← Residency Bureaucracy

Residence Permit Ease

How straightforward it is for a foreign national to obtain a long-term residence permit (score 0–100), based on OECD MIPEX and independent assessment. High scores reflect transparent processes, reasonable income requirements, short waiting times, and a clear path to permanent residency. Countries like Georgia (1-year permit in days), Panama (Friendly Nations Visa), and Portugal (D7/D8) score highly. Countries with bureaucratic opacity, political gatekeeping, or de-facto bans on foreign residency score very low.

#↑ Country↕ Raw Value↕ Score↕
1 Georgia85 85 85
2 Seychelles75 75 75
2 Rwanda75 75 75
2 Barbados75 75 75
5 Estonia72 72 72
5 Malta72 72 72
5 Uruguay72 72 72
5 Mauritius72 72 72
5 Portugal72 72 72
5 Costa Rica72 72 72
11 Australia70 70 70
11 Canada70 70 70
11 Cape Verde70 70 70
11 New Zealand70 70 70
15 Ireland68 68 68
15 Finland68 68 68
15 Denmark68 68 68
15 Sweden68 68 68
15 Norway68 68 68
15 Germany68 68 68
15 Netherlands68 68 68
15 Liechtenstein68 68 68
15 Austria68 68 68
15 Switzerland68 68 68
15 Panama68 68 68
15 Iceland68 68 68
15 Chile68 68 68
28 England65 65 65
28 Wales65 65 65
28 Latvia65 65 65
28 Northern Ireland65 65 65
28 Scotland65 65 65
28 Lithuania65 65 65
28 Maldives65 65 65
28 Belgium65 65 65
28 Luxembourg65 65 65
28 Czech Republic65 65 65
28 Botswana65 65 65
28 Poland65 65 65
28 Thailand65 65 65
28 Korea Republic65 65 65
28 San Marino65 65 65
28 Spain65 65 65
28 Belize65 65 65
28 São Tomé and Príncipe65 65 65
28 Mexico65 65 65
28 Slovenia65 65 65
28 Samoa65 65 65
28 Croatia65 65 65
28 Antigua and Barbuda65 65 65
28 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines65 65 65
28 Grenada65 65 65
28 Saint Lucia65 65 65
28 Fiji65 65 65
28 Saint Kitts and Nevis65 65 65
28 Chinese Taipei65 65 65
28 Dominica65 65 65
28 Japan65 65 65
28 Vanuatu65 65 65
60 Singapore62 62 62
60 Faroe Islands62 62 62
60 Slovakia62 62 62
60 France62 62 62
60 Cyprus62 62 62
60 Montenegro62 62 62
60 Italy62 62 62
67 Ghana60 60 60
67 United States60 60 60
67 Madagascar60 60 60
67 Senegal60 60 60
67 Namibia60 60 60
67 Cambodia60 60 60
67 Guyana60 60 60
67 Paraguay60 60 60
67 Monaco60 60 60
67 United Arab Emirates60 60 60
67 Ukraine60 60 60
67 Bahamas60 60 60
67 Malaysia60 60 60
67 Gibraltar60 60 60
67 Mongolia60 60 60
67 North Macedonia60 60 60
67 Serbia60 60 60
67 Cook Islands60 60 60
67 Israel60 60 60
67 Niue60 60 60
67 Colombia60 60 60
67 Armenia60 60 60
67 Peru60 60 60
67 Ecuador60 60 60
67 Greece60 60 60
92 Bermuda58 58 58
92 Hungary58 58 58
92 Cayman Islands58 58 58
92 Bulgaria58 58 58
92 Romania58 58 58
97 Gambia55 55 55
97 Benin55 55 55
97 French Guiana55 55 55
97 Suriname55 55 55
97 Hong Kong55 55 55
97 Laos55 55 55
97 Qatar55 55 55
97 South Africa55 55 55
97 Aruba55 55 55
97 Zambia55 55 55
97 Curacao55 55 55
97 Zanzibar55 55 55
97 Bahrain55 55 55
97 Uganda55 55 55
97 Tuvalu55 55 55
97 Andorra55 55 55
97 Tanzania55 55 55
97 Kazakhstan55 55 55
97 Kenya55 55 55
97 Turks and Caicos Islands55 55 55
97 Kiribati55 55 55
97 Jordan55 55 55
97 Moldova55 55 55
97 Argentina55 55 55
97 Réunion55 55 55
97 Trinidad and Tobago55 55 55
97 Malawi55 55 55
97 Palau55 55 55
97 Anguilla55 55 55
97 British Virgin Islands55 55 55
97 Sint Maarten55 55 55
97 Saint-Martin55 55 55
97 Jamaica55 55 55
97 Dominican Republic55 55 55
97 Micronesia55 55 55
97 Montserrat55 55 55
97 Albania55 55 55
97 Kyrgyzstan55 55 55
97 Timor-Leste55 55 55
97 Tonga55 55 55
97 Martinique55 55 55
97 Guadeloupe55 55 55
97 Indonesia55 55 55
97 El Salvador55 55 55
97 Philippines55 55 55
142 Kosovo50 50 50
142 Ivory Coast50 50 50
142 Togo50 50 50
142 Brazil50 50 50
142 Macau50 50 50
142 Lesotho50 50 50
142 Swaziland50 50 50
142 Saint Pierre and Miquelon50 50 50
142 Nauru50 50 50
142 Sri Lanka50 50 50
142 Marshall Islands50 50 50
142 Tunisia50 50 50
142 Oman50 50 50
142 Vietnam50 50 50
142 Mozambique50 50 50
142 Tahiti50 50 50
142 Honduras50 50 50
142 Bolivia50 50 50
142 U.S. Virgin Islands50 50 50
142 Bosnia and Herzegovina50 50 50
142 Puerto Rico50 50 50
142 Mayotte50 50 50
142 Turkey50 50 50
142 Northern Mariana Islands50 50 50
142 New Caledonia50 50 50
142 Guatemala50 50 50
142 Solomon Islands50 50 50
169 Liberia45 45 45
169 Sierra Leone45 45 45
169 Brunei45 45 45
169 Uzbekistan45 45 45
169 Morocco45 45 45
169 Comoros45 45 45
169 Wallis and Futuna45 45 45
169 Guam45 45 45
169 Nicaragua45 45 45
169 Bhutan45 45 45
169 Nepal45 45 45
180 Burkina Faso40 40 40
180 Mauritania40 40 40
180 Gabon40 40 40
180 Saudi Arabia40 40 40
180 India40 40 40
180 Ethiopia40 40 40
180 American Samoa40 40 40
180 Azerbaijan40 40 40
180 Djibouti40 40 40
180 Papua New Guinea40 40 40
190 Mali35 35 35
190 Nigeria35 35 35
190 Niger35 35 35
190 Zimbabwe35 35 35
190 Kuwait35 35 35
190 Cameroon35 35 35
190 Egypt35 35 35
190 Bangladesh35 35 35
190 Algeria35 35 35
190 Tajikistan35 35 35
200 Belarus30 30 30
200 Guinea-Bissau30 30 30
200 Guinea30 30 30
200 Russia30 30 30
200 Burundi30 30 30
200 Lebanon30 30 30
200 Pakistan30 30 30
207 Angola25 25 26
207 Congo25 25 26
207 China25 25 26
207 Venezuela25 25 26
207 Myanmar25 25 26
207 Haiti25 25 26
213 Chad20 20 21
213 Equatorial Guinea20 20 21
213 Central African Republic20 20 21
213 Congo DR20 20 21
213 Sudan20 20 21
213 Libya20 20 21
213 Iraq20 20 21
213 Cuba20 20 21
213 Palestine20 20 21
213 Iran20 20 21
223 Yemen15 15 16
223 Syria15 15 16
223 Western Sahara15 15 16
223 Turkmenistan15 15 16
223 Eritrea15 15 16
228 South Sudan10 10 11
228 Somalia10 10 11
228 Afghanistan10 10 11
231 Korea DPR5 5 6