Laos 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
| Laos | Uzbekistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 10 years | 5 years |
| Partner can work | — | — |
| Parents | — | — |
| Pets | difficult | no trouble |
| Pet limit | no limit | 2 |
| Quarantine | — | no |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 795 · estimate | $ 719 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 28,9 | $ 19,3 |
| Life expectancy | 69.22 | 72.53 |
| Homicides/100k | — | 1.4 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 3.6 | 4.8 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Laos — 17, Uzbekistan — 48. Types present in both: work, study, family and investment. Uzbekistan adds: startup, talent and 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. 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
Citizenship: Laos after 10 years, Uzbekistan 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).
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
Laos or… Taiwan · South Korea · Japan · Thailand · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Malaysia · Azerbaijan
Uzbekistan or… Philippines · Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · Oman · People's Republic of China · Sri Lanka
More on each: Laos · 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.