Country scorecard: how easy are official forms for newcomers?
We scored the official forms of 9 EU countries from 0 to 100 on four things: whether a form has an English version, whether it is fillable, whether you can type into it with a free PDF reader, and how well its fields are labelled. Highest score: Germany and Netherlands (66). Lowest: Belgium (0). The United States, shown for comparison, scores 88. Countries without a score (too few clear answers): 2.
A hand-picked sample of 148 forms, checked between October 11, 2026 and November 1, 2026. Not a census: the number of forms behind each figure is in the table, and a score describes these forms only.
The scorecard
One row per country, highest score first; the US is last. Under each figure: how many of the PDF forms it rests on have a clear answer. Unclear answers are counted as unknown, never as a pass or a fail. The wider study of the same forms is the immigrant forms study.
| Country | Score (0-100, higher is better) | Only in the local language (lower is better) | Fillable PDF (higher is better) | Typable in a free PDF reader (higher is better) | Label quality (higher is better) | Online only (forms, not scored) | Forms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 664 of 4 criteria scored | 100%12 of 12 clear | 100%12 of 12 clear | 100%10 of 12 clear | 81%8 of 12 clear | 0 | 1412 PDFs |
| Netherlands | 664 of 4 criteria scored | 64%14 of 14 clear | 71%14 of 14 clear | 71%14 of 14 clear | 100%10 of 14 clear | 1 | 1514 PDFs |
| Spain | 624 of 4 criteria scored | 100%14 of 14 clear | 93%14 of 14 clear | 90%10 of 14 clear | 80%10 of 14 clear | 1 | 1514 PDFs |
| Portugal | 363 of 4 criteria scored | 76%21 of 22 clear | 46%22 of 22 clear | 40%10 of 22 clear | Unknown4 of 22 clear | 0 | 2222 PDFs |
| France | 344 of 4 criteria scored | 100%13 of 13 clear | 54%13 of 13 clear | 50%10 of 13 clear | 40%5 of 13 clear | 1 | 1413 PDFs |
| Italy | 73 of 4 criteria scored | 100%9 of 9 clear | 11%9 of 9 clear | 11%9 of 9 clear | Unknown1 of 9 clear | 4 | 139 PDFs |
| Belgium | 03 of 4 criteria scored | 100%6 of 6 clear | 0%6 of 6 clear | 0%6 of 6 clear | Unknown3 of 6 clear | 0 | 66 PDFs |
| Austria | No score0 of 4 criteria scored | Unknown3 of 3 clear | Unknown3 of 3 clear | Unknown3 of 3 clear | Unknown3 of 3 clear | 1 | 63 PDFs |
| Ireland | No score2 of 4 criteria scored | Not applicableEnglish is the local language | 14%7 of 7 clear | 14%7 of 7 clear | Unknown4 of 7 clear | 0 | 77 PDFs |
| United StatesFor comparison | 883 of 4 criteria scored | Not applicableEnglish is the local language | 91%32 of 32 clear | 91%32 of 32 clear | 83%26 of 32 clear | 2 | 3632 PDFs |
How the score works
- Data: the 148 forms of the immigrant forms study, taken from the websites of the authorities that issue them and checked between October 11, 2026 and November 1, 2026. Only PDF forms are scored; online-only forms and forms we could not download count as forms but not as PDFs.
- Only in the local language (30 points): the share of PDF forms with no English version. English on the form itself, as in bilingual forms, counts as a version. This does not apply to Ireland and the United States, where English is the local language.
- Fillable PDF (25 points): the share of PDF forms with fields you can type into. Flat forms (a picture of a form), scans and dynamic XFA forms do not count.
- Typable in a free PDF reader (25 points): the share of PDF forms whose fields we could type into with a free PDF reader, not only Adobe Acrobat.
- Label quality (20 points): the labels of a form's fields were rated good, partial or poor. Good counts 1, partial 0.5, poor 0. Forms with no fields to rate are unknown.
- Score: each criterion's share, multiplied by its points, added up, divided by the points of the criteria that could be scored, times 100. A score of 100 would mean English on every form and every form fillable, typable and clearly labelled.
- A criterion needs at least 5 forms with a clear answer, and a country needs at least 3 scored criteria; otherwise the table shows Unknown or No score. The weights are our judgement: language weighs most because it is the first barrier for newcomers. Other weights could reorder countries with close scores.
- Online alternative: the table counts online-only forms but does not score them. We cannot tell from the forms whether an online service is easier or harder than a PDF, so it would not be a fair pass or fail.
- This is a hand-picked sample, not a census. A score describes these forms, not a country's administration or its people, and a handful of forms can move a small country a lot: read the numbers under each figure.
What is unknown or left out
- PDF forms with no answer on typing in a free reader (it was not recorded for them): 21 of 132.
- PDF forms with no label rating (flat forms have no fields to rate, and some others were not rated): 58 of 132.
- PDF forms whose language we could not read (no text layer): 1. They are left out of the language figure.
- Left out of the study altogether: 8 entries (index pages, portals, duplicates, paper kits and entries we could not verify).
- Every unknown is shown as unknown. None is counted as a pass or a fail, and none is filled in with a guess.
Reuse and cite
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit to Formamigo.
Cite this: Formamigo (2026). Country scorecard: how easy are official forms for newcomers? https://formamigo.com/en/research/country-scorecard
Download the scorecard (CSV)Download the 148 forms (CSV)
Behind the scorecard: the immigrant forms study lists every form with its type and language. Want to fill one in? Upload it here.