Relocation intelligence
🇹🇱 Moving to Timor-Leste: tax, residency and cost of living
Timor-Leste levies a low flat wage tax of 10% above an exemption, plus about 4% social security. The effective burden on an income worth roughly EUR 54,000 is around 13%. Corporate tax is 10%. The country uses the US dollar as official currency, removing exchange-rate risk. As a young nation, independent since 2002, it leans heavily on oil and gas revenue, with weak infrastructure and limited diversification.
Thinking of moving to Timor-Leste? Here is the tax, residency, property and quality-of-life picture in plain numbers, with sources.
Key facts
- Top income tax
- 10%
- Corporate tax
- 10%
- Capital gains
- 10%
- Wealth tax
- No
- Inheritance tax
- No
- Cost of living index
- 40
- Safety
- 3/10
- Internet quality
- 2/10
- Visa-free destinations
- 52
- Foreigners can own property
- No
- Residency in
- 6 months
- Citizenship in
- 5 years
Taxes
Flat wage tax of 10% above an exemption plus about 4% social security, effectively around 13% at EUR 54,000. Corporate tax 10%.
Residency and visas
Residence and work are accessible via work permits and the dollar as currency gives stability, though the economy is small.
Property ownership
Land ownership for foreigners is restricted and property law is still developing since independence.
Cost of living and quality of life
Timor-Leste is young and calm with tropical nature, but poor, with weak healthcare and limited infrastructure.
Passport and mobility
The Timorese passport gives visa-free access to about 52 destinations.
Why people move to Timor-Leste
Uses the US dollar
The dollar is the official currency, so there is no exchange-rate risk and international transactions stay simple.
Low 10% flat tax
Both wage tax and corporate tax are 10%, among the lowest rates in the region.
Honest trade-offs
- Oost-Timor is arm en sterk afhankelijk van olie- en gasinkomsten, met zwakke gezondheidszorg en beperkte infrastructuur.
- Grondeigendom voor buitenlanders is beperkt en het eigendomsrecht is sinds de onafhankelijkheid nog in ontwikkeling.
- De economie is klein en weinig gediversifieerd, wat het aanbod van werk en diensten beperkt.
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