Household relocations are now surging toward talent hubs like the US, UK, and France, driven by visa programs for skilled professionals and entrepreneurs. Yet 2026’s surveys show people prioritizing long-term stability, affordability, and integration over short-term moves. Traditional visa consultants handle documents, but true immigration strategists like our guest build holistic paths from initial relocation to permanent residency, business setup, taxes, and family adaptation across these top destinations. In this interview, Alexey Popovich, serial entrepreneur, CEO and co-founder at Relogate, shares his multi-country relocation experience and practical advice on preparing for a move — evaluating your career track record, boosting recognition, and building long-term strategies so you can choose the right destination without regrets.
Q: Alexey, you are an immigration strategist. What does this entail?
A: When people think of an immigration specialist, they’re thinking of someone who helps you collect a predefined set of required documents needed to apply for a talent or business visa, and maybe submits those on behalf of a client.
An immigration strategist is something else entirely. You need an immigration strategist to help you understand which relocation path suits your current situation and future goals, and then create not only a strategy for how to apply through the chosen route, but also a long-term plan for how to work towards permanent residency and then, perhaps, citizenship. For example, I work with the whole cycle of relocation, from the idea, the intention to change location, job, or industry, to settling and achieving goals beyond the immediate change of countries.
Q: You’ve run and still do businesses across different countries. Did you yourself get help from immigration strategists?
A: I wish! When I first moved countries, such strategists didn’t exist. You had to look for a narrow field specialist for your specific request and they didn’t have this comprehensive knowledge of the global mobility industry that you could ask ‘is it the right path for me if I see myself doing this or that in 10 years?’ If you needed to open an education business in France you had to go to someone specializing in education businesses in France and they could not also advise you on what to do with your restaurant chain in Bulgaria, for example. It was very frustrating!
Q: So the idea of Relogate as a one-stop relocation service, bringing together immigration lawyers, tax consultants, and other experts to support the full relocation process, was born from this experience?
A: Absolutely. I wanted to create a service, a set of services that I wish I could have used when I needed it. And it has paid off. We work with many talented and highly successful business people whose goals are to enter new markets and start new ventures, and they often face a range of administrative, tax, and licensing challenges that I’m very glad we can help them solve. For this, we bring together niche experts. For instance, for the USA, we work closely with immigration attorneys on case strategy, petition preparation, and legal positioning, as it’s legally required.
Q: You are primarily working with relocation to France, the USA and Great Britain. Why is that?
A: That’s no coincidence, as these countries are leaders in technological ecosystem development. The United States is the largest VC market globally, accounting for roughly 80% of all global VC investment in Q1 2026, according to recent KPMG findings. The UK holds VC leadership in the European macro region, driven primarily by substantial investments in AI startups so far in 2026. France, meanwhile, has adopted a strategy to become a leading tech hub and startup nation within the EU.
Moreover, these countries reinforce their leadership by offering some of the most comprehensive and widely used immigration programs for talented entrepreneurs and highly skilled professionals. These are established frameworks with history. The US, for example, launched the EB-1 visa program in 1991, basically becoming a magnet for global talents. The UK introduced the Global Talent visa in 2020, replacing the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa, which had originally been launched in 2011. France launched the Passport Talent program in 2017 under President Emmanuel Macron. There are similar programs in other countries but they are not as transparent and don’t offer such straightforward routes to settle.
Q: With Relogate you’ve been working in these three markets for five years now. Any particular changes that you’ve noticed?
A: Well, I’d say the global mobility industry itself is constantly changing due to historical events. For example, in the beginning, France was issuing just dozens of startup and business visas per year, which was far less than the available annual quota was. With the increased demand, especially from Russian-speaking countries, that number jumped to hundreds. The UK has also seen a rise in the volume of applications for Global Talent visas, yet it was rather steady until late 2025. These are all public reports, by the way, but we’re definitely seeing the increased demand at Relogate as well.
Q: Has this increased volume of applications had any effect on the requirements?
A: That’s a tricky question. Officially — not significantly. Take the UK Global talent visa for example. They carefully document any changes to the guide publicly available and if you look at the recent year’s changes you won’t see any major changes, some wording here or there mostly.
Q: And unofficially?
A: I would have to say yes. But it’s only logical. The more high-quality applications there are, the higher the bar becomes. As I mentioned, the requirements for all of these programs are public. However, each individual case is still subject to review by an individual assessor. In the US, that’s USCIS; in the UK, it’s Tech Nation for the Digital Technology track; and in France — a consular officer. These assessors may review dozens of applications each month, and if the overall quality of applications is consistently high, that inevitably creates a higher subjective benchmark for approval. These are only speculations; these assessment bodies are unlikely to confirm. But we’re seeing it at Relogate as well. Cases that would have been quickly approved even last year now undergo much more detailed scrutiny, and sometimes we have to appeal initial decisions for our clients’ cases that are not in their favor. We’re constantly monitoring the situation and advising our clients accordingly.
Q: If someone is at the beginning of building their case and is looking to apply in a few years, what are the key areas they should prioritize today?
A: Every case is different and depends on the route you’ve chosen. You might think you need to start building your case, without realizing you may already have what it takes. For the French Renommé visa, for instance, you’d usually need significant professional recognition — not necessarily a Nobel Prize, but awards, medals, or notable achievements in areas like sports, culture, or science.
Q: Fair enough. But for those applicants who do not have such recognition … yet, what would you suggest?
A: For every route there are specific guidelines. For the UK Global Talent digital tech route, for example, you have to prove that you have led the growth of a product-led digital technology company, or a product or team inside a digital technology company. The guide hasn’t changed in that regard. But the strength of the case lies in the details. You need to build your case in a way that leaves the assessor with no doubt that you meet all your chosen criteria. It’s not enough to simply hold a senior position at, say, Meta. Your professional and out-of-work contribution, in very concrete detail, has to satisfy the criterion.
So, if you’re just starting to build your case, you need to identify what evidence of your achievements and your direct impact on the industry, company, or product you could include and start collecting it early. You also need to think about how you would demonstrate national or international recognition. This requires some work on your public profile. The guide doesn’t provide a list of conferences or events they consider eligible — unfortunately, they don’t want to make it that easy for us. But there is common sense: the larger the event and the higher the level of participants, the better.
Q: Do people often come to you at this early stage of their relocation process?
A: All the time. And rightfully so. I am an immigration strategist, after all. These early conversations are crucial to avoid wasting time and money on something that won’t truly help you achieve your life, career, or business goals. I’m also glad that more and more people are seeking immigration advice before making any concrete plans.
I have worked with ‘help me relocate wherever possible and as soon as possible’ requests, and the outcomes are often less fruitful than ‘help me understand which relocation path makes most sense given my current situation and future development.’ I’m happy to help either way, but it’s very encouraging to see more people approaching these decisions in a more strategic way.
Q: So, you see a growing market for immigration strategy and holistic relocation services?
A: The market is definitely there. It is quite fragmented, though. Immigration lawyers explain visa options, rights, and family implications, and they will get you the approval, but their job largely ends once you receive the visa or green card. For everything else such as company setup, taxes or choosing the right state you typically go to other specialists. Each player handles a piece of the puzzle, but very few offer a long-term, integrated approach.
Q: Like Relogate does.
A: Thank you for pointing that out. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment directly in that way. But yes, I do believe we stand somewhat apart with our in-house expertise across the full cycle of relocation. If a client only needs help with a specific part of the process, that’s absolutely fine, we can focus purely on preparing their case. But we also offer much more than that. We listen to our clients, understand their goals, and help them achieve those using all the resources available to us.