In short: of the 97 countries we track, 36 require the local language neither for a residence permit nor for permanent residence: it may come up only when you apply for citizenship. In Europe these include Spain, Serbia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria and Sweden. Another 9 countries are English-speaking, where you need English. In 21 countries you will need the language for permanent residence, and in 9, including France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland, already for the residence permit or its renewal.
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The local language may be checked only when you apply for citizenship, and in some places not even then. Under each country's name you can see when permanent residence becomes available. Within each group, countries are in alphabetical order.
You will not need to learn a new language, but the main language here is English: it is checked for the visa, for permanent residence or for citizenship.
You can live and work on a residence permit without the language, but permanent status requires an exam, most often at A2-B1 level.
The language, a mandatory integration course or an exam is required for the first permit or at renewal.
You can live and work without the language, but an ordinary newcomer has no permanent status here or it is practically closed: your residence stays temporary.
As of our check on 1 October 2026, 36 of 97 countries require the language neither for a residence permit nor for permanent residence. They include Spain, Serbia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Sweden, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Japan and Taiwan. You will need the language only if you want citizenship.
Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Romania, Serbia, Spain and Sweden. Germany grants residence without an exam, but permanent residence after 3 years requires A2 German; Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania and Latvia (A2), Poland and Estonia (B1) work the same way.
France requires an integration programme with up to 600 hours of French, and a multi-year card needs A2 and a civic exam. In Italy you sign an integration agreement with the first permit and need A2 Italian within 2-3 years; in Austria you need A1 German before the first card and A2 within 2 years. Integration counts at renewals in Switzerland and Malta; Czechia requires an 8-hour adaptation course in the first year, and Croatia is introducing an exam at renewal from around June 2027.
Almost nowhere. Ireland and Barbados have neither a language exam nor a test about the country; Chile, El Salvador and Rwanda grant citizenship without a language exam, and in Argentina a judge assesses your language at an interview. Most countries require A2-B1 for citizenship, France B2.
There are 9 English-speaking countries on our list: the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, the Bahamas and Belize. The UK requires B1 English for permanent residence (B2 from 26 March 2027), Australia requires a language test for the visa itself, and Canada and the US check English when you apply for citizenship. In Singapore, the Philippines and Mauritius you can also deal with public services and exams in English or face no language exam.
In the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain you can live and work without Arabic, but there is no permanent status for years lived. The same goes for China, Vietnam, Israel, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Cyprus: no one asks about the language, but your residence stays temporary.
For all 97 countries in our ranking we checked at which stage the state requires the local language: for a residence permit and renewals (including mandatory integration courses), for permanent residence, or only for citizenship. Sources: the published country pages and the permanent residence, integration and naturalisation lines in the ranking's index cards. English-speaking countries are listed separately: you will not need a new language there, but English is checked. We look only at state requirements; the language you need for work or daily life is not part of this list. Times to permanent residence and citizenship are covered in our separate lists.
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.