Ethiopia 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
| Ethiopia | Tanzania | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 4 years | 8 years |
| Partner can work | — | no |
| Parents | — | — |
| Pets | difficult | no trouble |
| Pet limit | no limit | no limit |
| Quarantine | — | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 848 · estimate | $ 729 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 29,6 | $ 23,0 |
| Life expectancy | 67.6 | 67.21 |
| Homicides/100k | 8.51 | 3.3 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Ethiopia — 17, Tanzania — 28. Types present in both: work, study and investment. Tanzania adds: family, talent and retirement.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Ethiopia: fees range from 32 to 1,002 USD. Routes with a published decision deadline: 10; the shortest is 3 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
Citizenship: Ethiopia after 4 years, Tanzania after 8 years. Neither recognises a second citizenship.
Ethiopia in brief
Immigration Proclamation No. 354/2002 defines nine visa types — including business, immigrant, student, tourist and transit — issued by the Authority for Security, Immigration and Refugee Affairs; some are available through the evisa.gov.et e-portal. No separately named "investor visa" was found in law: the Ethiopian Investment Commission directs investors to the general business visa, valid from 30 days to 12 months. The law introduces the status of a temporary or permanent residence permit, but the conditions for moving between them and the number of years of waiting are not defined in the text of the law itself — they are assigned to separate Regulations, unavailable in open sources this session. Naturalisation on the general ground requires domicile and at least 4 years' residence in the country, knowledge of one of the nations' and nationalities' languages, a lawful source of income, no criminal record, and renouncing prior nationality (Ethiopian Nationality Proclamation No. 378/2003); for spouses of Ethiopian citizens the period is reduced to 2 years from the marriage with at least 1 year of residence. Dual nationality is not permitted by law: voluntary acquisition of a foreign nationality is deemed a voluntary renunciation of Ethiopian nationality. For persons of Ethiopian origin in that situation, a separate status is provided — the Yellow Card (Proclamation No. 270/2002), granting a broad range of rights and privileges without nationality itself; a decision on the application is made within 30 days, and the card is valid for 5 years. The Constitution establishes land as the state and common property of the country's nations, nationalities and peoples: it may not be sold or otherwise alienated by anyone, including citizens, and private investors receive only a right of use on lease terms. Importing pets requires a permit from the relevant agency under the general agricultural regulation (Animal Health and Welfare Proclamation No. 1376/2025) — an import permit, an international veterinary certificate, and entry through a designated crossing point — but the specific quarantine period and antibody-titre requirement for dogs and cats are not defined in the open text of the law. The country has been landlocked since 1993 and lives by its own calendar, running 7–8 years behind the Gregorian one. The five cities in this reference guide are Addis Ababa (the capital, at an elevation of about 2,355 m), Dire Dawa (the second-largest city and a railway hub), Mekelle (administrative centre of the Tigray region), and Lalibela and Gondar — two stops on the historic tourist route with UNESCO World Heritage sites.
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
Ethiopia 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: Ethiopia · 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.