated as confirmation of it.
Editorial independence, and how we make money — plainly
Three things pay for this site, and none of them buys a recommendation. First, when you ask us for a lawyer, tax adviser, insurer or agent, we introduce you to one we've independently checked for licensing, credentials and real client outcomes, and some of those partners pay us a referral fee. Second, we carry clearly labelled advertising from partners such as Currencies Direct, our currency-transfer partner; their banners are marked "Advertisement" and their links carry a sponsored tag. Third, readers who go on to use Algarve Addicts for a Portugal move are paying that agency, not this site. In every case the fee never changes the price you pay, partners have no say over what a page says, and a partner who stops meeting our bar is removed. The comparisons and calculators on this site do not favour any partner's country or product.
Corrections and updates
We get things wrong sometimes, and rules change under us often. If you spot an error, an out-of-date figure, or a source that says something different, tell us with a link to the source. We check it against the official document, correct the page, update its "last verified" date, and record material changes on the updates page so that readers and subscribers can see what moved and when. The weekly email, The Unlock, exists for the same reason: it is where changes to the rules for the countries you're watching get flagged, in one email on a Saturday.