The 2026 Rankings
Permanent Residency Path
How clear and achievable is the path to permanent residency?
59 Countries Ranked
7.0 Average Score
9.0 Top Score
Score Distribution
Hover over bars to see which countries fall in each range
The Contenders Ranked 4–10
Complete Index All 59 Countries
1 st-kitts Other 9.0 2 grenada Other 9.0 3 dominica Other 9.0 4 antigua Other 9.0 5 Portugal Europe 8.5 6 Ecuador Americas 8.5 7 Spain Europe 8.0 8 Mexico Americas 8.0 9 Panama Americas 8.0 10 Netherlands Europe 8.0 11 Greece Europe 8.0 12 Dominican Republic Americas 8.0 13 Cyprus Europe 8.0 14 Malta Europe 8.0 15 Argentina Americas 8.0 16 Georgia Middle East & Africa 8.0 17 armenia Other 8.0 18 Germany Europe 7.5 19 Uruguay Americas 7.5 20 Italy Europe 7.5 21 Ireland Europe 7.5 22 France Europe 7.5 23 Croatia Europe 7.5 24 Costa Rica Americas 7.5 25 Colombia Americas 7.5 26 Estonia Europe 7.5 27 Bulgaria Europe 7.5 28 Latvia Europe 7.5 29 Lithuania Europe 7.5 30 Albania Europe 7.5 31 United Arab Emirates Middle East & Africa 7.0 32 United Kingdom Europe 7.0 33 Andorra Europe 7.0 34 Austria Europe 7.0 35 Hungary Europe 7.0 36 Chile Americas 7.0 37 Brazil Americas 7.0 38 Romania Europe 7.0 39 Serbia Europe 7.0 40 Mauritius Middle East & Africa 7.0 41 Czechia Europe 7.0 42 slovenia Other 7.0 43 Montenegro Europe 7.0 44 Philippines Asia-Pacific 6.5 45 Taiwan Asia-Pacific 6.5 46 New Zealand Asia-Pacific 6.5 47 Singapore Asia-Pacific 6.0 48 Turkey Middle East & Africa 6.0 49 South Korea Asia-Pacific 6.0 50 Australia Asia-Pacific 6.0 51 South Africa Middle East & Africa 6.0 52 Japan Asia-Pacific 5.5 53 Switzerland Europe 5.0 54 Malaysia Asia-Pacific 5.0 55 Qatar Middle East & Africa 4.5 56 Thailand Asia-Pacific 4.0 57 Indonesia Asia-Pacific 4.0 58 Cambodia Asia-Pacific 4.0 59 Vietnam Asia-Pacific 3.5