One of the milestones in my progress towards South African citizenship was getting permanent residency. After five years on a student visa, I qualified for that status in 1990. Five years after that, I was eligible for naturalization.
But thanks to my ignorance of South African immigration law at the time, I almost had to start all over again…
“Permanent” residency is, in fact, rarely permanent. Only three countries—Mexico, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia—offer unrestricted permanent residency status once granted. No matter how long you are away from one of those countries, you remain a permanent resident with the right to return and live (and work) in the country without restriction.
By contrast, “permanent” residency in almost every other country comes with strings attached. That was the case in South Africa in 1993-94, when I accepted a consultancy appointment at the World Bank in Washington, DC. In the event, I was out of South Africa for just short of 12 months. A few more weeks, and I’d have been treated as a tourist on my return to South Africa… meaning I’d have had to start the residency process all over again.
A surprising number of expats are unaware of the rules regarding retention of permanent residency. Here’s a selection of countries, showing how ignoring this important factor can cause big problems.
Don’t Roll the Dice
Some popular expat destinations, including Panama, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil, require that you spend time in the country every so often to keep permanent residency. For example, continuous absence of more than three years will cost you Uruguayan or Paraguayan residency. Panama and Brazil want you to visit at least every two years.
The interesting thing about these countries, however, is that the revocation of permanent residency isn’t automatic. It’s discretionary, meaning that the immigration authorities have to become aware of your absence, make a case out of it, and take an affirmative decision to remove your permanent residency. This means that in practice many people flout these timelines without any consequences.
Having said that, it’s never a good idea to dice with one’s residency status, especially if you’ve established a home and a life in a foreign country. Knowing the rules and the milestones governing your residency status is as important as knowing when to go for your annual checkup.
Another group of countries grants what they call permanent residency, but which in fact only applies as long as you keep the investment that got you residency status in the first place. For example, you can get residency in Cyprus by buying a property worth at least €300,000 ($335,000)… but you’ll lose that status if you sell it. The same is true of investment-based residency programs in Malta and Greece. The Philippines and Bulgaria offer what they call permanent residence, but it only continues if you keep a required amount of money in a local bank or investment fund.
All of these programs are in fact what most people call “Golden Visas.” Although many people consider this to be a form of permanent residency, in fact all of these programs are technically temporary residency programs that depend on maintaining the investment that qualified you for them. If you’re happy keeping a qualifying investment indefinitely, there’s no problem. But if after a decade or so you absent-mindedly decide to sell a property and rent instead, you’ve unknowingly lost your status.
Other countries ask that you spend a certain amount of time in the country over a specified period. For example, to keep Canadian permanent residency, you need to spend at least 730 days in the country in a rolling five-year period. If you hold Australian permanent residency for five years or more and then decide to travel abroad, you have no automatic right to return. Before allowing you back in, the immigration authorities will check to see whether you’ve spent more than two years out of the country in the previous five. The same is true of the United Kingdom’s Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Finally, a few countries grant you permanent residency, but require that you have a separate re-entry permit to allow you to travel abroad. In Singapore, for example, if you leave the country without such a permit, you automatically lose permanent residency. And if your re-entry permit expires, you need to apply for renewal within six months or you’ll also lose your residency rights.
The bottom line here is that with a few exceptions, becoming a permanent resident of another country requires a certain degree of awareness, vigilance, and regular compliance with the immigration authorities. Unlike citizenship, your status remains “permanently temporary,” to coin a term.
So if you’re thinking about planting your flag in another country as a permanent resident, make sure you have all the facts and know all the rules before you pull the trigger.
Fortunately, I’m here to help you fill in every blank you may find on the way to that happy event.
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