In short: of the 97 countries we track, 20 let you get permanent residence after 3 years in the country or sooner, 4 of them in Europe: Serbia, Germany, Norway and Hungary. Uruguay and Canada (through Express Entry selection) grant it straight away. Most EU countries grant permanent residence after 5 years, often with language and income requirements. In 23 countries, including all the Gulf states, there is no permanent residence or it is practically closed.
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The time from your first residence permit on the country's main route, without marriage, descent or investment. Within each group, countries are in alphabetical order; the exact term and conditions are on each card.
Most EU countries are here: long-term resident status comes after 5 years of legal residence, often with A2-B1 language and proof of income.
The long road: Japan, Switzerland, Rwanda and Georgia take 10 years as a general rule.
The law names a short term, but there is a quota, the decision is entirely at the agency's discretion, there is a queue of years, or the route is open only to citizens of certain countries.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain grant no permanent status for years lived; Qatar grants it after 20 years and to 100 people a year. In Cyprus work permits are issued for 4 years at most, so an employee cannot build up the 5 years needed. In China, Vietnam, Israel, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and the other countries on this list, permanent residence is practically closed to an ordinary newcomer. Details are on each country page.
As of our check on 1 October 2026, Uruguay (the decision takes 12-24 months, but a temporary ID is issued at once) and Canada (Express Entry selects by points straight to permanent residence) grant it immediately. In about a year: Kazakhstan (a pilot running to the end of 2026, in settlement regions), Belize and New Zealand (with a master's degree). Ecuador after 21 months; Brazil, Australia, Chile and Paraguay after 2 years.
In 3 years: Serbia (no language exam), Germany (for skilled workers with A2 German, or 21-27 months with an EU Blue Card), Norway (with exams in A2 Norwegian and social studies, though the decision itself takes about 24 months) and Hungary. Most other EU countries grant long-term resident status after 5 years.
There is no language exam for permanent residence in, for example, Serbia, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Mexico, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, Ireland and Luxembourg. Language is required in Germany and Norway (A2), Italy, Portugal, Czechia, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia (A2), France, Poland and Estonia (B1), the Netherlands (an integration exam) and the UK (B1 English).
Often not. They do not count in Croatia, Estonia, Malta, Colombia, Indonesia and Costa Rica; in Argentina the nomad visa does not lead to permanent residence, and in Brazil you have to switch to another basis. If permanent residence is the goal, choose a residence permit that counts.
Serbia cut the term from 5 years to 3. Mauritius raised it from 3 to 5 years in 2025, and Finland from 4 to 6 years from 8 January 2026. Slovakia since July 2025 and Slovenia since November 2024 require A2 language for permanent residence. In Latvia, under the law of 15 September 2026, permanent status is no longer granted straight away. The UK is preparing a 10-year baseline instead of 5.
Yes. In Ecuador it lapses after 2 years of continuous absence, in Ghana after 12 months outside the country, and in Armenia from 1 November 2026 status is revoked for more than 183 days abroad in a year. In Japan, from April 2027, permanent residence can be revoked for tax and contribution debts, and in Switzerland a C permit can be downgraded to B.
For all 97 countries in our ranking we took the time to permanent residence: after how many years from the first residence permit a foreigner on the country's main route gets permanent residence or long-term resident status. Sources: the published country pages and the permanent residence and integration lines in the ranking's index cards. We do not count marriage, descent or investment; points programmes with fast permanent residence (Japan, South Korea, Australia) are mentioned on the cards, and in Canada points-based selection is the main route. Where the term depends on practice, we take the lower bound from the sources and put the realistic term on the card. The time to apply is not the time to a decision: processing takes from a few weeks to two years. Times to citizenship are in our separate list.
The list is built from the index cards of the 97 countries in our ranking and the country pages, where every fact has a source. Checked 01/10/2026.