Many Americans began arranging moves to Europe after Donald Trump's re-election, with families selling possessions and relocating within weeks. One family left the US in 76 days, moving to Barcelona with children and pets. An early executive order redefined sex as male or female on official documents, creating uncertainty for passport holders with an X marker and prompting relief among those who had already left. Relocation firms across major European cities report surging inquiries from Americans despite far-right gains in Europe. Irish passport applications rose 60% year-on-year, France saw increased long-stay visa requests, and British citizenship solicitations reached record highs.
The scramble began in November as news broke that Donald Trump had been re-elected. Benjamin and Chrys Gorman had long said they would leave the US before seeing Trump inaugurated again, giving them exactly 76 days to sell their home, cars and most of their belongings and move four people, three dogs and two cats to Barcelona. I was saying: we've got more time than that, it won't go that fast, said Gorman.
Within hours of taking office, Trump signed an executive order defining sex as only male or female. The change was to be reflected on official documents, sowing confusion over what it meant for Americans with the non-binary identification of X in their passports. Relief gripped the Gormans as they watched it play out from afar. Our kid's passport has an X gender marker, said Gorman. So we managed to escape just in time. Benjamin, Chrys and Franke Gorman In Barcelona. Photograph: Benjamin Gorman
Since Trump's return to power, relocation firms from London to Lisbon and Madrid to Milan say they've seen a surge in inquiries from Americans. Undaunted by the gains made by the far right across the continent, many Americans cite a desire to escape the US's increasingly polarised climate and an administration whose wide range of targets has included immigrants, diversity measures and political opponents.
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