Indonesia or Laos
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
| Indonesia | Laos | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 5 years | 10 years |
| Partner can work | — | — |
| Parents | — | — |
| Pets | difficult | difficult |
| Pet limit | no limit | no limit |
| Quarantine | — | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 447 · estimate | $ 795 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 21,0 | $ 28,9 |
| Life expectancy | 71.29 | 69.22 |
| Homicides/100k | 0.41 | — |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 7.4 | 3.6 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Indonesia — 22, Laos — 17. Types present in both: work, study, family and investment. Indonesia adds: remote work, repatriation, retirement and working holiday.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Indonesia: fees range from 6,000,000 to 19,500,000 IDR. Routes stating an income threshold: 3; the lowest is 3,000 USD a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 21; the shortest is 5 days. Laos: fees range from 20,000 to 1,200,000 LAK. Routes with a published decision deadline: 4; the shortest is 1 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: Indonesia after 3 years; the other country publishes no term. Citizenship: Indonesia after 5 years, Laos after 10 years. Neither recognises a second citizenship.
Indonesia in brief
The world's largest archipelago: more than 17,000 islands, with most of the population concentrated on Java, home to Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung; a separate pole of attraction is the island of Bali, with its administrative centre in Denpasar. The equatorial climate keeps the average temperature around 26–28°C all year; the difference between seasons lies in rainfall, not temperature. The cost of living is low by international standards: a basic food basket costs around $21, rent for a one-room apartment in the centre of cities on Java and Sumatra runs from €150 to €280 a month, and noticeably higher on Bali because of tourist demand. The visa system is not built as a single points system but as a closed list of about fifteen ITAS categories (employee, investor, religious worker, “second home”, family reunification, foreign pensioner), each with its own requirements. Permanent residence (ITAP) is available for most of these categories after 3 years of continuous residence on ITAS; for the spouse of an Indonesian citizen a faster route applies — from 2 years of marriage. Dual citizenship is not allowed, and naturalisation requires renouncing the previous citizenship. The country lies in the seismically active zone of the Pacific Ring of Fire: earthquake and tsunami risks are rated among the highest in the world. Dogs and cats can be brought into the country via Jakarta, but Bali province, under a 2008 regional act, bans the direct import and export of dogs, cats and monkeys to and from the island, maintaining its rabies-free status.
Laos in brief
Laos is a landlocked South-East Asian country with a GNI per capita of USD 2,150 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025), which places it in the lower part of the lower-middle-income group. A visa granting the right to work (LA-B2) and a work permit are two different documents issued by two different agencies: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the immigration service on one side, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare on the other. The legislation does not provide for an ordinary permanent-residence status for foreign workers or investors: long-term stay rests on renewable visas rather than resident status; the path to citizenship through naturalisation requires at least 10 years of continuous residence (Citizenship Law, 2017 revision), and dual citizenship is not permitted. In a number of provinces, including Savannakhet and Khammouane, affected by bombing along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in 1964–1973, unexploded ordnance remains a practical risk outside populated and cleared areas — Laos has officially adopted a separate 18th national Sustainable Development Goal, "Live Safe from UXO" (announced in September 2015).
Other comparisons
Indonesia or… Taiwan · South Korea · Japan · Thailand · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Uzbekistan · Malaysia
Laos or… Azerbaijan · Philippines · Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · Oman · People's Republic of China
More on each: Indonesia · Laos. 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.