More
The other screens, and quick notes on countries that did not get a full check.
- ScholarshipsNext deadline, what each covers, spouse, fit
- CompareTwo or three countries side by side
- What changedLog of every refresh, old and new values
Scout notes: countries not covered
quick scan, not verifiedThis screen is only partly done. Qatar, Türkiye, mainland China, Brunei, Mauritius and Georgia were not researched. Tuition and visa-processing figures were not verified for any country. Treat everything marked "not confirmed" as needing a check before you rely on it.
What the evidence does show: none of the 19 extra countries beats the main list on the core requirement, which is that your spouse arrives with you and may work freely. The pattern in this batch is a 12 to 15 month wait, no work right for a student's spouse, or both. Czechia: 15 months (official).
Malta: 12 months and no automatic work right (official). Slovenia: about 1 year (EU portal). Luxembourg: work permit plus labour-market test in year 1 (EU portal). Spain and Hong Kong: your spouse may come but may not work (Art. 56 as cited; ImmD official).
Only Luxembourg and Iceland are worth a short deep dive, and both are weak on cost of living. Leads worth a closer look (each needs confirmation): 1. Czechia: a full-time student in an accredited programme has completely free labour-market access (official ipc.gov.cz), and a post-study job-seeking permit exists.
Strong for a single student, but the spouse rule rules it out for you. 2. Iceland: spouse entry for master's students is confirmed after the July 2026 reform, and you may work 60%. The post-study stay was cut from 3 years to 18 months, and spouse work is not confirmed. 3.
Taiwan 2026 Talent Act: graduates may stay and work freely for up to 2 years, and the permanent-residence (APRC) wait for Taiwan graduates was reportedly shortened. Spouse rights for students are not confirmed. 4. Spain workaround: your spouse enrols as a student too and each of you gets 30 h/week of work.
It doubles tuition, so it only works with very cheap public programmes. 5. Hong Kong: Bangladesh is not on the excluded list and a spouse may accompany a full-time postgraduate, but cannot work. No job-seeker or digital-nomad visa that suits a fresh graduate and converts to PR was confirmed. That question remains open.
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Luxembourg
Worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Probably, but not a clean day-one route. The sponsor must hold a residence permit valid for at least 1 year, plus minimum-wage-level resources, housing and health cover. Students are not on the exemption list (EU Immigration Portal, updated 1 Apr 2025). The rule specific to students is not confirmed.
- Spouse work rights
- Restricted: your spouse needs a work permit before starting. A labour-market test applies in the first year and is lighter after 1 year (EU Immigration Portal).
- Tuition a year
- Not confirmed. Public fees are thought to be low (a few hundred EUR per semester).
- PR route
- EU long-term resident status after 5 years. A study-to-work switch exists, details not confirmed.
- Earliest arrival
- Sept 2027 realistically, since non-EU deadlines for the Sept intake fall early in the year. Not confirmed.
- Bangladesh visa note
- There is no Luxembourg embassy in Dhaka. The visa process for Bangladeshis is not checked.
- Verdict
- Cheap tuition but very high rent. The sponsor faces a resource test at minimum-wage level, and your spouse needs a work permit with a labour-market test in year 1. It is the best of this batch on paper, with clear limits.
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Iceland
Worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Yes. Only full-time Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral students may bring a marital spouse (rule tightened July 2026). A spouse who needs a visa cannot enter until the permit is granted, so it is not literally day one.
- Spouse work rights
- Not confirmed. The official pages do not say that a student's spouse may work. Assume your spouse needs a separate employer-tied work permit until proven otherwise.
- Tuition a year
- Not confirmed. Historically the University of Iceland charged a registration fee only.
- PR route
- The post-study permit was cut to a maximum of 18 months (was 3 years) from July 2026. After that you need a work permit. The PR timeline is not confirmed.
- Earliest arrival
- Autumn 2027, since non-EEA deadlines fall early in the year. Not confirmed.
- Bangladesh visa note
- Not checked.
- Verdict
- Spouse entry is confirmed for master's students and you may work 60%. The 2026 changes went the wrong way, with a shorter post-study stay. Spouse work is not confirmed, and living cost is among the highest in Europe.
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Czechia
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Not soon with work rights. The family-reunification permit requires the sponsor to hold a long-term permit and to have lived in Czechia for over 15 months. Both spouses must be 20 or older, and processing from abroad takes up to 270 days (official ipc.gov.cz). A 'family purposes' stay exists earlier but carries no work right.
- Spouse work rights
- Free labour-market access only on the family-reunification permit (after the 15-month wait). None on the family-purpose permit (ipc.gov.cz).
- Tuition a year
- English-taught programmes are fee-paying. Amounts not checked.
- PR route
- You have free labour-market access while in accredited full-time study. A post-study job-seeking permit exists. Permanent residence comes after 5 years (how study time counts is not checked).
- Earliest arrival
- Feb or Sept 2027. Czech visa processing for Bangladeshis is said to be slow, not confirmed.
- Bangladesh visa note
- Not checked.
- Verdict
- Good for a single student, with unrestricted work while studying. It fails the spouse test: 15 months before your spouse can come with work rights.
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Spain
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Yes, alongside a higher-education student (Art. 56, RD 1155/2024, in force 20 May 2025). This comes from secondary sources quoting the article, not from the official BOE text.
- Spouse work rights
- None: the family stay explicitly carries no work authorisation (Art. 56.6 as cited by ApplyBoard). Workaround: your spouse enrols as a student too and gets 30 h/week.
- Tuition a year
- Not checked.
- PR route
- A student stay can be switched to work residence after studies. Long-term residence takes 5 years, and student time counts only partly. Not verified.
- Earliest arrival
- Sept/Oct 2027 for most masters.
- Bangladesh visa note
- Not checked.
- Verdict
- Your spouse can come but cannot work unless they also study, which means double tuition. It fails the work-rights requirement.
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Portugal
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Uncertain and worsening. Lei 61/2025 (Oct 2025) introduced a 2-year residence wait for many sponsors. Whether student-permit holders are exempt is not confirmed, and law-firm sources conflict.
- Spouse work rights
- Not confirmed.
- Tuition a year
- Not checked.
- PR route
- Not confirmed after the 2025-26 reforms.
- Earliest arrival
- Sept 2027. AIMA and embassy backlogs are long.
- Bangladesh visa note
- Historically there was no full visa section in Dhaka, with applications going through New Delhi. Not confirmed.
- Verdict
- Rules tightened in 2025-26 and processing is slow. High hassle, and spouse timing is unclear.
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Slovenia
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Only after about 1 year. The sponsor must have lived there for the previous year on a temporary permit and hold one valid for at least a year. Students are not among the exempt groups (EU Immigration Portal, 1 Apr 2025).
- Spouse work rights
- Same access as other non-EU nationals 'in principle'. That means the normal permit procedure, not free access.
- Tuition a year
- Not checked.
- PR route
- Not checked.
- Earliest arrival
- Oct 2027
- Bangladesh visa note
- Not checked.
- Verdict
- One-year wait for your spouse and no automatic work right.
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Malta
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Not from day one. The sponsor needs a permit valid for at least 1 year and may apply only after 12 months. The resources test is the median wage of EUR 18,940 plus 20% per family member (Identita Family Members Policy v5.3, 4 Apr 2025).
- Spouse work rights
- No automatic right to work (stated in the policy).
- Tuition a year
- Not checked.
- PR route
- Weak for students. Not checked.
- Earliest arrival
- n/a
- Bangladesh visa note
- Not checked.
- Verdict
- Fails on timing, income test and work rights.
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Latvia
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Not confirmed. The EU portal says legal residents can reunite with a spouse but does not address students.
- Spouse work rights
- Unrestricted work is granted only to family of permanent residents or of employment or self-employment permit holders. Student sponsors are not listed (EU Immigration Portal, 1 Apr 2025).
- Tuition a year
- Not checked.
- PR route
- Not checked.
- Earliest arrival
- Feb or Sept 2027
- Bangladesh visa note
- Not checked.
- Verdict
- Cheap, but there is no evidence that a student's spouse may work.
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Cyprus
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Doubtful. The Migration Department treats family reunification as a separate category. Secondary sources say it is restricted for students and requires a marriage of 1 year or more and both spouses aged 21 or older. The official student rule is not confirmed.
- Spouse work rights
- Not confirmed, and very unlikely.
- Tuition a year
- not known unverified
- PR route
- not known unverified
- Earliest arrival
- not known unverified
- Bangladesh visa note
- not known unverified
- Verdict
- No reliable spouse route, and a weak PR route for students.
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Switzerland
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Limited. The Geneva canton page says a student's family right is limited to spouse and dependent children, but students must show intent to leave after studies. The federal (SEM) rule is not confirmed.
- Spouse work rights
- Not confirmed.
- Tuition a year
- not known unverified
- PR route
- Poor: non-EU B-permit holders face long waits and study years count little. Not confirmed.
- Earliest arrival
- not known unverified
- Bangladesh visa note
- not known unverified
- Verdict
- Not a settlement route for students.
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Hong Kong
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Yes. Full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students at degree-awarding institutions may bring a spouse. Bangladesh is not on the excluded-nationality list (ImmD).
- Spouse work rights
- No. A student's dependants are prohibited from employment without prior permission of the Director of Immigration (ImmD).
- Tuition a year
- Not checked.
- PR route
- Post-study IANG stay, then permanent residence after 7 years of ordinary residence. Not verified.
- Earliest arrival
- Sept 2027 (some Jan intakes)
- Bangladesh visa note
- Bangladesh is not excluded from the student arrangement (immd.gov.hk).
- Verdict
- Your spouse can come but cannot work.
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Taiwan
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Not confirmed for students.
- Spouse work rights
- Not confirmed. Only an aggregator site claims open work for spouses, and that likely applies to foreign professionals, not students.
- Tuition a year
- not known unverified
- PR route
- 2026 Talent Act changes: graduates get up to 2 years (1+1) to stay and work freely, and a points system (70/200) applies for work permits. The APRC wait for Taiwan graduates was reportedly cut (EY alert). The official text is not verified.
- Earliest arrival
- Feb or Sept 2027
- Bangladesh visa note
- not known unverified
- Verdict
- Interesting post-study rules for you and low cost, but no confirmed spouse work right, and Mandarin matters for jobs. Keep it as a watch item, not a front-runner.
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Singapore
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Not confirmed. The ICA Student's Pass page says nothing about dependants of students. It is thought that only research-degree students at certain universities get this, not coursework masters.
- Spouse work rights
- Not confirmed. Assume no.
- Tuition a year
- not known unverified
- PR route
- not known unverified
- Earliest arrival
- not known unverified
- Bangladesh visa note
- not known unverified
- Verdict
- No evidence of a spouse route for a coursework master's.
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UAE
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Not on an ordinary student visa. Secondary sources say student visas are sponsored by the university or a resident parent. The Golden Visa for outstanding graduates allows family sponsorship. The official ICP rule is not confirmed.
- Spouse work rights
- Not confirmed.
- Tuition a year
- not known unverified
- PR route
- No permanent residency or citizenship route in practice, only renewable long-term visas.
- Earliest arrival
- not known unverified
- Bangladesh visa note
- not known unverified
- Verdict
- No PR, costly, and your spouse cannot come on the back of a student visa.
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Qatar
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Not researched yet.
- Spouse work rights
- Not researched yet.
- Tuition a year
- not known unverified
- PR route
- not known unverified
- Earliest arrival
- not known unverified
- Bangladesh visa note
- not known unverified
- Verdict
- Not researched yet.
unverified
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Türkiye
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Not researched yet.
- Spouse work rights
- Not researched yet.
- Tuition a year
- not known unverified
- PR route
- not known unverified
- Earliest arrival
- not known unverified
- Bangladesh visa note
- not known unverified
- Verdict
- Not researched yet.
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China (mainland)
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Not researched yet.
- Spouse work rights
- Not researched yet.
- Tuition a year
- not known unverified
- PR route
- not known unverified
- Earliest arrival
- not known unverified
- Bangladesh visa note
- not known unverified
- Verdict
- Not researched yet.
unverified
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Brunei
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Not researched yet.
- Spouse work rights
- Not researched yet.
- Tuition a year
- not known unverified
- PR route
- not known unverified
- Earliest arrival
- not known unverified
- Bangladesh visa note
- not known unverified
- Verdict
- Not researched yet.
unverified
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Mauritius
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Not researched yet.
- Spouse work rights
- Not researched yet.
- Tuition a year
- not known unverified
- PR route
- not known unverified
- Earliest arrival
- not known unverified
- Bangladesh visa note
- not known unverified
- Verdict
- Not researched yet.
unverified
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Georgia
Not worth a full check- Can the spouse come
- Not researched yet.
- Spouse work rights
- Not researched yet.
- Tuition a year
- not known unverified
- PR route
- not known unverified
- Earliest arrival
- not known unverified
- Bangladesh visa note
- not known unverified
- Verdict
- Not researched yet.
unverified