India or Timor-Leste
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
| India | Timor-Leste | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 12 years | 10 years |
| Partner can work | — | — |
| Parents | — | doable |
| Pets | no trouble | — |
| Pet limit | 2 | no limit |
| Quarantine | no | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 782 · estimate | $ 274 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 14,2 | $ 20,6 |
| Life expectancy | 72.23 | 67.9 |
| Homicides/100k | 2.72 | 4.07 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 7.8 | 3.3 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: India — 17, Timor-Leste — 11. Types present in both: work, study and investment. India adds: family and repatriation.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
India: the fee is 100 INR wherever it is published. Routes with a published decision deadline: 1; the shortest is 30 days. Timor-Leste: fees range from 20 to 150 USD. Routes with a published decision deadline: 2; the shortest is 15 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: India with no residence period, Timor-Leste after 10 years. Citizenship: India after 12 years, Timor-Leste after 10 years. Timor-Leste allows a second citizenship, India does not.
India in brief
India is the world's second-most-populous labour market, with high demand for skilled IT and engineering professionals and a globally low cost of living: rent and utility payments are several times lower than in Europe, even in the largest cities. The work visa is rigidly tied to the employer — it cannot be changed without leaving the country — and is issued only for an annual salary above 1,625,000 rupees, except for a few exempt categories. There is no general mechanism for permanent residence by length of stay: status is renewed through annual work visas via the FRRO, and Permanent Residency Status (PRS) is granted only to foreign investors who invest at least 10 crore rupees. Naturalisation requires about 12 years of residence in the country, and dual citizenship is not allowed. The northern plain suffers from smog in winter, while the coastal and mountain regions suffer from monsoon flooding and earthquakes. The country's five largest cities differ sharply in character: from the financial capital Mumbai and the technology cluster Bangalore to the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Jaipur and Agra.
Timor-Leste in brief
Timor-Leste is a state independent since 2002 that uses the US dollar as its official currency: the country has no currency of its own. The official languages are Portuguese and Tetum; Indonesian and English are recognised as working languages (Constitution of the RDTL, s. 159). A significant share of the state budget is financed by transfers from the Petroleum Fund (Fundo Petrolífero), managed by the Central Bank of Timor-Leste on revenue from the Timor Sea's oil and gas fields; according to the Central Bank, the fund's balance stood at US$18.75 billion as of 31 May 2026 (bancocentral.tl/en/petroleum-fund). The country lies in the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire — the INFORM index rates the country's earthquake risk at 5.8 out of 10 and tsunami risk at 3.9 out of 10. Malaria and dengue are endemic across most of the territory (World Health Organization). The legal framework for foreigners' temporary and permanent stay is the Migration and Asylum Law No. 11/2017 (as amended by Law No. 10/2021); the country belongs to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), but as of the date checked the declaratively adopted CPLP mobility agreement is not reflected in the migration authority's official list of visa exemptions.
Other comparisons
India or… Taiwan · South Korea · Japan · Thailand · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Uzbekistan · Malaysia
Timor-Leste or… Azerbaijan · Philippines · Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · Oman · People's Republic of China
More on each: India · Timor-Leste. 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.