Guyana or Suriname
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
| Guyana | Suriname | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 6 years | 5 years |
| Partner can work | — | — |
| Parents | — | — |
| Pets | difficult | difficult |
| Pet limit | no limit | no limit |
| Quarantine | — | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 909 · estimate | $ 530 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 43,2 | $ 33,6 |
| Life expectancy | 70.32 | 73.76 |
| Homicides/100k | 14.08 | 4.26 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 4.5 | 3.4 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Guyana — 25, Suriname — 13. Types present in both: work, family and repatriation. Guyana adds: study.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Guyana: fees range from 20 to 28,700 GYD. Routes with a published decision deadline: 9; the shortest is 7 days. Suriname: fees range from 10 to 250 USD.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: Suriname after 5 years; the other country publishes no term. Citizenship: Guyana after 6 years, Suriname after 5 years. Guyana allows a second citizenship, Suriname does not.
Guyana in brief
Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America: English is enshrined as the sole official language. The immigration regime is built on temporary Landing Permits under the Immigration Act, Chapter 14:02 (s. 12): a permit to remain in the country is issued for up to 3 months for a specific purpose (employment, business, study, etc.) and may be extended by the Chief Immigration Officer, but not beyond a cumulative 3 years from the date of entry - the Act does not provide for a separate permanent residence status. Citizenship by naturalisation is available after a cumulative 6 years of residence (12 months immediately before applying plus 5 years within the preceding 7 years - Second Schedule, Guyana Citizenship Act, Chapter 14:01); a spouse of a Guyanese citizen is entitled to register as a citizen immediately after marriage, with no minimum length of marriage set (Constitution, s. 45). Deprivation of citizenship for acquiring a foreign passport, under the Constitution (s. 46), is not automatic but at the President's discretion, and does not expressly apply to acquisition through marriage - the country generally allows dual/multiple citizenship. Graduates of the University of the West Indies and the University of Guyana who are citizens of one of the 12 CARICOM states are entitled to enter and work without a work permit (Immigration Act, Schedule); the CARICOM Secretariat headquarters is also located in Georgetown. Since 2019 the country's economy has been one of the fastest-growing in the world on the back of offshore oil production (estimated reserves of 11.2 billion barrels; GDP grew 43.4% in 2024), which is accompanied by rising prices, primarily for food (World Bank, worldbank.org, accessed 03.08.2026). Outside Georgetown and New Amsterdam, malaria risk persists in the country - preventive antimalarial medication is recommended for travel to the interior (including Linden, Bartica, Lethem) (CDC Yellow Book, updated 23.04.2025). The built-up coastal strip, including Georgetown, where most of the country's population is concentrated, lies on the low-lying Atlantic coast and is protected by a system of sea and river dykes, the maintenance of which is regulated by a separate law in force since 1883 (Sea Defences Act, Chapter 64:01): according to the World Bank, coastal flooding remains a significant environmental challenge threatening Georgetown and Atlantic-coast agriculture. Importing dogs and cats requires a written permit (Import Permit) from the Ministry of Agriculture - specific quarantine periods, a requirement for rabies antibody titre testing, and the minimum preparation period before import are not published in open official sources.
Suriname in brief
Suriname is the only country in South America with Dutch as its official state language (Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek, accessed 03.08.2026); Sranan Tongo, Javanese, Hindi and English are also widely spoken but have no official status. As a CARICOM member, Suriname applies a free-movement regime for skilled professionals: a national of another member country with a confirmed CARICOM Skills Certificate receives an indefinite stay status from the Vreemdelingendienst and is exempt from a work permit and from stay and settlement fees (resolution of 18.08.2004, S.B. 2004 no. 120). The separate category of "persons of Surinamese origin" — those born in Suriname, their descendants, and persons with PSA status under the Wet PSA (S.B. 2014 no. 08) — may apply directly for indefinite stay, bypassing the general five-year period; for all other foreigners, the switch to indefinite stay ("vestiging") opens up after 5 years of continuous legal residence (Vreemdelingenwet 1991). Naturalisation "bij wet" likewise requires 5 years of residence (art. 8 WNI); dual nationality is, as a general rule, not permitted — it is lost upon voluntary acquisition of another nationality (art. 11 WNI), and admission to Surinamese nationality is usually conditional on renouncing the prior one (art. 16b WNI). Importing pets requires a Veterinaire Inspectie veterinary import licence from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries (LVV), notification 72 hours before arrival, and quarantine whose duration is set individually for each application rather than fixed in advance. The country's economy stands on the threshold of offshore oil production: per an announcement by the Surinamese government (October 2024), TotalEnergies and APA Corporation took a final investment decision on the Gran Morgu project in Block 58 (investment of over USD 10.5 billion, target output 220,000 barrels per day, first oil expected in the first half of 2028; gov.sr, accessed 03.08.2026), against a backdrop of high inflation in recent years — according to the World Bank, consumer prices rose 59.1% in 2021 and stayed above 50% in 2022–2023, falling to 16.2% in 2024 and 9.2% in 2025. The country's population is concentrated almost entirely in Paramaribo and a narrow strip along the coast: the interior is tropical forest with almost no towns (Sipaliwini district, three-quarters of the country's area — 0.3 people per km² per the 2012 census). According to the CDC (updated 23.04.2025), local malaria transmission has not been recorded in Suriname since 2021, and preventive medication is not currently recommended even for the historically endemic interior districts near the border with French Guiana.
Other comparisons
More on each: Guyana · Suriname. 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.