Belarus or Iceland
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
| Belarus | Iceland | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 5 years | 7 years |
| Partner can work | — | yes |
| Parents | doable | doable |
| Pets | no trouble | difficult |
| Pet limit | 2 | no limit |
| Quarantine | no | 14 days |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 750 · estimate | $ 2 640 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 20,1 | $ 70,5 |
| Life expectancy | 74.37 | 82.81 |
| Homicides/100k | 1.53 | 2.03 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 1.9 | 2.5 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Belarus — 55, Iceland — 41. Types present in both: work, study and family. Belarus adds: investment, talent and repatriation. Iceland adds: job seeking and working holiday.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Belarus: fees range from 20 to 105 EUR. Routes with no fee: 5. Routes with a published decision deadline: 51; the shortest is 5 days. Iceland: fees range from 8,000 to 120,000 ISK. Routes stating an income threshold: 20; the lowest is 259,951 ISK a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 22; the shortest is 14 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: Belarus after 5 years, Iceland after 4 years. Citizenship: Belarus after 5 years, Iceland after 7 years.
Belarus in brief
Belarus is a country with two state languages (Belarusian and Russian) and a multi-tier system of residence permits: a temporary residence permit (разрешение на временное проживание) is issued on specific grounds (study, marriage or close kinship, employment, and others) usually for up to 1 year, while a permanent residence permit (разрешение на постоянное проживание) is separate and typically follows 5 years of continuous residence under a temporary residence permit (3 years for highly qualified workers). To take up employment, a foreigner without a permanent residence permit generally needs a special work permit (специальное разрешение на право занятия трудовой деятельностью) issued for a specific employer; exceptions are citizens of EAEU member states (who work without such a permit) and foreign employees of High Technologies Park (Парк высоких технологий) residents (who also do not need a work permit, and whose residence permit is issued for the term of the employment contract). Admission to citizenship of the Republic of Belarus is possible after 5 years of residence under a permanent residence permit, subject to knowledge of Belarusian or Russian, and requires renouncing foreign citizenship unless an international treaty provides otherwise. Importing up to 2 dogs or cats for personal use does not require quarantine.
Iceland in brief
Iceland is open to those whose qualifications are recognised as rare: the permit based on expert knowledge and the permit based on a shortage of labour operate as two independent grounds, and permanent residence is attainable in 4 years. The constraints are relocating with animals — 14 days of quarantine and a rabies antibody titre test — and the Icelandic language requirement: permanent residence requires a course of at least 150 lessons.
Other comparisons
Belarus or… Moldova · Albania · Russia · North Macedonia · Ukraine · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Kosovo
More on each: Belarus · Iceland. 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.