Laos or Tajikistan
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 | Tajikistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 10 years | 5 years |
| Partner can work | — | — |
| Parents | — | — |
| Pets | difficult | — |
| Pet limit | no limit | no limit |
| Quarantine | — | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 795 · estimate | $ 671 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 28,9 | $ 25,1 |
| Life expectancy | 69.22 | 71.93 |
| Homicides/100k | — | 0.89 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 3.6 | 4.8 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Laos — 17, Tajikistan — 23. Types present in both: work, study, family and investment. Tajikistan adds: repatriation.
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. Tajikistan: fees range from 20 to 100 USD. Routes stating an income threshold: 1; the lowest is 500,000 USD a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 23; the shortest is 1 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: Tajikistan after six months; the other country publishes no term. Citizenship: Laos after 10 years, Tajikistan after 5 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).
Tajikistan in brief
Tajikistan is the cheapest country in this part of the guide: rent in Khujand is half that of the capital, and the capital itself is already low. Permanent residence is not tied to years of waiting — the law allows no more than a month for a decision on the application. Citizenship is formally available after five years of continuous residence, and a facilitated route applies for marriage to a citizen of the country lasting three years or more. The restrictions are significant. Dual citizenship is not allowed outside intergovernmental treaties, and a decision to grant citizenship can be revoked within five years of being made — this is an unusual rule and worth bearing in mind. Control of corruption at −1.22 and a seismic risk of 8.1 out of 10 are among the worst figures in the guide. One thing worth saying separately about what is not in this data: the language requirements for naturalisation and the rules for bringing in animals could not be confirmed against official sources, so they are left blank rather than filled in with paraphrases.
Other comparisons
Laos or… Taiwan · South Korea · Japan · Thailand · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Uzbekistan · Malaysia
Tajikistan or… Azerbaijan · Philippines · Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · Oman · People's Republic of China
More on each: Laos · Tajikistan. 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.