| Country | Continent | Permanent residence / settlement | Citizenship / naturalisation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Denmark | Europe | 8 years | 9 years | Permanent residence is normally 8 years, or 4 years if all four supplementary requirements and the basic requirements are met. Citizenship normally requires 9 years continuous residence and additional conditions, including permanent-residence requirements. |
 Netherlands | Europe | 5 years | 5 years | The standard permanent-residence and naturalisation duration references are five consecutive years, but exceptions and additional conditions apply. |
 Spain | Europe | 5 years | 10 years | Long-term residence has a general five-year reference. Citizenship by residence is generally ten years, with shorter statutory periods for specified categories. |
 Italy | Europe | 5 years | 10 years | EU long-term residence commonly uses a five-year legal-residence reference. Citizenship by residence is generally ten years for non-EU nationals and four years for EU nationals, with other special categories. |
 Portugal | Europe | 5 years | 5 years | Permanent residence can generally be requested after five years holding temporary residence. Portuguese nationality by naturalisation includes a five-year legal-residence route, with other conditions. |
 France | Europe | 5 years | 5 years | Five years is a common long-term-resident reference and the general naturalisation-by-decree residence period is five years, subject to significant conditions and exceptions. |
 Germany | Europe | 5 years | 5 years | A five-year residence reference is useful for long-term status, while ordinary naturalisation now uses a minimum five-year legal-residence period plus the other statutory conditions. |
 Ireland | Europe | 5 years | 5 years | Long Term Residency is route-specific; a five-year employment-permit residence reference is common. Naturalisation commonly requires five years reckonable residence, including one continuous year immediately before application and four years in the preceding eight. |
 Belgium | Europe | 5 years | 5 years | Five years is an important long-term-residence reference and Belgian nationality declarations can be available after five years when language, integration, economic-participation and other conditions are met. |
 Finland | Europe | 6 years | 8 years | From 2026, the general permanent-residence route is six years with work/language conditions, alongside faster routes in specified cases. The general citizenship residence period has been eight years since October 2024. |
 Sweden | Europe | 5 years | 8 years | Sweden changed key residence/citizenship rules in 2026. Long-term resident status uses a five-year continuous-residence reference; this is not the same thing as a permanent residence permit. From 6 June 2026, the general citizenship residence requirement is eight years, with shorter periods for specified groups. |
 Greece | Europe | 5 years | 7 years | EU long-term resident status commonly uses a five-year reference. The general citizenship route is seven years; specified categories including EU citizens can have shorter periods. |
 Switzerland | Europe | No single general period | 10 years | C-permit timing depends strongly on nationality and circumstances, so no single PR date is shown. Ordinary naturalisation generally requires ten years of residence plus a C permit and cantonal/communal conditions. |
 United Kingdom | Europe | 5 years | 5 years | Indefinite leave to remain timing varies by immigration route, with many work routes using five years. Naturalisation typically looks at five years’ residence plus settled status/ILR timing, with a different spouse-of-British-citizen route. |
 Canada | Americas | No single general period | 3 years | Permanent residence is an immigration status reached through different programmes rather than a general time-served milestone. Citizenship generally requires 1,095 days physical presence in the five-year eligibility period, including at least 730 days as a permanent resident. |
 Australia | Oceania | No single general period | 4 years | Permanent residence is visa-route dependent, so no generic PR date is shown. Citizenship by conferral generally requires four years on a valid visa immediately before applying, including the last 12 months as a permanent resident, plus absence limits. |
 New Zealand | Oceania | 2 years | 5 years | A Permanent Resident Visa can often be sought after holding a Resident Visa for at least two years and meeting commitment conditions. Citizenship presence normally requires five years plus minimum day-count tests. |
 United States | Americas | No single general period | 5 years | Permanent residence (green-card status) is obtained through immigration categories rather than time served after ordinary residence. The general naturalisation route is five years as a lawful permanent resident, with continuous-residence and physical-presence tests. |
 Austria | Europe | 5 years | 10 years | Five years is the standard permanent-residence reference for EU-law permanent residence and EU long-term residence. Ordinary naturalisation commonly uses a ten-year residence route, subject to detailed conditions and exceptions. |
 Luxembourg | Europe | 5 years | 5 years | Long-term resident status for qualifying third-country nationals and permanent residence for qualifying EU citizens use a five-year continuous lawful-residence reference. Naturalisation also uses at least five years of legal residence, with the final year uninterrupted. |
 Iceland | Europe | 4 years | 7 years | Permanent residence commonly requires four years on qualifying permits, subject to permit and language/support conditions. The general citizenship residence period is seven years, with shorter routes for specified groups. |
 Norway | Europe | 3 years | 8 years | Permanent residence timing depends on permit history; many qualifying routes use a three-year residence period. The main citizenship rule generally requires eight of the previous eleven years, with shorter periods for specified groups. |
 Malta | Europe | 5 years | 5 years | Long-term residence and permanent residence can use five-year references depending on status. Citizenship by naturalisation on residence grounds requires 12 months immediately before application plus an aggregate four years in the preceding six years, alongside discretion and other requirements. |
 Mexico | Americas | 4 years | 5 years | A common route allows a temporary resident to change to permanent residence after four consecutive years. Naturalisation by residence generally requires at least five years of qualifying temporary or permanent residence; student temporary residence does not count for this route. |
 Argentina | Americas | Route-specific | 2 years | Permanent residence depends on the migration category rather than one universal waiting period. The general naturalisation route requires two years of continuous, legal residence immediately before the application and, under the current rule, no trips abroad during that two-year period. |
 Brazil | Americas | Route-specific | 4 years | Indefinite residence is route-specific. Ordinary naturalisation generally uses four years of residence for an immigrant established in Brazil for an indefinite period, with possible statutory reductions in specified cases. |
 Chile | Americas | 2 years | 5 years | For most post-May-2022 temporary-residence cases, definitive residence generally uses a 24-month temporary-residence reference, with some circumstances allowing a shorter or longer period. Naturalisation generally requires definitive residence and five years or more of residence, with shorter family-linked routes in specified cases. |
 Uruguay | Americas | Route-specific / direct application possible | 3 years with qualifying family ties; otherwise 5 years | Permanent legal residence is category-specific rather than a single universal waiting-period milestone. Legal citizenship generally uses three years of habitual residence for applicants with a family established in Uruguay, or five years without, plus the other constitutional conditions. |
 Costa Rica | Americas | Route-specific | 5 or 7 years depending on nationality | Permanent residence is route-specific. Naturalisation by residence generally uses five years for qualifying Central American, Ibero-American and Spanish-by-birth applicants and seven years for other nationalities, alongside the other legal conditions. |
 Japan | Asia | 10 years | 5 years | Permanent residence generally requires ten continuous years in Japan, including at least five years under qualifying work or residence statuses, with important faster routes for highly skilled and other categories. Ordinary naturalisation generally requires five consecutive years of domicile with valid residence status plus other conditions. |
 Singapore | Asia | Eligibility-based; no fixed general wait | Generally 2 years as a permanent resident for adult PR route | Permanent residence is eligibility-based rather than earned automatically after a fixed number of years. One common adult citizenship route is available after at least two years as a Singapore permanent resident, with ICA assessing the full application. |
 Malaysia | Asia | Route-specific | 12 years | Permanent residence is route-specific. Malaysia’s government portal describes the adult naturalisation route as including at least 12 years of residence, good character, Malay-language ability and two Malaysian citizen sponsors, alongside the constitutional requirements. |
 South Africa | Africa | 5 years | Route/PR-history dependent | A common direct permanent-residence route is available to a person who has held an appropriate work visa and permanent offer of employment after five years, but other PR categories differ. Naturalisation depends on permanent-residence history and other statutory conditions, so a single citizenship date from first arrival can be misleading. |
 Mauritius | Africa | Permit/route-specific | 5 years in aggregate during preceding 7 + final 12 months continuous | Long-term/permanent residence depends on the permit route and qualifying criteria. For naturalisation of a non-Commonwealth adult, the Citizenship Act uses a continuous 12 months immediately before application plus at least five years of residence in aggregate during the preceding seven years. |
 United Arab Emirates | Asia | Long-term visas, not a general PR-by-years route | No general years-based naturalisation route | The UAE has long-term residence visas, including Golden Residence, but no general permanent-residence milestone earned after a fixed number of years. Citizenship can be granted to nominated people in specified categories such as investors, doctors, specialists, scientists and talents, rather than through a general years-based naturalisation path. |
Missing a destination? Request a country →