Bhutan or Pakistan
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 | Pakistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 20 years | — |
| Partner can work | no | — |
| Parents | no | — |
| Pets | difficult | difficult |
| Pet limit | no limit | no limit |
| Quarantine | 20 days | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 196 · estimate | $ 145 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 16,2 | $ 14,8 |
| Life expectancy | 73.26 | 67.8 |
| Homicides/100k | 2.47 | 4.33 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 2.8 | 7.4 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Bhutan — 13, Pakistan — 22. Types present in both: work, study, family and investment. Bhutan adds: talent. Pakistan adds: repatriation.
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. Pakistan: fees range from 200 to 400 PKR. Routes with no fee: 1. Routes with a published decision deadline: 9; the shortest is 1 days.
Beyond the first permit
Citizenship: Bhutan after 20 years; the other country publishes no term. Pakistan allows a second citizenship, Bhutan does not.
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.
Pakistan in brief
Pakistan is the world's fifth most populous country, with English-language official paperwork and a visible IT outsourcing industry in Karachi and Lahore. The work route has two steps: a mission abroad issues an entry work visa for three months — within 48 hours under the service's own rules and without security clearance — while an extension of up to two years with multiple entries is decided by the Ministry of Interior, where clearance is mandatory, as is a recommendation from the Board of Investment. The visa policy sets out a rule rare for the region: if the agencies do not answer within 30 days, the case counts as approved. The visa is issued to the worker and the family at once. The directorate describes no permanent residence for an ordinary foreigner: a long stay rests on renewing the visa. Citizenship is available on a closed list of grounds, and the list is asymmetric by sex — a foreign woman married to a Pakistani man is on it, a foreign man married to a Pakistani woman is not. Bringing in cats and dogs requires a prior permit from the agriculture ministry, while antibody titration is not needed. The background in figures: life expectancy 67.8 years (World Bank, 2024), homicides 4.33 per 100,000 (UNODC, 2024), average PM2.5 concentration 58.4 µg/m³ — almost twelve times the WHO guideline (World Bank, 2023). INFORM rates natural risks at 7.4 out of 10, with floods at 9.5 and earthquakes at 9.2 — among the highest values in the world.
Other comparisons
Bhutan or… Taiwan · South Korea · Japan · Thailand · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Uzbekistan · Malaysia
Pakistan or… Azerbaijan · Philippines · Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · Oman · People's Republic of China
More on each: Bhutan · Pakistan. 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.