Brunei permanent residence

The JIPK guidelines list more than 20 categories. Foreign-national children of a Brunei citizen father or mother qualify with no age limit if they live in Brunei, are legally the child of that parent and hold a valid travel document and medical insurance. Foreign children of stateless permanent-resident fathers must be 16 or under. Adopted children of citizens or permanent residents need at least five years of continuous residence and a Brunei adoption registration certificate (stepchildren excluded); stepchildren qualify after 15 or 20 years. People with proven Brunei descent qualify after 10 years of residence if born in Brunei, or 15 years if born abroad.

A foreign wife of a Brunei citizen qualifies after 15 years of a first marriage, on her husband's application, if he is alive when JIPK accepts it, she lives in Brunei and holds a valid travel document and medical insurance; a stateless wife qualifies after 10 years. A foreign husband of a Brunei citizen woman qualifies after 15 years of a first marriage, on his wife's application and as her only husband. For spouses of stateless permanent residents the periods are 20 years (foreign nationals) and 15 or 10 years (stateless persons).

Once an application is approved, the entry permit card costs BND 50 for nationals of Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, stateless persons and countries outside the Commonwealth, and BND 5 for British, Singaporean, Malaysian, Indian and other Commonwealth nationals. Holders also need a visa and re-entry permit or entry and resident permit: for non-Commonwealth passports, BND 50 for the visa and BND 3 for the permit, issued for one year.

Applications for permanent resident status, re-entry permits and re-entry visas are processed by JIPK's Entry Permit Section. Form 6 is used to apply for permission to re-enter Brunei. JIPK publishes the category guidelines as a PDF on its Entry Permit page and answers questions at info@immigration.gov.bn and +673 729 9550.