North Macedonia or Ukraine
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
| North Macedonia | Ukraine | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 7 years | 5 years |
| Partner can work | — | — |
| Parents | — | — |
| Pets | no trouble | no trouble |
| Pet limit | 5 | 5 |
| Quarantine | — | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 489 · estimate | $ 688 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 25,7 | $ 19,6 |
| Life expectancy | 76.62 | 74.69 |
| Homicides/100k | 1.26 | 3.78 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 2.9 | 3 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: North Macedonia — 34, Ukraine — 28. Types present in both: work, study, family, investment and repatriation. North Macedonia adds: retirement. Ukraine adds: talent.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
North Macedonia: fees range from 20 to 70 EUR. Routes stating an income threshold: 1; the lowest is 40,000 EUR a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 28; the shortest is 4 days. Ukraine: fees range from 452 to 496 UAH. Routes with a published decision deadline: 28; the shortest is 7 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: North Macedonia after 5 years; the other country publishes no term. Citizenship: North Macedonia after 7 years, Ukraine after 5 years. North Macedonia allows a second citizenship, Ukraine does not.
North Macedonia in brief
North Macedonia offers a short route to status — permanent residence after 5 years, citizenship after 7 — and allows not only employment but also self-employment. The constraint is the narrow range of routes: there are only three, permanent residence requires confirmed Macedonian, and dual citizenship is not permitted, so the previous one has to be given up.
Ukraine in brief
Ukraine is a country where martial law has been in effect since 24 February 2022 (Presidential Decree No. 64/2022, regularly extended by the Verkhovna Rada); special rules for crossing the state border, set by the State Border Guard Service, are tied to it. Part of the territory — the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (since 2014), and parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts (since 2022) — is not controlled by the government of Ukraine, and this guide does not collect data for these territories. The grounds for foreigners to stay and work are: a long-stay type D visa, a posvidka na tymchasove prozhyvannia (temporary residence permit; for work under an Employment Service permit, study, family reunification, or a gig contract with a Diia.City resident), and a dozvil na immihratsiyu (immigration permit) followed by a posvidka na postiyne prozhyvannia (permanent residence permit), which is issued outside the quota for close relatives of Ukrainian citizens. Obtaining Ukrainian citizenship generally requires five years of continuous residence, a state-language exam, and renunciation of foreign citizenship; 2025–2026 legislation (Law No. 4730-IX) expanded the list of cases in which multiple citizenship is recognised — mainly for refugees, Armed Forces of Ukraine service members, persons of outstanding merit, and certain other categories. Demographic statistics, including city populations, are pre-war: last updated by the State Statistics Service as of 1 January 2022 and not officially revised since for most cities due to population displacement during the war.
Other comparisons
More on each: North Macedonia · Ukraine. 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.