Laos or Vietnam
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 | Vietnam | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | $ 13 656 |
| 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 | $ 617 |
| Basket | $ 28,9 | $ 24,7 |
| Life expectancy | 69.22 | 74.74 |
| Homicides/100k | — | 1.54 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 3.6 | 7.3 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Laos — 17, Vietnam — 14. Types present in both: work, study, family and investment. The set of types is identical — the difference is in how many routes there are and on what terms, not in the types themselves.
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. Vietnam: fees range from 100 to 165 USD. Routes with a published decision deadline: 14; the shortest is 5 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: Vietnam after 3 years; the other country publishes no term. Citizenship: Laos after 10 years, Vietnam 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).
Vietnam in brief
Vietnam is relatively accessible on a work visa (work permit + TRC) for an employee with a degree and an employer, but long-term status is hard to reach: permanent residence requires at least 3 continuous years on a TRC, citizenship another 5 plus a discretionary decision going up to presidential level, and dual citizenship is restricted. Local IT salaries are substantially below the developed Asian hubs, which is typical of a market with a large outsourcing sector. Natural hazards cluster in the typhoon and monsoon flood season (May–December); seismic and volcanic threats are practically absent.
Other comparisons
Laos or… Taiwan · South Korea · Japan · Thailand · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Uzbekistan · Malaysia
Vietnam or… Azerbaijan · Philippines · Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · Oman · People's Republic of China
More on each: Laos · Vietnam. 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.