Quick answer: between €1,500 and €13,000, and the spread is not vague — it depends on exactly one thing: whether a job (and ideally housing) is waiting for you. With a signed contract and employer housing, flights plus a small buffer can genuinely be enough. With a contract but your own housing, plan €3,000–€8,000. Arriving to search for work, plan around €1,100 per month of searching, because that is what the visas themselves require you to prove.
The costs before you fly
- Visa fee: €75–€180 for national work visas (seasonal visas often cheaper)
- Document translations and apostilles: €300–€800 for a typical application file
- Medical certificate and travel insurance: €100–€250 (insurance ~€30–60/month until employer coverage starts)
- Consulate travel: many applicants must travel to the nearest consulate, sometimes in another city — budget realistically
- Flight: €200–€900 depending on origin and season
The costs after you land
The first month is the expensive one, and the rental deposit is the item that breaks budgets. Germany commonly asks three months of cold rent as deposit; France wants a guarantor or extra months upfront; Spain and Portugal usually take one to two. Add the first month’s rent itself, a transport pass (€30–90), a SIM (€10–20), and groceries until payday. In a mid-cost city like Warsaw, Prague or Porto, a careful single person lands at €1,500–2,500 for the first month including deposit; in Amsterdam, Paris or Munich it is easily double.
What the visa itself forces you to show
Separately from what you will actually spend, most visas require proof of funds on paper. Germany’s job-seeker routes expect about €1,100 per month of intended stay (the blocked account for a student year is around €11,900). Portugal’s job seeker visa wants subsistence funds plus a return ticket. Even employer-sponsored visas often ask for bank statements showing you can survive until the first salary. The money usually stays yours — but it must exist and be documentable; borrowed "show money" that vanishes after the appointment is visa fraud and consulates know every variant of it.
Three realistic budgets
- Seasonal worker, employer housing (Portugal/Spain farm contract): flights + visa + documents + €500–1,000 buffer ≈ €1,500–2,500 total
- Worker with contract, own housing (Poland/Germany warehouse or trade job): the above + deposit and first month ≈ €3,000–8,000
- Job seeker (Germany Opportunity Card, 12 months): proof of ~€13,000 + setup costs — realistically €15,000 to do it without panic
Where people overspend and how to avoid it
The three classic money leaks: paying an agent for a "guaranteed job" (always a scam — legitimate employers charge candidates nothing), booking long-stay tourist accommodation instead of negotiating monthly rates or worker housing, and arriving without translated documents and paying rush prices locally. Fix all three before departure and the average move costs 30–40% less.
Plan the number honestly, then add twenty percent. Every successful relocation story includes one surprise expense; the failed ones are usually the moves that started with exactly zero margin.
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