Data
Murblz Residence Index 2026
40 residence permits scored from 0 to 100: how many countries accept the permit instead of a visa, how many years it takes to permanent residence and to a passport, whether you keep your own passport, and the official minimum you must show. Edition 0, 29 Oct 2026.
The ranking
Find a country or scroll the full ranking. Hover over the number of countries to see where the permit replaces a visa. France leads edition 0 with 81.0 points.
This country is not in the index.
| Rank | Country | Residence permit | Score | Countries without a visa | Years to permanent residence | Years to citizenship | Keeps your passport | Official minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | Employee residence on a work permit obtained by the employer, or talent passport | 81.0 | 36 | 5 | 5 | yes | $460 visa ~$120 + validation tax ~$340 |
| 2 | Greece | Residence permit: work, business, remote work, financially independent or investment | 77.5 | 36 | 5 | 7 | yes | no single amount |
| 3 | Poland | Temporary residence permit for work, business or family, then EU long-term resident status | 74.1 | 36 | 5 | 8 | yes | $270 work permit $110 + national visa $160 |
| 4 | Germany | EU Blue Card | 72.9 | 36 | 1.75 | 5 | yes | $57,000 EUR 50,700 Blue Card salary threshold |
| 5 | Portugal | Residence permit for employment, self-employment or highly qualified work | 69.6 | 36 | 5 | 10 | yes | $130 work visa fee (EUR 110) |
| 6 | Italy | Residence permit for employment or self-employment | 69.2 | 36 | 5 | 10 | yes | $280 work visa $130 + permit fees ~$150 |
| 6 | United States | Employment-based green card (employer petition, EB-2 or EB-3) | 69.2 | 9 | 0 | 5 | yes | $1,575 petition $715 + $300 + visa $325 + card $235 |
| 8 | Hungary | EU Blue Card, leading to a national residence card | 65.9 | 36 | 3 | 8 | yes | $37,280 salary from $3,100 a month + $80 fee |
| 9 | Russia | Residence permit (vid na zhitelstvo) after a temporary residence permit (RVP) | 65.8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | yes | no single amount |
| 10 | Canada | Express Entry permanent residence, applying from abroad | 64.9 | 5 | 0 | 3 | yes | $12,200 proof of funds ~$11,000 + ~$1,200 fees |
| 11 | Argentina | Temporary residence: rentier, pensioner, investor, work or study | 62.5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | yes | no single amount |
| 11 | Finland | Specialist residence permit or EU Blue Card | 62.5 | 36 | 4 | 8 | yes | $54,600 salary from $4,500 a month + ~$600 fee |
| 11 | Latvia | Temporary residence permit: work, business or family | 62.5 | 36 | 5 | 10 | with exceptions | no single amount |
| 14 | Czech Republic | Employee card (employment) or EU Blue Card | 62.2 | 36 | 5 | 10 | with exceptions | $120 employee card application fee |
| 15 | Spain | Temporary residence: employment, self-employment, digital nomad, non-lucrative or family | 62.1 | 36 | 5 | 10 | with exceptions | $125 work permit and card fees, at most $125 |
| 16 | Bulgaria | Single permit for residence and work (employment) | 62.0 | 36 | 5 | 10 | with exceptions | $180 Employment Agency fee from $60 + visa $120 |
| 17 | Armenia | Temporary residence permit: work, study or family | 61.7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | yes | $290 one-year temporary residence card fee |
| 18 | New Zealand | Resident visa (Skilled Migrant Category or Green List straight to residence) | 60.8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | yes | no single amount |
| 19 | Netherlands | Highly skilled migrant residence permit (work) | 60.2 | 36 | 5 | 5 | with exceptions | $59,280 salary from $4,900 a month (under 30) + $480 fee |
| 20 | Estonia | Temporary residence permit: work, business or family | 60.0 | 36 | 5 | 8 | no | no single amount |
| 21 | Croatia | Residence and work permit (employment) | 59.6 | 36 | 5 | 8 | no | $130 permit fees, no salary threshold |
| 22 | Brazil | Residence for employment (labour contract) | 57.3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | yes | $75 Federal Police application and card fees |
| 23 | Austria | Red-White-Red Card and other permits with settlement status | 55.0 | 36 | 5 | 10 | no | no single amount |
| 24 | Lithuania | Temporary residence permit for work within the annual quota | 54.5 | 36 | 5 | 10 | no | $190 temporary residence permit fee |
| 25 | Kazakhstan | Permanent residence permit on the general route: selection with Kazakh test, 600 points, interview and bank balance | 43.6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | no | $13,040 ~$13,000 bank balance + ~$40 fee |
| 26 | United Kingdom | Skilled Worker visa | 43.5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | yes | $57,100 salary threshold ~$56,000 + visa fee |
| 27 | Serbia | Single permit for residence and work (employment, own company or sole proprietorship) | 39.5 | 0 | 3 | 6 | no | $280 fees for the first single permit, no salary threshold |
| 28 | Costa Rica | Pensioner temporary residence (pensionado) | 39.4 | 0 | 3 | 7 | with exceptions | $12,180 USD 1,000 monthly pension + $50 application + card |
| 29 | Turkey | Work permit, which counts as a residence permit | 38.7 | 0 | 8 | 5 | yes | $17,060 2 minimum wages (skilled staff) + permit fee |
| 30 | Thailand | Employment: non-immigrant visa with work permit, renewed annually | 35.0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | no | no single amount |
| 31 | South Korea | Contract work with a Korean employer (professional work visa) | 33.1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | no | $24,060 salary from $24,000 a year + $60 fee |
| 32 | Mexico | Temporary resident by economic solvency (income), work or investment | 32.2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | no | $56,230 USD 4,630 monthly income + visa and card |
| 33 | Azerbaijan | Temporary residence through property: a home worth at least USD 120,000 | 30.7 | 0 | 2 | 7 | no | $120,075 USD 120,000 property + ~$75 permit fee |
| 34 | Japan | Work status of residence (employment with a Japanese company) | 26.6 | 2 | 10 | 5 | no | $20 visa fee, no statutory salary threshold |
| 35 | Belarus | Temporary residence permit | 25.8 | 1 | 5 | 10 | no | no single amount |
| 36 | Montenegro | Temporary residence and work permit (employment) | 25.0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | no | no single amount |
| 37 | Georgia | Temporary residence permit: work, own company or family reunification | 12.4 | 0 | 10 | 10 | no | $120 residence permit fee, 30-day decision |
| 38 | China | Investment in a company in China, permanent residence after 3 years in a row | 12.2 | 0 | 3 | no path | no | $500,000 USD 500,000 investment, encouraged sectors, western regions |
| 39 | Malaysia | Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme | 0.0 | 0 | n/a | no path | no | $150,000 USD 150,000 fixed deposit, plus a home |
| 39 | Vietnam | Temporary residence card through a work permit | 0.0 | 0 | n/a | no path | no | $145 temporary residence card fee, no salary threshold |
What the score measures
The score weighs what a residence permit gives against what it requires.
- Countries without a visa, 30%. Countries whose entry rules accept the permit instead of a visa for holders of any nationality. The best permit in this edition opens 36 countries.
- Permanent residence, 25%. Full marks when the document is already permanent, zero at 10 years or more.
- Citizenship, 30%. Full marks when you can apply for a passport within 3 years of the first permit, zero at 15 years or with no path.
- Your own passport, 15%. Full marks when naturalisation does not require giving up your citizenship, half when it does with exceptions.
- Official minimum. The income, savings or investment the law requires plus state fees take up to 30 points off every 100, on a logarithmic scale that reaches the maximum at $500,000. Where a route has no single amount in law, nothing is taken off.
The formula: score = 100 × gives × (1 − requires).
How the routes are chosen
Edition 0 scores one main route per country: the residence permit most foreigners use to move there. Where the main document is permanent from the first day, such as the US green card or Canadian permanent residence, the years to permanent residence are zero.
Every figure comes from the immigration and citizenship laws, the official sites of the migration authorities and the entry rules of the countries that accept foreign residence permits. Amounts are in US dollars at the official exchange rate. The minimum includes only what the law requires: income, savings or investment, and state fees.
What comes in edition 1
Edition 1 on 1 Dec 2026 adds more routes per country: investment, passive income, remote work, family and study. It also scores the days of presence a permit requires, its tax consequences, processing times and how often the rules change. The index then updates every month.
Data and citation
The full data set is open under the CC BY 4.0 licence: the score, the rank and every field for each permit. Checked on 29 Oct 2026 against official sources.
Murblz (2026). Murblz Residence Index, October 2026, edition 0. Data: CSV, JSON. License CC BY 4.0.