South Korea or Uzbekistan
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 | Uzbekistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | $ 61 452 | — |
| Citizenship | 5 years | 5 years |
| Partner can work | no | — |
| Parents | difficult | — |
| Pets | difficult | no trouble |
| Pet limit | 5 | 2 |
| Quarantine | 10 days | no |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 999 · estimate | $ 719 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 40,9 | $ 19,3 |
| Life expectancy | 83.63 | 72.53 |
| Homicides/100k | 0.49 | 1.4 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 6 | 4.8 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: South Korea — 91, Uzbekistan — 48. Types present in both: work, study, family, investment, startup, talent and repatriation. South Korea adds: 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. Uzbekistan: fees range from 352,440 to 396,000 UZS. Routes with no fee: 4. Routes stating an income threshold: 1; the lowest is 30,000 USD a year. Routes with a published decision deadline: 44; the shortest is 1 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: South Korea after 5 years; the other country publishes no term. 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.
Uzbekistan in brief
Uzbekistan is built as an easy way in and a hard way out. The way in really is easy: citizens of the CIS and several dozen other countries need no visa, and IT specialists have a three-year IT visa that grants work without a separate permit, social rights on a par with citizens and the purchase of property at any price; the thresholds are income from IT work of at least 30,000 dollars a year and employment with an IT Park resident. The cost of living is among the lowest in this guide, pets get through without quarantine, and Russian is in everyday use. The hard part is citizenship: multiple citizenship is not recognised, giving up the previous passport is the first condition, and the five-year residence period is counted from the residence permit of a stateless person — that is, it starts only after the renunciation. The softening is a guarantee letter, valid for a year and issued before the renunciation. The exam is in Uzbek. Seismicity (Tashkent was destroyed in 1966) and air quality deserve separate weight. Routes for reuniting with parents and children are not confirmed by official sources.
Other comparisons
South Korea or… Taiwan · Japan · Thailand · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Malaysia · Azerbaijan · Philippines
Uzbekistan or… Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · Oman · People's Republic of China · Sri Lanka · Singapore
More on each: South Korea · Uzbekistan. 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.