Comparison · all eight destinations
How many years to permanent residency in Europe
By Covered Abroad Research Desk · Last verified July 2026
The comparison
Summary cells compress the official text quoted for each country further down. Where the sources we checked state no qualifying period, the cell says so rather than guessing one. Drawn from 55 long-stay routes across 8 countries.
| Country | Standard clock | What you get | Fastest published route | Language test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | Five years | Ten-year card marked “résident de longue durée-UE” | Two years on an EU Blue Card, plus three years’ earlier lawful residence in France or another EU state (CESEDA art. L421-12) | Not stated in the sources we checked |
| Italy | Five years | Ten-year EU long-term residence permit, automatically renewed | No faster route published — every route we checked runs on the same five-year rule | Yes — an Italian-language test |
| Spain | Five years | EU long-term residence — indefinite residence and work on the same terms as Spanish nationals | Blue Card holders: five years across the EU plus two years in Spain immediately before applying | Not stated in the sources we checked |
| Portugal | Not stated in the sources we checked | AIMA operates a separate permanent-residence permit under Art. 80.º | Not stated | Not stated in the sources we checked |
| Greece | Not stated in the sources we checked | Law 5038/2023 provides separate long-term residence and ten-year permit routes | Not stated | Not stated in the sources we checked |
| Malta | Not stated in the sources we checked | The Permanent Residence Programme confers permanent residence directly rather than leading to it | Not applicable — MPRP is a direct grant, not a clock | Not stated in the sources we checked |
| Germany | Five years (§ 9 Abs. 2) | Niederlassungserlaubnis — settlement permit | Three years, two ways: § 21 Abs. 4 for business self-employment, and § 18c for skilled workers with 36 months of pension contributions — the latter cut to two years and 24 months with German vocational training or a German degree | Yes — B1 German on the skilled-worker route |
| Austria | Five years | Daueraufenthalt – EU, issued for five years with free labour-market access | No faster route to Daueraufenthalt – EU, but the Red-White-Red Card plus arrives at two years for self-employed key workers and start-up founders, or after 21 of the preceding 24 months in qualifying employment | Yes — Module 2 of the Integration Agreement (B1 German) |
Three things move the clock, and none of them is the headline number
Which route you are on. Germany is the clearest case. A residence permit for business self-employment can reach a settlement permit in three years under § 21 Abs. 4. The freelance permit for the liberal professions is expressly excluded from that provision and falls back to the general five-year route in § 9 Abs. 2. Two people arriving the same week, both self-employed, can be two years apart on permanent residence purely because of which permit they hold.
Whether your time counts, and at what rate. This is the one that surprises people, because the years are being served either way. Italy excludes study and vocational-training time from the count outright. Spain counts study at 50%, so five years as a student counts as two and a half. Germany counts lawful study or training at half under § 9 Abs. 4 Nr. 3. Austria counts student time at half, and only once you have moved to a settlement title. And Germany’s Opportunity Card, the job-search permit, counts for nothing at all — § 20a Abs. 6 disapplies the settlement provision entirely.
Whether years elsewhere in the EU port across. The EU Blue Card is the mechanism, and it is the single biggest accelerator available to someone who has already lived in Europe. France gives its ten-year card on two years in France plus three years of earlier lawful residence in France or another member state. Spain requires five years across the EU plus two in Spain immediately before applying. Austria lets a Blue Card holder settled for two years count earlier residence elsewhere — in full if that was also on a Blue Card, at half if it was not.
What each country’s sources actually say
Quoted so you can check the summary above against the source. Where a country states no qualifying period, that is recorded as an absence in the official text we verified — not as a claim that no rule exists anywhere.
France · Five years
Long-stay visitor visa and visitor residence card (visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour « visiteur »)
Time on this card counts. Five years' uninterrupted regular residence, plus stable and sufficient resources at least equal to the minimum wage and health insurance, gives a ten-year card marked “résident de longue durée-UE”. The visitor card is not among the categories CESEDA art. L426-18 excludes from that five-year count — unlike student and seasonal-worker cards.
Official source: Légifrance — Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile (CESEDA) art. L426-20, L414-10, and L426-17 to L426-19 for long-term residence — Last verified:
Talent residence card — qualified employee (carte de séjour pluriannuelle « talent-salarié qualifié »)
Five years' uninterrupted regular residence with resources at least equal to the minimum wage and health insurance gives the ten-year “résident de longue durée-UE” card. Talent cards are not in the exclusion list.
Official source: Légifrance — CESEDA art. L421-9 and L421-22; Arrêté du 21 août 2025 relatif au montant du salaire brut moyen annuel de référence (NOR INTV2520646A), JORF n°0202 of 31 August 2025, applying CESEDA art. R421-16 A — Last verified:
Talent residence card — EU Blue Card (carte de séjour pluriannuelle « talent - carte bleue européenne »)
The best path to permanent residence of any route on this page, and it is expressly provided rather than inferred. CESEDA art. L421-12 gives the ten-year “résident de longue durée-UE” card on two years' residence in France holding this card plus three years' prior lawful continuous residence “en France ou dans un autre Etat membre de l'Union européenne” — so those earlier three years may have been spent in France OR elsewhere in the EU, which is broader than most summaries state. Absences from EU territory do not break continuity if under twelve consecutive months, or eighteen months in total.
Official source: Légifrance — CESEDA art. L421-11 and L421-12; Arrêté du 21 août 2025 relatif au montant du salaire brut moyen annuel de référence, applying CESEDA art. R421-21 A — Last verified:
Watch for: Student and seasonal-worker cards are excluded from the five-year count. Visitor, talent, employee and entrepreneur cards are not.
Earlier EU residence: Yes — on the Blue Card route, the earlier three years may have been spent in another member state
Every long-stay route for France, with its work rule and income test: the visa finder.
Italy · Five years
Elective residence visa (visto per residenza elettiva)
Five years holding a valid residence permit, with income not below the annual social allowance and suitable accommodation, gives the ten-year EU long-term residence permit — automatically renewed and a permanent recognition of status. It is conditional on passing an Italian-language test. Time on this permit counts; study and vocational-training time is excluded, but elective residence is not.
Official source: Ministero degli Affari Esteri — Consulate General of Italy in New York, “Elective residency”, cross-checked against the Consulate General in Los Angeles; statutory basis D.M. 850 of 11 May 2011, with D.Lgs 286/1998 arts. 5 and 9 — Last verified:
Digital nomad and remote worker visa (visto per nomadi digitali e lavoratori da remoto)
The general rule: five years holding a valid residence permit, income not below the annual social allowance, suitable accommodation and an Italian-language test give the ten-year EU long-term residence permit. This permit is not among the exclusions.
Official source: Ministero degli Affari Esteri — Embassy of Italy in Pristina, “Digital nomad and remote worker visa”, setting out the Interministerial Decree of 29 February 2024 (Gazzetta Ufficiale, 4 April 2024) implementing D.Lgs 286/1998 art. 27 — Last verified:
Self-employment visa (visto per lavoro autonomo)
Five years holding a valid residence permit, income not below the annual social allowance, suitable accommodation and an Italian-language test give the ten-year EU long-term residence permit.
Official source: Ministero dell'Interno / Normattiva — D.Lgs 25 July 1998 n. 286 art. 26 and art. 5(3-quater); quota set by DPCM of 2 October 2025 (published in Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 240 of 15 October 2025) (programmazione dei flussi 2026-2028) — Last verified:
Watch for: Study and vocational-training time is excluded outright, not discounted. The investor visa waives continuity-of-stay for five years, but long-term residence needs five years of actual residence — using the waiver can defer the claim.
Earlier EU residence: Not stated in the sources we checked
Every long-stay route for Italy, with its work rule and income test: the visa finder.
Spain · Five years
Non-lucrative residence visa and authorisation (visado y autorización de residencia temporal no lucrativa)
Five years' continuous legal residence, plus fixed and regular resources sufficient for you and your family and health insurance, gives the EU long-term residence status — indefinite residence and work on the same terms as Spanish nationals. Continuity survives absences of up to six months at a time provided they total no more than ten months across the five years.
Official source: Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones — Hoja informativa 6; Real Decreto 1155/2024 arts. 60 to 64 and art. 176 (BOE-A-2024-24099); Ley Orgánica 4/2000 arts. 30 bis and 31 — Last verified:
International teleworking visa and authorisation (visado y autorización de residencia para teletrabajo de carácter internacional)
Five years' continuous legal residence plus fixed and regular resources and health insurance give EU long-term residence status.
Official source: Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones, Unidad de Grandes Empresas y Colectivos Estratégicos — official English FAQ for international teleworkers (April 2026); Ley 14/2013 arts. 62 and 74 bis to 74 quinquies (BOE-A-2013-10074) — Last verified:
Long-duration study stay for higher education (autorización de estancia de larga duración para estudios superiores)
Materially worse than other routes, and this is the number to know: time spent on a study stay counts at only 50% of its actual duration toward the five years needed for EU long-term residence, and only if you are in a residence situation in Spain when you apply. Five years as a student counts as two and a half.
Official source: Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones — Hoja informativa 1 (November 2025); Real Decreto 1155/2024 arts. 34 to 36, 52 to 58 and 176 (BOE-A-2024-24099); Ley Orgánica 4/2000 arts. 25 bis and 33; Directive (EU) 2016/801 — Last verified:
Watch for: Study time counts at only 50%, so five years as a student counts as two and a half. Continuity survives absences up to six months at a time, to a total of ten months across the five years.
Earlier EU residence: Yes — on the Blue Card route, across qualifying permits EU-wide
Every long-stay route for Spain, with its work rule and income test: the visa finder.
Portugal · no period stated
D7 residence visa — retirement, pension or passive income (visto de residência: aposentados, titulares de rendimentos próprios)
AIMA runs a separate permanent-residence permit under Art. 80.º; the qualifying period is not stated on the pages reviewed. For citizenship, Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 (in force 19 May 2026) now requires ten years of legal residence for US and UK nationals, and seven for EU and Portuguese-speaking-country nationals — raised from five.
Official source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Portugal Visa Portal (means of subsistence); AIMA — Autorização de Residência, Regime e Requisitos Gerais, Art. 77.º n.º 1; Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, Diário da República — Last verified:
D8 residence visa — professional activity performed remotely (visto de residência para exercício de atividade profissional prestada de forma remota)
Not stated for this category. Naturalisation requires ten years of legal residence for US and UK nationals under Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026.
Official source: AIMA — Autorização de Residência para atividade profissional prestada de forma remota, Art. 88.º n.º 1; Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Portugal Visa Portal — Last verified:
Golden Visa / ARI — residence permit for investment activity (autorização de residência para investimento, Art. 90.º-A)
AIMA states holders may request permanent residence and pursue naturalisation on meeting the citizenship law. Since Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 that means ten years of legal residence for US and UK nationals.
Official source: AIMA — Autorização de Residência para Investimento, Art. 90.º-A — Last verified:
Watch for: The qualifying period is not stated on the AIMA pages we reviewed. Separately, citizenship moved: Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, in force 19 May 2026, requires ten years’ legal residence for US and UK nationals and seven for EU and Portuguese-speaking-country nationals, raised from five.
Earlier EU residence: Not stated in the sources we checked
Every long-stay route for Portugal, with its work rule and income test: the visa finder.
Greece · no period stated
Financially Independent Person — residence permit for third-country nationals with sufficient means of subsistence, title I.8 (Art. 163 par. 8, Law 5038/2023)
Not stated in the sources verified. Neither the ministerial decision nor the June 2024 circular addresses whether time on an I.8 permit counts toward long-term residence or citizenship.
Official source: Joint Ministerial Decision No. οικ. 225679, Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ) Β′ 5223 of 17.09.2024, Ministry of Migration & Asylum; Ministry circular of 3 June 2024 on Law 5038/2023 — Last verified:
Digital nomad — national entry visa and residence title Z.1 (Art. 68, Law 5038/2023)
Not stated in the official sources reviewed.
Official source: Joint Ministerial Decision No. οικ. 225679 (ΦΕΚ Β′ 5223 of 17.09.2024) for the threshold; Law 5275/2026 (ΦΕΚ Α′ 17 of 06.02.2026) for the visa-then-permit structure; Work From Greece (state portal) — Last verified:
Golden Visa — permanent residence permit for investors (Art. 100, Law 5038/2023, as replaced by Art. 64 par. 1 of Law 5100/2024)
Not stated in the official circular reviewed.
Official source: Ministry of Migration & Asylum, Circular 9 of 25.09.2024 (ref. 240076/24) on Art. 100 real-estate investment residence permits — Last verified:
Watch for: Not one of the four routes we verified states whether time on it counts toward long-term residence. Neither the ministerial decision nor the June 2024 circular addresses it.
Earlier EU residence: Not stated in the sources we checked
Every long-stay route for Greece, with its work rule and income test: the visa finder.
Malta · no period stated
Nomad Residence Permit
Not stated. Note that the published four-year maximum means this permit alone does not reach the usual five-year long-term-residence horizon.
Official source: Residency Malta Agency — Nomad Residence Permit eligibility page and FAQs — Last verified:
Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP) — S.L. 217.26, as amended by Legal Notice 310 of 2024 and Legal Notice 146 of 2025
This route confers permanent residence directly rather than leading to it. Citizenship is a separate matter these regulations do not address.
Official source: Residency Malta Agency — MPRP legal framework; Legal Notice 310 of 2024 (in force 1 January 2025); Legal Notice 146 of 2025 — Last verified:
Malta Startup Residence Programme
Not stated in the programme documentation.
Official source: Residency Malta Agency — Malta Startup Residence Programme Eligibility and Requirements, V4.2, August 2025 — Last verified:
Watch for: The Nomad Residence Permit is capped at a four-year maximum stay, so that permit alone cannot reach the usual five-year long-term-residence horizon. Two of Malta’s programmes are tax statuses, not immigration pathways at all.
Earlier EU residence: Not stated in the sources we checked
Every long-stay route for Malta, with its work rule and income test: the visa finder.
Germany · Five years (§ 9 Abs. 2)
Freelance residence permit for the liberal professions (Aufenthaltserlaubnis zur Ausübung einer freiberuflichen Tätigkeit, § 21 Abs. 5 AufenthG)
Slower than the business route. The fast three-year settlement permit in § 21 Abs. 4 is expressly excluded for freelancers, so you fall back on the general Niederlassungserlaubnis in § 9 Abs. 2: five years, secured livelihood, at least 60 months of pension contributions or equivalent private provision, B1 German, basic knowledge of the legal and social order, and adequate housing.
Official source: Bundesamt für Justiz, Aufenthaltsgesetz § 21 Abs. 5, § 21 Abs. 6, § 7 Abs. 2, § 9 Abs. 2, § 30 Abs. 1; Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, Make it in Germany — visa for self-employment — Last verified:
The over-45 condition on German self-employment permits (angemessene Altersversorgung, § 21 Abs. 3 AufenthG)
As for the underlying permit: the three-year § 21 Abs. 4 route for business self-employment, or the general five-year § 9 Abs. 2 route for freelancers.
Official source: Bundesamt für Justiz, Aufenthaltsgesetz § 21 Abs. 3 and § 18 Abs. 2 Nr. 5; Auswärtiges Amt, Mindestgehalt Arbeitsmigration 2026 (09.01.2026); Bundesministerium des Innern, Anwendungshinweise zum Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz — Last verified:
Opportunity Card — job-seeker residence permit (Chancenkarte, § 20a AufenthG)
Time on the initial search card does not count: § 20a Abs. 6 disapplies § 9. You reach settlement by converting to a work permit under §§ 18a, 18b, 18g or 21 and then using § 18c — three years plus 36 months of pension contributions and B1 German, cut to two years and 24 months if you completed German vocational training or a German degree.
Official source: Bundesamt für Justiz, Aufenthaltsgesetz §§ 20a, 20b and the points Anlage; Make it in Germany — job search opportunity card, and financial security by purpose of stay (January 2026) — Last verified:
Watch for: The three-year § 21 Abs. 4 route is expressly excluded for freelancers, who fall back to five years — so business self-employment and freelance are two years apart. Study time counts at half. Time on the Opportunity Card counts for nothing: § 20a Abs. 6 disapplies § 9.
Earlier EU residence: Not stated in the sources we checked
Every long-stay route for Germany, with its work rule and income test: the visa finder.
Austria · Five years
Settlement Permit excluding gainful employment (Niederlassungsbewilligung – ausgenommen Erwerbstätigkeit, § 44 NAG)
After five years of uninterrupted actual settlement you may apply for the long-term residence title Daueraufenthalt – EU, subject to the general conditions and Module 2 of the Integration Agreement (B1 German). Time on this permit counts in full, because it is settlement rather than a temporary residence permit. The five-year clock breaks if you spend more than ten months in total, or more than six consecutive months, outside Austria.
Official source: Bundeskanzleramt RIS, Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz § 44, § 8 Abs. 1 Z 5, § 13, § 45; migration.gv.at; oesterreich.gv.at; Bundesministerium für Inneres, Informationsbroschüre über die Unterhaltsberechnung (2026) — Last verified:
Red-White-Red Card — Other Key Workers (sonstige Schlüsselkräfte, § 41 Abs. 2 Z 1 NAG with § 12b Z 1 AuslBG)
Two stages. After employment meeting the eligibility criteria for at least 21 of the preceding 24 months you may apply for the Red-White-Red Card plus, which brings unlimited labour-market access. Daueraufenthalt – EU then follows after five years of uninterrupted settlement plus Module 2 of the Integration Agreement (B1 German). Time on this card counts in full.
Official source: Bundeskanzleramt RIS, Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz § 12b Z 1; Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz § 41 Abs. 2 and Abs. 5, § 8 Abs. 1 Z 1, § 45; migration.gv.at — Last verified:
Red-White-Red Card — Skilled Workers in Shortage Occupations (Fachkräfte in Mangelberufen, § 41 Abs. 2 Z 2 NAG with § 12a AuslBG)
Red-White-Red Card plus after employment meeting the criteria for at least 21 of the preceding 24 months, giving unlimited labour-market access; then Daueraufenthalt – EU after five years of settlement plus B1 German.
Official source: Bundeskanzleramt RIS, Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz § 12a; Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz § 41 Abs. 2 and Abs. 5, § 8 Abs. 1 Z 1, § 45; migration.gv.at — Last verified:
Watch for: Student time counts only half, and only once you have moved to a settlement title — students cannot obtain a Red-White-Red Card directly. The five-year clock breaks on absences totalling more than ten months, or exceeding six consecutive months.
Earlier EU residence: Yes — a Blue Card holder settled two years in Austria may count earlier lawful residence elsewhere, in full where that was on a Blue Card and at half otherwise
Every long-stay route for Austria, with its work rule and income test: the visa finder.
Permanent residence is not citizenship, and Portugal just proved why that matters
The two clocks are separate, and people routinely plan against the wrong one. Permanent residence gives you the right to stay, and in most of these countries the right to work on the same terms as a national. Citizenship gives you a passport, and it usually asks for more years, a language test and a civics test on top.
Portugal is the live example. It was widely understood as a five-year route to a passport, and that changed: Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, in force 19 May 2026, requires ten years of legal residence for US and UK nationals and seven for nationals of EU and Portuguese-speaking countries, raised from five. If your plan was built on the old number, it is a different plan now — and the permanent-residence question is separate again, since AIMA runs its permit under Art. 80.º without stating a qualifying period on the pages we reviewed.
The practical takeaway is to check which of the two you actually need. If your goal is to live somewhere indefinitely, permanent residence is usually the shorter and more reliable target. If your goal is a passport, the clock is longer than the residence clock in every one of these countries.
Where insurance fits into this
Health cover is a condition of the qualifying years, not just of the first application. France requires it alongside resources at the five-year point, Spain requires it for EU long-term residence, and Germany and Austria both fold it into the general conditions for settlement. A gap in cover partway through is a continuity problem as well as a paperwork one, which is why a policy that has to be re-bought every year is a weaker foundation than one that renews.
If you already hold something, the free policy check reads it against the published rule for your destination. To see what each country tests in the first place, compare the rules. To find which route fits you at all, use the visa finder, and the income checker shows what each one asks you to earn.
Consulates keep discretion, and requirements can change. We show the published rule and its source; the final decision is the consulate’s. Covered Abroad is an insurance introducer, not an insurer. We cannot extend cover beyond the policy wording. We log rule changes as we find them on updates.