Laos 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
| Laos | Oman | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 10 years | 15 years |
| Partner can work | — | — |
| Parents | — | difficult |
| Pets | difficult | difficult |
| Pet limit | no limit | no limit |
| Quarantine | — | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 795 · estimate | $ 799 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 28,9 | $ 29,9 |
| Life expectancy | 69.22 | 80.25 |
| Homicides/100k | — | 0.14 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 3.6 | 4.8 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Laos — 17, Oman — 25. Types present in both: work, study, family and investment. Oman adds: talent.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Laos: fees range from 20,000 to 1,200,000 LAK. Routes with a published decision deadline: 4; the shortest is 1 days. 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
Citizenship: Laos after 10 years, Oman after 15 years. Neither recognises a second citizenship.
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).
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
Laos or… Taiwan · South Korea · Japan · Thailand · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Uzbekistan · Malaysia
Oman or… Azerbaijan · Philippines · Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · People's Republic of China · Sri Lanka
More on each: Laos · 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.