Brunei Permanent Residence and Entry Permit in 2026

Brunei's Immigration Department handles permanent-resident applications through its Entry Permit division.

The current eligibility guidelines were updated with effect from 31 December 2024 and are organised by specific applicant categories and relationship/status conditions.

No generic work-pass conversion

The current permanent-residence guide does not publish a general rule saying that a person becomes eligible simply by holding an Employment Work Pass for a fixed number of years.

Instead, the published categories focus on defined family/status relationships, with category-specific residence, marriage, age, travel-document and medical-insurance conditions.

A foreign employee should therefore not assume that years on a Work Pass create PR eligibility by themselves.

Long-Term Business or Professional Pass

The same caution applies to Long-Term Business and Long-Term Professional Visit Pass holders.

Immigration publishes those categories separately from the Entry Permit system and does not state that they automatically convert into permanent residence after a fixed period.

Current official guidance matters

Older online summaries can use outdated residence-year rules. For a 2026 application, use the Immigration Department's current permanent-residence eligibility publication effective from 31 December 2024 and identify the exact category that applies.

Entry Permit division

The Entry Permit division processes permanent-resident applications and issues re-entry permits/re-entry visas for relevant permanent residents.

Application requirements and card/permit fees can depend on nationality/status and should be checked against the current official page.

Family and status categories

The updated guide contains multiple categories for children of Brunei citizens, children of permanent residents, adopted/stepchildren in specified circumstances, and spouses of citizens or permanent residents.

Each category can carry its own residence-duration, marriage-duration, age or documentation conditions.

No published entrepreneur-to-PR shortcut

The public 2026 material reviewed for this guide does not identify a general “invest BND X and receive permanent residence” programme.

The Long-Term Business Visit Pass is a legitimate owner/investor category, but it should not be renamed a golden visa or permanent-residence-by-investment programme.

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Official and supporting sources

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