What is a residence permit really worth?

Passports get ranked every year. The documents millions of expats actually live on — never. This board scores 70 countries on what the permit unlocks, where it leads, and the days it costs to keep.

RankCountry · permanent statusResidence scoreTravel · Security · Path · RightsDays to keep

1 MT

94.1

6 yridentita.gov.mt 2 GR

92.0

≤ 12 mosiopi-law.gr 3 BE

91.8

91.8

91.8

4 yrnyidanmark.dk 6 RO

90.3

6 yrigi.mai.gov.ro 7 LU

89.8

≤ 12 moguichet.public.lu 8 CH

88.1

4 yrsem.admin.ch 9 IT

88.1

6 yrlegallyitaly.com 10 NL

88.1

6 yrind.nl

Open the full board · 70 countriesToggle: temporary · permanent

11 NO

88.1

88.1

88.1

86.6

2 yrrefugeelight.bg 15 FR

86.5

6 yrservice-public.gouv.fr 16 CZ

86.0

≤ 12 moipc.gov.cz 17 IS

86.0

≤ 18 moisland.is 18 LV

86.0

≤ 12 mopmlp.gov.lv 19 SK

86.0

≤ 12 moipc.gov.cz 20 EE

84.3

6 yrpolitsei.ee 21 AT

82.2

≤ 12 mooesterreich.gv.at 22 ES

82.2

≤ 12 moinclusion.gob.es 23 HR

82.2

≤ 12 momup.gov.hr 24 LT

82.2

≤ 12 moimmigrantinlaw.com 25 SI

82.2

6 yrinfotujci.si 26 SE

81.0

≤ 12 momigrationsverket.se 27 HU

77.9

≤ 6 mohome-affairs.ec.europa.eu 28 LI

77.2

≤ 6 mogesetze.li 29 FI

76.5

65.8

2 yrilrtracker.com 31 CA

65.0

5 yrlaws-lois.justice.gc.ca 32 AU

64.8

∞immi.homeaffairs.gov.au 33 MA

61.8

2 yrlife-in-morocco.com 34 ID

61.0

≤ 12 mocekindo.com 35 AR

60.6

≤ 12 moimmi.legal 36 CR

60.3

4 yrcompanyformationcostarica.com 37 TR

60.3

5 yristaproperty.com 38 TH

60.0

≤ 12 moen.wikipedia.org 39 KR

59.9

2 yrseoulstart.com 40 AL

59.8

≤ 12 mosherbimekontabiliteti.al 41 HK

59.3

≤ 36 moimmd.gov.hk 42 RS

58.2

≤ 12 mowelcometoserbia.gov.rs 43 TW

58.2

1 yrforeignersintaiwan.com 44 BR

58.1

2 yrcostaricanembassy.uk 45 CL

58.1

2 yrserviciomigraciones.cl 46 UY

58.1

57.6

57.3

2 yrkraemerlaw.com 49 US

56.9

1 yrvisatraveler.com 50 UA

56.8

90 ddmsu.gov.ua 51 VN

56.8

∞entryvietnamvisa.com 52 ZA

56.8

3 yrsavisas.com 53 QA

56.0

∞gulfmigration.grc.net 54 NZ

55.4

∞immigration.govt.nz 55 CY

55.3

2 yrgk-lawfirm.com 56 JP

55.2

≤ 60 moconsulmex.sre.gob.mx 57 MX

54.5

54.0

≤ 6 mogw2ru.com 59 MK

53.1

≤ 6 moimmigratetoserbia.com 60 KZ

53.0

183 dnew.wpk.kz 61 IE

52.2

—ie.iasservices.org.uk 62 IL

51.6

7 yrwelcome-israel.com 63 GE

51.5

≤ 12 moimmigration-georgia.com 64 EG

51.3

50.0

∞immigration.gov.ph 66 AE

49.5

49.4

48.6

≤ 6 moarmenian-lawyer.com 69 SA

44.2

40.6

≤ 6 momalaysiavisas.com

Scored on the life you’ll actually live

“Days to keep” — the physical-presence rule that keeps the status alive — is the column no other index publishes. It’s also exactly what Countly counts.

Travel · 35%

What it unlocks

Schengen-wide 90/180, waivers for permit holders in Mexico, Georgia, the Balkans, the Gulf — computed against the same destination weights as the passport board.

Schengen ≈ 28 doors
+ waiver destinations

Security · 30%

The days it costs

From seven days a year on a golden visa to “don’t leave for six months” — the exact rule, from the immigration authority, scored on flexibility.

None 100 · ≤14 d/yr 90
12 mo 75 · 6 mo 55
≥183 d/yr 25

Path · 20%

Where it leads

Years to permanent residency, years to citizenship, and whether you may keep your original one.

Citizenship ≤5y 85+
Dual forbidden −15

Rights · 20%

What you get meanwhile

Work access, family reunification, public healthcare — plus permit stability and renewal friction.

Work · family · health
+ stability of renewal

Countly · the day-counting app

Your permit has a day counter. So does Countly.

Track the presence days that keep your residence permit — and your tax residency — alive. Automatically and privately.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

Free · private · on-device