South Korea or Oman
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 | Oman | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | $ 61 452 | — |
| Citizenship | 5 years | 15 years |
| Partner can work | no | — |
| Parents | difficult | difficult |
| Pets | difficult | difficult |
| Pet limit | 5 | no limit |
| Quarantine | 10 days | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 999 · estimate | $ 799 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 40,9 | $ 29,9 |
| Life expectancy | 83.63 | 80.25 |
| Homicides/100k | 0.49 | 0.14 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 6 | 4.8 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: South Korea — 91, Oman — 25. Types present in both: work, study, family, investment and talent. South Korea adds: startup, repatriation, job seeking and working holiday.
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. Oman: fees range from 10 to 500 OMR. Routes with no fee: 3. Routes with a published decision deadline: 14; the shortest is 1 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: South Korea after 5 years; the other country publishes no term. Citizenship: South Korea after 5 years, Oman after 15 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.
Oman in brief
Oman is built as a country for a long stint of work rather than for settling: there is no permanent residence at all, and the most on offer is the investor residence permit of 5 or 10 years, relaunched in August 2025, starting at 250,000 Omani rials. It does, however, let you bring a spouse, children and parents with no limit on age or number, which is rare in this part of the guide. Citizenship remains a distant prospect: the 2025 law cut the period from 20 years to 15, but it requires fluent Arabic with reading and writing, renunciation of the previous passport, and allows 36 months for a decision. The government's own service page still describes the old 20-year rule — a discrepancy worth keeping in mind. The country's strengths are measurable: homicide at 0.14 per 100,000, control of corruption at +0.51, life expectancy of 80.25 years and no personal income tax. Against that: heat above +45, desert dust in the air, cyclones on the coast and a difficult process for bringing pets.
Other comparisons
South Korea or… Taiwan · Japan · Thailand · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Uzbekistan · Malaysia · Azerbaijan
Oman or… Philippines · Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · People's Republic of China · Sri Lanka · Singapore
More on each: South Korea · Oman. 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.