[gustavpaul]

You can also just get a "professional" job in said country and move there under the same or similar conditions. The application for an employment visa to move to Germany from South Africa took about a week to get approved.

[cambalache]

Be careful with the kind of visa you get. I suppose the Germans are OK (but then again Germany is bureaucratic as fuck), if you visa is too restrictive you will be not better than a golden caged indentured servant. I am talking from experience here, I will never accept a long term contract in a country unless: A) A clear and straightforward path to legal residency is in place. B) I dont lose my chance of point A just because my employer decides to "downsize me".

[ashtonkem]

With a few exceptions, having a “professional” job is just a proxy for future money. As an engineer, the primary benefit that I could bring any country is the economic value of my labor. The fact that I could get a visa approved much faster than a service worker is purely down to economic reasoning.

The one exception to this rule would be medical personnel. Every country needs doctors and nurses to keep the population healthy. Their labor has direct human value that’s not entirely reflected economically.