South Korea or Kazakhstan
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
| South Korea | Kazakhstan | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | $ 61 452 | — |
| Citizenship | 5 years | 5 years |
| Partner can work | no | — |
| Parents | difficult | — |
| Pets | difficult | no trouble |
| Pet limit | 5 | 5 |
| Quarantine | 10 days | no |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 999 · estimate | $ 671 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 40,9 | $ 22,0 |
| Life expectancy | 83.63 | 74.53 |
| Homicides/100k | 0.49 | 2.55 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 6 | 3.9 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: South Korea — 91, Kazakhstan — 50. Types present in both: work, study, family, investment, talent and repatriation. South Korea adds: startup, job seeking and working holiday. Kazakhstan adds: remote work.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
South Korea: fees range from 60 to 90 USD. Routes stating an income threshold: 1; the lowest is 1,500,000,000 KRW a month. Kazakhstan: fees range from 80 to 200 USD. Routes with no fee: 21. Routes stating an income threshold: 1; the lowest is 3,000 USD a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 49; the shortest is 1 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: both after 5 years. Citizenship: both after 5 years. Neither recognises a second citizenship.
South Korea in brief
South Korea combines a developed technology economy and low violent crime with a formal points system for long-term residence (E-7 → F-2-7 → F-5) and substantial restrictions on dual citizenship and on a spouse working. Parents, your own or a partner's, can only get the temporary renewable F-1-15 visa with no right to work. Natural hazards are moderate — seasonal typhoons and monsoon floods, earthquakes rare; the notable problem is air quality, the worst among OECD countries.
Kazakhstan in brief
Kazakhstan is Central Asia's largest economy, built on oil and gas, an EAEU member with visa-free entry for nationals of EAEU states and a number of other passports, and a standard residence permit procedure (from 7 working days on the fast track, valid for up to 10 years). Dual citizenship is not permitted. Almaty is the business and IT centre, with high seismic risk; Astana is a climatically extreme but seismically quiet capital. Some data (IT salaries, official homicide statistics, net migration) could not be confirmed from open sources and has been left empty.
Other comparisons
South Korea or… Taiwan · Japan · Thailand · Lebanon · Uzbekistan · Malaysia · Azerbaijan · Philippines
Kazakhstan or… Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · Oman · People's Republic of China · Sri Lanka · Singapore
More on each: South Korea · Kazakhstan. 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.