Brunei or Indonesia
Two countries side by side across the same rows as the full comparison. A dash means the value is missing: fields are not filled with guesses. about the data
| Brunei | Indonesia | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 20 years | 5 years |
| Partner can work | no | — |
| Parents | — | — |
| Pets | no trouble | difficult |
| Pet limit | no limit | no limit |
| Quarantine | no | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 946 · estimate | $ 447 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 31,6 | $ 21,0 |
| Life expectancy | 75.5 | 71.29 |
| Homicides/100k | 0.49 | 0.41 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 2.8 | 7.4 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Brunei — 19, Indonesia — 22. Types present in both: work, family, investment and repatriation. Brunei adds: talent. Indonesia adds: remote work, study, retirement and working holiday.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Brunei: the fee is 50 BND wherever it is published. Indonesia: fees range from 6,000,000 to 19,500,000 IDR. Routes stating an income threshold: 3; the lowest is 3,000 USD a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 21; the shortest is 5 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: Indonesia after 3 years; the other country publishes no term. Citizenship: Brunei after 20 years, Indonesia after 5 years. Neither recognises a second citizenship.
Brunei in brief
Brunei is an oil-and-gas monarchy on the island of Borneo with one of the most closed long-term entry regimes in the world. The grounds for working residence are the Employment Pass, rigidly tied to a specific employer and requiring the employer to hold a Foreign Workers Licence from the Department of Labour, the Professional Visit Pass for select categories of experts, the Dependant's Pass for family members, and the Student's Pass. For none of these categories does the immigration service's official website publish processing times. There is no separate permanent residence status with a published number of years: the closest analogue, the Entry Permit, is granted at the discretion of the Controller of Immigration without an objective criterion. Naturalisation is governed by the Brunei Nationality Act (Cap. 15): 20 years of residence in the country out of the preceding 25 years, an oral exam in Malay before the Language Board, and a decision made entirely at the Sultan's discretion; time spent in the country on temporary passes (including work passes) does not count toward this period unless the Sultan directs otherwise. Dual citizenship is not permitted. There is no personal income tax — the Income Tax Act taxes only the income of legal entities. The country's economy rests on the extraction and export of oil and natural gas. Since 2014 the Syariah Penal Code Order, 2013 has been phased in and is in force; under the code's direct provision (s. 3(1)) it applies to both Muslims and non-Muslims unless expressly stated otherwise, and it includes hudud and qisas categories of offences. The sale of alcohol is banned throughout the country (Excise Order, 2006, s. 73).
Indonesia in brief
The world's largest archipelago: more than 17,000 islands, with most of the population concentrated on Java, home to Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung; a separate pole of attraction is the island of Bali, with its administrative centre in Denpasar. The equatorial climate keeps the average temperature around 26–28°C all year; the difference between seasons lies in rainfall, not temperature. The cost of living is low by international standards: a basic food basket costs around $21, rent for a one-room apartment in the centre of cities on Java and Sumatra runs from €150 to €280 a month, and noticeably higher on Bali because of tourist demand. The visa system is not built as a single points system but as a closed list of about fifteen ITAS categories (employee, investor, religious worker, “second home”, family reunification, foreign pensioner), each with its own requirements. Permanent residence (ITAP) is available for most of these categories after 3 years of continuous residence on ITAS; for the spouse of an Indonesian citizen a faster route applies — from 2 years of marriage. Dual citizenship is not allowed, and naturalisation requires renouncing the previous citizenship. The country lies in the seismically active zone of the Pacific Ring of Fire: earthquake and tsunami risks are rated among the highest in the world. Dogs and cats can be brought into the country via Jakarta, but Bali province, under a 2008 regional act, bans the direct import and export of dogs, cats and monkeys to and from the island, maintaining its rabies-free status.
Other comparisons
Brunei or… Taiwan · South Korea · Japan · Thailand · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Uzbekistan · Malaysia
Indonesia or… Azerbaijan · Philippines · Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · Oman · People's Republic of China
More on each: Brunei · Indonesia. Build your own comparison — up to four countries
This material is for reference and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Visa rules, tax thresholds and prices change. Before deciding anything, check the official sources and consult a licensed professional in the relevant country.