Botswana or Tanzania
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
| Botswana | Tanzania | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 10 years | 8 years |
| Partner can work | no | no |
| Parents | — | — |
| Pets | no trouble | no trouble |
| Pet limit | no limit | no limit |
| Quarantine | no | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 360 · estimate | $ 729 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 21,0 | $ 23,0 |
| Life expectancy | 69.29 | 67.21 |
| Homicides/100k | 12.98 | 3.3 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 2.2 | 4.1 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Botswana — 14, Tanzania — 28. Types present in both: work, study, family and investment. Tanzania adds: talent and retirement.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Botswana: fees range from 1,500 to 3,000 BWP. Routes with a published decision deadline: 13; the shortest is 7 days. Tanzania: fees range from 100 to 3,000 USD. Routes with no fee: 2. Routes stating an income threshold: 1; the lowest is 100,000 USD a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 24; the shortest is 5 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: Botswana after 5 years; the other country publishes no term. Citizenship: Botswana after 10 years, Tanzania after 8 years. Neither recognises a second citizenship.
Botswana in brief
Botswana regulates labour and permanent migration through the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs): the official categories are the Work Permit (14 working days to process), the Residence Permit (30 working days), the Exemption Certificate, which exempts certain categories of foreigners from the Work Permit requirement (7 working days), and the Permanent Residence Permit, which requires a minimum of 5 years of continuous lawful residence — except for the investor category, to which this threshold does not apply; the official page gives the processing time both as "56 working days" and as "about six months". Ordinary naturalisation requires at least 10 years of residence in total and the last 12 months continuously before applying, and concludes with a mandatory renunciation of foreign citizenship; for spouses of Botswana citizens the threshold is reduced to 5 years of residence within the marriage. Dual citizenship is preserved without restriction only for those who acquired it by birth or by descent; those who acquire Botswana citizenship by registration, naturalisation or marriage must renounce their foreign citizenship, while citizens by birth/descent who simultaneously hold foreign citizenship must choose a single citizenship by age 21 or automatically lose Botswana citizenship. The import of dogs and cats is handled by the Department of Veterinary Services as an import permit: a valid rabies vaccination certificate and an inspection of the animal before the permit is issued are required — quarantine and rabies antibody titration are not among the listed requirements, and the permit is issued within 1 working day. The country's economy has historically relied on diamond mining and exports: in May 2026 diamonds accounted for 59.0% of all merchandise exports (Statistics Botswana). Access to basic water supply covers 91.77% of the population (World Bank, 2024), and the INFORM drought risk indicator is 5.4 out of 10 (2026). HIV prevalence among adults aged 15–49 is 15.7% (WHO, Global Health Observatory, 2024) — one of the highest rates in the world and a significant factor when planning health insurance and access to treatment.
Tanzania in brief
Tanzania splits the right to reside in the country and the right to work between two authorities: the Immigration Service issues residence permits in three classes (A — investors and the self-employed, B — employees under a specific job offer, C — other grounds) under the Immigration Act, 1995, while the Labour Commissioner under the ministry responsible for employment issues a separate work permit in one of five classes (A–E, for investors, holders of in-demand professions, other professions, religious/charitable activity, and refugees) under the Non-Citizens (Employment Regulation) Act, 2015; legal paid employment requires both documents at once. Residence permits are capped by default at five years total (three years plus a renewal of up to two), and no separate permanent-residence status has been established between this term and citizenship — the only exception found covers a narrow category of major investors after 10 years of residence. Naturalisation requires practically 8 years of residence (the year immediately before filing plus at least 7 of the preceding 10 years), knowledge of Swahili or English, and renunciation of prior citizenship: dual citizenship is not permitted by law. Zanzibar is an autonomous part of the Union Republic: the law explicitly provides for additional entry and residence rules there, set with the consent of the President of Zanzibar, separate from the mainland's. The guide's five cities reflect both the largest population centres (Dar es Salaam — the country's commercial and technology centre, Mwanza — the second-largest city on Lake Victoria), the official capital, Dodoma, and two key inbound tourism destinations — Arusha (the gateway to the Serengeti and Kilimanjaro) and Zanzibar City with Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Other comparisons
Botswana or… Nigeria · Rwanda · Tunisia · Algeria · Kenya · South Africa · Angola · Gabon
Tanzania or… Madagascar · Sierra Leone · Uganda · Zambia · Eswatini · Lesotho · Mozambique · Republic of the Congo
More on each: Botswana · Tanzania. 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.