No Family Abroad? Here's How People Actually Get Permanent Residence

United States

Employer sponsorship is the main route for skilled workers. An employer first proves through the labour certification process, known as PERM, that it couldn't find a qualified US worker for the role. Then it files an immigrant petition, and the green card follows once a visa number is available. For nationals of countries with heavy demand, especially India and China, the wait for that number can run for many years.

The route is under pressure. On 8 October 2026, the Department of Labor suspended eight companies from PERM: Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini. New applications won't be accepted from them and pending ones are on hold. A suspension can last up to 180 days and can be extended while an investigation continues. It applies only to those eight employers.

Two routes don't need an employer at all. The EB-2 National Interest Waiver lets people with an advanced degree or exceptional ability sponsor themselves, if their work is of substantial merit and national importance. The EB-1A category does the same for people with extraordinary ability, at a much higher bar. Both are real options with a high bar: law firms analysing USCIS data report that National Interest Waiver approval rates fell below half in 2026, down from more than 90 per cent a few years earlier.

Canada

Provincial nomination is now the biggest route to permanent residence. In 2025, provincial and territorial nominee programmes admitted 85,095 new permanent residents, well above their target. Each province runs its own streams for the workers it needs, and a nomination either leads straight to a permanent residence application or adds 600 points to an Express Entry profile.

Express Entry admitted 79,650. That was about 64 per cent of its target. Express Entry ranks candidates by points for age, education, language and experience, and invites the top-ranked candidates in regular draws. Category-based draws for specific occupations and French speakers now take a large share of invitations.

The numbers are about to be reset. Canada's 2027–2029 immigration levels plan is due to be tabled by 1 November. It will set how many places each route gets for the next three years.

United Kingdom

The Skilled Worker visa leads to settlement after five years. That's indefinite leave to remain, the UK's form of permanent residence, and it requires continuous residence and a job that keeps meeting the visa's conditions.

That five years may become ten. The government has proposed an "earned settlement" model that would make ten years the standard, with shorter periods for people who meet extra criteria. The Home Secretary told MPs in September that the final policy would be set out later this year. Until it's published and in force, five years remains the rule.

Australia

Australia publishes exactly how many permanent places each route gets. For 2025–26, the skilled stream has 132,200 of the 185,000 total:

• Employer sponsored: 44,000. The largest skilled category. An employer nominates you for a permanent visa, usually after you've worked for them on a temporary visa.
• State and territory nominated: 33,000. States choose candidates for occupations they need, much like Canada's provinces.
• Regional: 33,000. For people who live and work outside the major cities.
• Skilled independent: 16,900. The points-tested visa with no sponsor, and the smallest of the four.

Japan

Japan has one of the biggest gaps between the standard route and the shortcut. Permanent residence normally takes ten years. Under the points system for highly skilled professionals, which awards points for education, salary, experience and Japanese ability, 70 points cuts that to three years and 80 points cuts it to one.

Japan has also made permanent residence harder in other ways. Revised guidelines from 1 October 2026, phasing in through April 2027, raise the income bar to around the national average, add a pension contribution test and lift the application fee from ¥10,000 to ¥200,000.

Germany

Germany is the fastest major route in the EU. EU Blue Card holders can get a settlement permit after 27 months, or after just 21 months if they can show B1-level German. You need a qualifying job offer and salary first.

Across the EU, the residence clock can travel. EU long-term resident status takes five years of legal residence. For Blue Card holders, those years can be built up across different EU countries, as long as the last two are in the country where you apply.

Ireland

Ireland is close behind. Holders of a Critical Skills Employment Permit can apply for Stamp 4 after two years. Stamp 4 lets you live and work in Ireland without an employment permit, and time on it counts toward long-term residence and citizenship.

South Korea

South Korea has its own points route. Reaching 80 points on the F-2-7 residence visa, which counts age, education, Korean ability and income, can lead to permanent residence (F-5) after about three years of continuous stay. Korea revised its F-5 guidelines on 18 September 2026, so the detail is worth checking.

Singapore

Singapore decides case by case. Employment Pass and S Pass holders can apply for permanent residence, but there's no minimum stay, no published criteria and no right to approval. Decisions are entirely discretionary, and Singapore has granted roughly 30,000 permanent residencies a year since 2010.

UAE

The UAE doesn't offer permanent residence. Its closest equivalent is the Golden Visa: ten years, renewable, available through routes including property worth at least AED 2 million (about US$545,000). It gives long-term security, but it isn't permanent status and doesn't lead to citizenship.

Mexico

Mexico grants permanent residence directly to people who can show monthly income of about MXN 133,700 (around US$7,400) or savings of about MXN 5.4 million (around US$296,000). Everyone else can hold temporary residence for four years and then apply. Consulates apply slightly different figures.

Panama

Panama's Friendly Nations visa is open to nationals of 50 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. You need one of three things: a job offer from a Panamanian company, property worth at least US$200,000, or a US$200,000 fixed deposit in a Panamanian bank. You hold provisional residence for two years, then apply for permanent residence.

The Bahamas

The Bahamas offers permanent residence to property buyers, with a minimum investment of US$750,000. Purchases above about US$1.5 million usually receive faster consideration.