Bhutan or Iraq
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
| Bhutan | Iraq | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 20 years | — |
| Partner can work | no | — |
| Parents | no | — |
| Pets | difficult | no trouble |
| Pet limit | no limit | no limit |
| Quarantine | 20 days | no |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 196 · estimate | $ 608 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 16,2 | $ 18,0 |
| Life expectancy | 73.26 | 72.42 |
| Homicides/100k | 2.47 | 9.46 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 2.8 | 5.7 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Bhutan — 13, Iraq — 29. Types present in both: work, study, family, investment and talent. The set of types is identical — the difference is in how many routes there are and on what terms, not in the types themselves.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Bhutan: the fee is 40 USD wherever it is published. Routes with a published decision deadline: 8; the shortest is 5 days. Iraq: the fee is 100,000 IQD wherever it is published. Routes with a published decision deadline: 3; the shortest is 1 days.
Beyond the first permit
Citizenship: Bhutan after 20 years; the other country publishes no term.
Bhutan in brief
Bhutan is the most closed case for long-term relocation in this guide. Grounds for staying are limited to a narrow list: a tourist visa through a licensed tour operator with a mandatory daily Sustainable Development Fee (US$100 per day plus a one-off US$40 visa fee for most foreigners; a separate "entry permit"/visa-on-arrival arrangement with a reduced fee applies to citizens of India, Bangladesh and the Maldives), work permits tied rigidly to a specific employer and position (up to one year for skilled workers, up to three years for highly skilled workers), and student and business visas. There is no separate permanent resident status between a temporary permit and citizenship. Naturalisation is governed by the Bhutan Citizenship Act 1985: 15 years of residence for those with a Bhutanese parent or for civil servants, 20 years in all other cases, plus an exam in the Dzongkha language and knowledge of the country's culture; the government expressly retains the right to reject an application without giving reasons. Dual citizenship is not permitted — acquiring another citizenship automatically terminates Bhutanese citizenship. Marriage to a Bhutanese citizen gives the foreign spouse a residence status (Special Residence Permit or Immigration Card depending on the date of marriage) but does not speed up naturalisation. Land and real estate are reserved by the Land Act of Bhutan 2007 for citizens, the institution of the monarchy, the state and recognised Bhutanese organisations — foreigners, including spouses of Bhutanese citizens, are not on this list and may only rent housing. The country lies in a zone of high seismic hazard in the Himalayas.
Iraq in brief
Iraq scores very low on governance and very high on water-related hazards. On the World Bank scale, which runs roughly from −2.5 to +2.5, political stability is −2.06 — eighth from the bottom among the 173 countries with data — rule of law is −1.36, control of corruption −1.21, and government effectiveness −1.10. Life expectancy is 72.42 years, health spending 333.29 dollars per person per year, basic water access reaches 98.41 percent of the population, and the mean PM2.5 concentration is 49.47 micrograms per cubic metre. Road deaths run at 21.5 per 100,000. Unemployment is 15.48 percent, and 32.01 percent among young people. Overall natural hazard is 5.7 out of 10 on INFORM: flooding 9.6, drought 7.5, earthquakes 5.1, coastal hazards 4.6, with no cyclone or tsunami exposure at all. The immigration framework is published as Law No. 76 of 2017 and was translated into English by the Ministry of Justice itself. One feature defines it: **there is no permanent status in the country**. An ordinary residence card is issued for no more than one year and renewed year by year as many times as the grounds persist; the maximum is a three-year renewable card, granted only on six enumerated grounds, among them 15 years of continuous residence, six years under a contract with the government, scientific and cultural service, study at a religious seminary, and business or investment. Marriage to a citizen leads to that same three-year card, not to a separate family status. There are eleven visa categories, each with precise periods, and two of them — visiting and tourist — expressly forbid working anywhere in the country, whether paid or unpaid. Duties fall on the receiving side too, on short clocks: an employer notifies the authority within 48 hours of hiring a worker and of that worker's departure, a hotel within two days of arrival and departure, and whoever brings a foreigner in to work must post financial guarantees or a return ticket. What is not in this data: the law sets no standard for deciding an application — it fixes only the appeal periods (15 days to object, 30 to answer) and counts the waiting time as legitimate residence. City populations are not given: no official source separating the city from the governorate could be found.
Other comparisons
Bhutan or… Taiwan · South Korea · Japan · Thailand · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Uzbekistan · Malaysia
Iraq or… Azerbaijan · Philippines · Bangladesh · Kuwait · Mongolia · Oman · People's Republic of China · Sri Lanka
More on each: Bhutan · Iraq. 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.