Brunei or Kyrgyzstan
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 | Kyrgyzstan | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 20 years | 5 years |
| Partner can work | no | — |
| Parents | — | — |
| Pets | no trouble | no trouble |
| Pet limit | no limit | 2 |
| Quarantine | no | no |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 946 · estimate | $ 674 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 31,6 | $ 19,5 |
| Life expectancy | 75.5 | 72.4 |
| Homicides/100k | 0.49 | 1.75 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 2.8 | 3.9 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Brunei — 19, Kyrgyzstan — 17. Types present in both: work, family, investment and repatriation. Brunei adds: talent. Kyrgyzstan adds: remote work and study.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Brunei: the fee is 50 BND wherever it is published. Kyrgyzstan: every route that publishes a fee charges nothing. Routes with a published decision deadline: 15; the shortest is 7 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: Kyrgyzstan after 5 years; the other country publishes no term. Citizenship: Brunei after 20 years, Kyrgyzstan after 5 years. Kyrgyzstan allows a second citizenship, Brunei does not.
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).
Kyrgyzstan in brief
On the sum of its formal conditions, Kyrgyzstan is the most accessible way into Central Asia. Five years of lawful residence give permanent residence, five more open the way to citizenship, and the law's language requirement can be met in Russian: it holds official-language status, which is rare among post-Soviet states. Dual citizenship is allowed, but article 22 attaches three caveats: an international treaty is needed, it is not recognised for citizens of neighbouring states, and a holder of two passports may not be president, a member of parliament or a judge. Membership of the Eurasian Economic Union removes the work permit for citizens of the union and extends the union's pet import rules — up to two animals with no permit and no quarantine. Held back by control of corruption at −1.14, seismicity of 7.7 out of 10, winter smog in the Chuy valley, and skilled work concentrated almost entirely in Bishkek.
Other comparisons
Brunei or… Taiwan · South Korea · Japan · Thailand · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Uzbekistan · Malaysia
Kyrgyzstan or… Azerbaijan · Philippines · Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · Oman · People's Republic of China
More on each: Brunei · Kyrgyzstan. 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.