The category, explained
The golden visa in 2026
Residence in exchange for investment: what the permit actually buys, what currently covered programs require at entry, where a reviewed model is available, and which rules have changed. This page is the category explained from zero; theprogram directoryholds the currently maintained program pages, andbest countries by goalmakes recommendations.
What a golden visa is, and is not
A golden visa is the popular name for residency by investment: a renewable residence permit granted because you invested, not because you moved for work or family. The nickname attached itself to the Southern European programs of the early 2010s and stuck to the category. The permit typically buys the right to live in the country, visa-free movement in the Schengen area for most European programs, access for your family, and, in some countries, a long path to permanent residence and citizenship, all while demanding days, not months, of actual presence.
What it is not: a passport (that iscitizenship by investment, a different product with different math), a tax plan (the permit does not move your tax home by itself), or a guarantee (programs close, reprice, and rewrite their rules, and the investment usually must be held for as long as you want the permit). Pricing those realities is this site's entire purpose.
Currently tracked golden visa programs
Maintained under Civita's material-fact certification process and listed alphabetically because operating-currency totals are not directly rankable. Reviewed family models are shown in their original currency where available; incomplete schedules are labeled rather than converted to zero.
| Program | Published program minimum | Reviewed route entry cash, family of 4 | Timeline | Presence required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇧🇭 Bahrain Golden Residency | BHD 130,000 in qualifying property | Not yet modeled | 5 working days for property-owner applications | No minimum stay is required to maintain Golden Residency. |
| 🇨🇦 Canada Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP) | QIIP: CAD 1,000,000 refundable 5-year investment + CAD 200,000 contribution; CAD 2,000,000 net worth required | Not yet modeled | QIIP: 3-year work permit, then permanent residence after the required Quebec presence and federal processing | QIIP: 12 months in Quebec within the first 2 years of the work permit; the principal applicant must complete at least 6 months. |
| 🇨🇾 Cyprus Immigration Permit for Investors under Regulation 6(2) | EUR 300,000 plus VAT where applicable across four qualifying investment categories | €313,000Qualifying property (plus VAT) | About 2 months under the official fast-track procedure once the file is complete | Acquire residence in Cyprus within one year of approval and do not remain absent for two years, or the permit may cease. |
| 🇬🇷 Greece Golden Visa | EUR 250,000 only for qualifying change-of-use or listed-building restoration projects; standard property starts at EUR 400,000 or EUR 800,000 by location | €269,000Conversion/restoration property (EUR 250k tier) | The official special-property procedures estimate 50 to 60 days for the administrative stage; acquisition, documents, biometrics and card delivery add separate time | No minimum stay is stated for keeping the five-year investor permit. |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary Guest Investor Program | From EUR 250,000 in an approved real-estate fund held for at least 5 years | €269,000Real-estate fund subscription | Official administrative period of 21 days once the residence-permit file is complete, excluding cure time and the preceding guest-investor entry stage | No minimum stay to hold the permit; physical residence required only to pursue PR and citizenship |
| 🇮🇹 Italy Investor Visa | EUR 250,000 innovative startup; EUR 500,000 Italian company; EUR 1 million philanthropy; EUR 2 million government bonds | €268,000Innovative-startup investment | The Investor Visa Committee decides a complete online application within 30 days; consular issuance, entry, residence-permit issuance and funding are separate stages | No published minimum stay to keep the investor route itself. |
| 🇱🇻 Latvia Residence by Investment | From EUR 50,000 share capital plus a EUR 10,000 state payment for the qualifying small-company route | €75,000Business equity | State processing service levels are 30 days, 10 working days or 5 working days by fee selected; completeness, external checks, biometrics and card delivery can add time | The temporary permit is not a citizenship-by-absence route. |
| 🇲🇾 Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) | USD 150,000 fixed deposit (Silver tier) plus a MYR 600,000 (~USD 146,000) property purchase; Sarawak S-MM2H requires an RM500,000 (~USD 122,000) fixed deposit with no property requirement | Not yet modeled | About 4 to 8 months from application to visa endorsement | Principal applicants aged 25 to 49 must spend 90 cumulative days per year in Malaysia (shareable across dependents) on the mainland tiers; applicants 50 and over have no minimum stay. |
| 🇲🇹 Malta Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP) | Buy qualifying property for EUR 375,000 or rent for EUR 14,000 per year, plus mandatory administration, contribution and donation | €489,000Qualifying property | No official guaranteed end-to-end service standard is published | No minimum stay requirement; main applicant must visit Malta once during the process |
| 🇲🇺 Mauritius Residence by Property Investment and Occupation Permit | USD 375,000 in approved real estate; the investor Occupation Permit is transitioning from USD 50,000 to the Budget-announced USD 100,000 threshold, subject to implementing law and live EDB guidance | Not yet modeled | 2 to 6 months to a permit | No minimum physical presence to hold the property-based residence permit, which stays valid as long as you own the qualifying asset. |
| 🇲🇨 Monaco Residence Permit Based on Accommodation and Means | No government-defined investment minimum; suitable accommodation, sufficient means and good character are required | Not yet modeled | Case-specific residence-permit process | A person aged 16 or older who wishes to stay more than three months in a year or establish a home in Monaco must obtain a residence permit. |
| 🇳🇿 New Zealand Active Investor Plus Visa | NZD 5,000,000 (~USD 3,000,000) over 3 years into Growth-category direct investments or approved managed funds | NZ$5,127,470Growth-category investment held for 3 years | 80% of Active Investor Plus approval-in-principle decisions within 10 weeks; then 6 months to transfer and invest | Growth tier: minimum 21 days in New Zealand across the 36-month investment period. |
| 🇴🇲 Oman Golden Residency | OMR 200,000 (about USD 520,000) | Not yet modeled | No fixed government processing time is published | The Golden Residency portal does not publish a fixed annual minimum stay. |
| 🇵🇦 Panama Qualified Investor Visa | USD 300,000 in real estate (standing minimum, no scheduled increase) | $318,000Qualifying real estate | About 30 to 60 days to permanent residence | No mandated annual stay. |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal Golden Visa (ARI) | From €250,000 (cultural donation; €200,000 in low-density areas) | €552,047Investment fund subscription | Roughly 24 to 42 months from submission to the first residence card; legacy backlog cases can take longer | 7 days per year average |
| 🇶🇦 Qatar Property Residency | QAR 730,000 in qualifying property | Not yet modeled | No fixed government processing time is published | At least 90 days in Qatar per year, consecutive or non-consecutive. |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Premium Residency | SAR 4,000,000 in qualifying property | Not yet modeled | No fixed official processing time is published | The official product rules do not publish a fixed annual minimum stay; the qualifying property or business conditions must continue to be met. |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore Global Investor Program | From S$10 million (business route) | SGD 10,076,000GIP Option A direct business investment | Staged process: EDB assessment, investment completion after approval in principle, then ICA permanent-residence formalisation | No formal day-count for initial PR, but renewal of the 5-year Re-entry Permit effectively requires real presence: meeting business/job-creation milestones, or the applicant or dependents residing in Singapore more than half the period. |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland Expenditure-Based Taxation and Residence Admission | No federal investment-for-residence minimum; tax treatment and immigration admission are separate decisions | Not yet modeled | Canton- and case-specific | Applicants must genuinely move their centre of life to Switzerland and satisfy the applicable residence-admission rules. |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand Thailand Privilege Visa and Long-Term Resident (LTR) Visa | THB 650,000 (~USD 19,000) one-time membership fee for the Thailand Privilege Bronze tier; the LTR visa has no membership fee but the Wealthy Global Citizen route needs USD 500,000 placed in Thai assets | THB 4,500,000Thailand Privilege Bronze membership (single applicant) | 1 to 3 months | No minimum stay is required to keep either visa valid. |
| 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates Golden Visa | AED 2,000,000 (~$545,000) | $563,000Qualifying real estate (AED 2m, shown at an approximate USD conversion) | 1 to 4 weeks | None. |
| 🇺🇸 United States EB-5 Immigrant Investor | USD 800,000 (TEA: rural or high-unemployment area) | $887,500At-risk capital (TEA project) | Variable. Rural petitions receive statutory priority, but USCIS does not publish a durable end-to-end service standard; visa availability and later stages add separate waits. | EB-5 grants residence, not a stay-away program. |
The published minimum and reviewed model can represent different routes. Where shown, modeled entry cash covers two adults and two children (qualifying capital or contribution, government charges, due diligence and a stated professional-fee assumption) from the True Cost Index, in each program's operating currency. “Not yet modeled” means the official family schedule is not complete enough for Civita to publish a defensible total. Investment recovery is not assumed; each model names its specific route, limits and review date. Do not subtract the two columns as if they describe the same transaction.
The routes: what the money does
Fund subscriptions now anchor the flagship programs: Portugal runs on regulated funds since property was removed in 2023, and Hungary's distinct successor program is fund-based. Recoverable in principle, market-risked in practice, with fee stacks worth reading before the marketing deck.
Real estate remains the route in Greece, Cyprus, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, with thresholds, ownership zones, presence rules and transaction costs the headline number skips.
Business, capital, and hybrid routes price residence against active commitments: Latvia's company investment, Italy's startup tier, the multimillion investor tracks in Singapore, New Zealand, and the US.
Stay requirements and renewal
The table above carries each program's presence rule, and the range is the point: Greece and Hungary ask nothing to keep the permit, Portugal asks roughly a week a year, and everything asks the investment be maintained through each renewal cycle. The fine print that matters is what presence buys: permit-keeping days and naturalization-building residence are different legal things, and confusing them is the most expensive mistake in the category.
From permit to passport
Some programs can support permanent residence after a qualifying period, often around year five; others remain renewable permits without the same progression. Citizenship moved further out in 2026: Portugal's nationality law now requires ten years of legal residence (seven for EU and CPLP nationals) counted from the first residence card, and Greece's seven-year track demands genuine residence plus a language exam. If a passport on a known schedule is the actual goal, compare againstcitizenship by investment before committing capital to the long road.
Family, tax, and the risks
Many currently covered routes allow spouses and minor children, often with per-person fees, but family eligibility is route-specific; parents and adult students depend on the program. Tax residence depends on domestic day-count, home, personal-ties and treaty tests, not on the permit alone. Closure risk is real: Spain closed in 2025, property routes have narrowed, and several reforms have repriced entry upward. The program tracker and theClosing Window provide dated records for the changes they cover.
Where to go from here
The category explained is not the decision made.
Which program fits your passport, family shape, budget, and source of funds is a different question from any of the above. The $149 Program-Fit Report provides written orientation from this same certification-backed data; theGolden Visa Indexscores the programs currently included if you want to research further first.
Golden visa questions, answered straight
What is a golden visa?+
A golden visa is a residence permit granted in exchange for a qualifying investment: a fund subscription, real estate, a business, or a capital contribution, depending on the country. It is residence, not citizenship. The permit typically renews for as long as the investment is held, demands little or no physical presence, and in some countries opens a path to permanent residence and, eventually, naturalization.
How much does a golden visa cost?+
Advertised minimums run from about EUR 250,000 (Greece's entry tier, Italy's startup route) to EUR 500,000 (Portugal funds) and beyond. Government charges, per-person due diligence, professional fees, carrying costs and exit risk sit beyond that number. Our True Cost Index publishes reviewed entry-cash models for a single applicant and, where the official family rules permit a defensible comparison, a family of four. Each model states its assumptions and review date.
Which countries offer golden visas in 2026?+
Civita's current European coverage includes Portugal (funds), Greece, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, Malta and Cyprus. Gulf coverage includes the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, with different property, company and capital routes. Other tracked options include Panama, Thailand, the United States and New Zealand. Spain closed its program in 2025 and Portugal removed real estate in 2023, which is why a current comparison needs dates and primary sources.
Does a golden visa lead to citizenship?+
Slowly and conditionally, where at all. Portugal requires ten years of legal residence for naturalization (seven for EU and CPLP nationals) under its 2026 law, counted from the first residence card. Greece requires seven years of genuine residence plus a language exam. Years on a zero-presence permit generally do not build naturalization rights by themselves. If the passport is the goal, citizenship by investment is a different product with different math.
Do I have to pay taxes in the country?+
Not because of the visa alone in most cases. Tax residence depends on jurisdiction-specific day counts, home and personal-ties tests, domestic law and treaties; 183 days is common but not universal. A low-stay permit generally does not decide your tax home by itself or displace obligations elsewhere. If you relocate, qualified cross-border tax review becomes essential.
Are golden visas being shut down?+
The category is consolidating, not dying. Spain closed in 2025, Portugal cut property in 2023, the UK and Ireland closed earlier, and the EU pressures the rest toward active-investment routes. What survives is more expensive and better vetted than what closed. Closure risk belongs in the purchase decision: it is one of the five dimensions our Golden Visa Index scores.