Golden Visa Countries: Everything You Need to Know

What Are Golden Visa Countries?

Immigration can be a slow process. For the wealthy, there’s sometimes a controversial, streamlined path to securing residency rights.

Many countries run programs that offer visas or even citizenship for investments, sometimes facilitated through private companies in the “investment migration” industry. Often advertised as enabling “global citizenship,” these programs translate private financial power into rights.

How Golden Visa Countries Work

In exchange for a minimum investment, some countries offer residency rights. The specific amount required varies by country.

However, these visa programs let well-heeled individuals bump up their rights in foreign countries. For those who acquire these rights, such programs increase freedom of movement, provide access to healthcare, and can remove friction from estate planning, taxes, or business dealings. 

Critics allege, as discussed below, that they also risk facilitating the movement of dirty money and destabilizing housing markets.

COVID-19 travel restrictions may have increased interest in golden visas for foreign investors.

Examples of Golden Visa Countries

While the programs have ignited controversy in Europe—particularly in the European Union (EU), where a passport will get you access to all 27 member states, many of which do not benefit directly from the initial investment—they remain relatively popular.

Portugal, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Spain, and Italy have among the most sought-after golden visa programs because of their beautiful scenery, high standards of living, and stable political climates. However, Portugal’s program has recently seen some changes.

Cyprus

Cyprus’s residency-by-investment program requires investors to buy at least 300,000 euros (€300,000, or almost $325,000 as of this writing) in residential property, or invest that amount in either a registered Cypriot company or purchase that amount in investments from the Cyprus Investment Funds Association. Investors must also prove they have an income above €50,000 that comes from outside Cyprus.

There’s no strict residency requirement, though investors have to spend time in the country once every two years.

Greece

For Greece, there are a lot of golden visa options.

Residency in Greece can cost €250,000 (about $270,000) in real estate investments (and double that in some regions, including Athens)—that, or a 10-year lease or timeshare agreement in the country’s tourist complexes.

For those trying to get in through capital contributions, the tab is €400,000 (more than $431,000) with a company registered in Greece. That can be in investment companies that invest exclusively in Greece. Would-be residents can also buy that amount in government bonds or invest it in a mutual fund. For corporate bonds, the minimum is €800,000 (almost $863,000).

Investors can also just deposit €400,000 in a domestic Greek credit institution and park it there.

Italy

Obtaining Italian residency requires purchasing €2 million (more than $2.15 million) in government bonds. Alternatively, an investor can put €500,000 (more than $539,000) into shares in the country or make a nonrefundable donation to public interest projects in the country of at least €1 million (almost $1.079 million).

For that, investors get a two-year visa. If they keep up the investment, they can extend the visa for another three years. This can lead to citizenship after a number of years.

While no permanent stay is required, you do have to rent or purchase real estate in Italy once approved.

Malta

Malta’s program requires investors to buy €350,000 (almost $378,000) of property or to maintain a minimum annual rental of €12,000 (almost $13,000). It’s slightly less for South Malta, according to a company that operates as an agent for the program. The program also mandates a €2,000 (more than $2,150) donation to a local nongovernmental organization.

Prospective investors must be at least 18 years old, and they must have a net worth exceeding €500,000, with at least €150,000 (almost $162,000) of that in financial assets.

There’s also a €40,000 (more than $43,150) administration fee, but no residency requirement.

Portugal

Portugal’s program requires investors to buy €500,000 in shares of a non-real estate investment. Alternatively, investors can invest €500,000 to form a company that employs five people. Another option grants residency to those who make a €250,000 donation toward the maintenance or preservation of artistic or cultural heritage.

As of this writing, the status of Portugal’s residency-through-real-estate-investment program is not available. In 2023, Portugal advanced “Mais Habitação (More Housing),” legislation that included provisions to close the popular program, which legislators argued worsened the country’s housing crisis by bloating costs. Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, vetoed the bill, returning it to the Parliament, which then passed the bill again without changes.

Spain

With no residency requirements and residency rights that apply to financial dependents and spouses, Spain tends to top best golden visa country lists. The process for obtaining one can also be prompt, sometimes less than one month.

To secure residency in Spain, investors have to purchase real estate worth at least €500,000. Alternatively, they must hold a minimum of €1 million in investments, company shares, or bank deposits in the country’s financial institutions. If neither of those options appeals, they can buy €2 million in government bonds.

Other Countries That Offer Golden Visas

This list is not exhaustive. A number of other countries have similar programs, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Namibia, New Zealand, Panama, Singapore, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as the Hong Kong administrative region of China.

Programs for countries in the Caribbean and Europe have become particularly sought after since these countries have limited or no residency requirements.

Halting Golden Visa Programs

Lately, some countries have ceased these programs. 

Portugal, for instance, announced that it would shutter its real-estate-based golden visa program in February 2023, citing rising housing costs.

Ireland has also halted its program due to scrutiny and growing tensions between the West and China, where many beneficiaries of the program have historically come from. 

Mounting Controversy

With heightened global tensions, golden visa programs have been met with increasingly fierce critique.

The Investment Migration Council, an investment migration lobby, argues that these programs transport people from “unfree countries to free ones.” 

For Western regulators, there’s also a question about whether they give investors a back door to escape sanctions. The programs have been noted for allowing rich Chinese and Russian immigrants to bring money out of their home countries.

In 2022, the United States expanded its sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. At the time, a Biden administration official characterized golden passports to reporters as a “loophole that allows wealthy Russians connected to the Kremlin to become citizens in other countries and access certain financial systems.”

The European Commission has noted that these passports raise money laundering, tax evasion, and security concerns and, in some circumstances, may, in fact, be illegal under EU law.

The Bottom Line

Programs that provide residency through investment, sometimes known as golden visas, can allow affluent immigrants to streamline the residency process. Controversially, these programs trade economic investment for political rights.