# What's the best way for a non-STEM guy to emigrate out of the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 5, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-for-a-non-stem-guy-to-emigrate-out-of-the-us/673154 "2013-11-05T16:13:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cognoscant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Cognoscant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cognoscant)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-for-a-non-stem-guy-to-emigrate-out-of-the-us/673154/21 "2013-11-07T15:11:10Z")
Interesting–I managed a 170. I wonder what I would have gotten if I’d counted an NZed ex-girlfriend as a relative. It’s too bad though that I looked at my professional organization’s international member list and found a total of 0 addresses from NZ. But, maybe I could be a trailblazer again. ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-for-a-non-stem-guy-to-emigrate-out-of-the-us/673154/22 "2013-11-07T15:29:31Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Just had another play with the points indicator. A job offer outside Auckland and a Masters or Doctorate gets a twenty something up to 150. > > Easy! Haha, I can’t tell if you’re being facetious or not. In any case, that’s actually a pretty helpful tool, and of the top three countries in the OP NZ might have the most amenable emigration pathway. I wonder if my Associate degree gives any points, or if that falls under worthless certificates. ---
**Author:** ![Cognoscant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Cognoscant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cognoscant)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-for-a-non-stem-guy-to-emigrate-out-of-the-us/673154/23 "2013-11-07T15:36:00Z")
Oh, just for shits and giggles take a look at the UK Emigration Points Calculator. Unless you have tons of money (Tier 1), play a professional sport, or are arriving as a political asylum seeker with ironclad evidence, your chances of getting in without a job offer are zero. Not “slim”, zero. You need 70 points to be considered, and the maximum you can get without a job offer (50 points) is 30. You could be a combination of Nate Silver, Stephen Hawking, and the reincarnated Albert Einstein and you would not get in. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-for-a-non-stem-guy-to-emigrate-out-of-the-us/673154/24 "2013-11-07T21:16:07Z")
> [@2ManyTacos](#): > > Haha, I can’t tell if you’re being facetious or not. In any case, that’s actually a pretty helpful tool, and of the top three countries in the OP NZ might have the most amenable emigration pathway. I wonder if my Associate degree gives any points, or if that falls under worthless certificates. A little bit facetious, but hey if you love the area why not? If you study for the Masters here I think you get a points boost for studying in NZ as well. We don’t have Associates degrees. I’d imagine it’d be considered the same as a Level 6 Diploma (with a Bachelor’s classed as a level 7 degree) but you’d need to check the fineprint to be sure. Anyway good luck. ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-for-a-non-stem-guy-to-emigrate-out-of-the-us/673154/25 "2013-11-09T11:47:33Z")
Out of curiosity, do you know anybody who has actually immigrated to NZ? If so, what was his or her experience like? ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-for-a-non-stem-guy-to-emigrate-out-of-the-us/673154/26 "2013-11-09T12:46:39Z")
I’ve done this for love and there were times I regretted it(ok not really). But seriously if I was about to puke with chasing down documents and fulfilling bizarre and pointless requests(affidavit proving I’m single? Letters from embassies certifying I am NOT a citizen of that country?!😕) I can’t imagine someone doing this for shits and giggles. Also something to beware of for some countries, they are not used to or set up for “individual” immigration AT ALL. What I mean if you just deciding to go there, even if their law allows it. Expect incredulous officials and red tape you can’t even imagine on nonsense, when you immigrate through a corp they have people that handle all this shit and grease palms on your behalf. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-for-a-non-stem-guy-to-emigrate-out-of-the-us/673154/27 "2013-11-09T12:53:37Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Have you looked at whether or not you might qualify for ancestral citizenship? For example, the Republic of Ireland is very liberal in handing out full Irish citizenship to descendants of the Irish diaspora. Apparently a lot of Americans get this because it lets them move to any EU country visa free. I know someone who tried and failed to get ancestry based German citizenship - their problem was that their ancestors had left Germany before the unification of the German states in the 1800’s, and thus were never “German” citizens at all. I have contacted a few local(at the time) German embassies to inquire as my mother is a born German citizen and I’ve even spent long periods in Germany the response(I’ve inquired in both English and German) has been cold to rude. They wouldn’t even tell me where to start or point me to a website or form etc. Basically why would you want this? Hire an attorney. I’m curious where they are handing out these German passports? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-for-a-non-stem-guy-to-emigrate-out-of-the-us/673154/28 "2013-11-09T14:30:40Z")
I believe birthright Swiss citizenship continues in perpetuity. But it must be through the male line. Switzerland took its present state in 1815 (although the "four forest cantons date back to 1291 and various others joined at various dates). So if your male line goes back to Switzerland, you ought to be in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-for-a-non-stem-guy-to-emigrate-out-of-the-us/673154.md?page=1)