Guide
Golden Visas & Investment Residency
What is a golden visa?
A golden visa is a residence permit a country grants in exchange for a significant investment — usually real estate, a government-approved fund, a business, or a bank deposit. It lets you and your family live in the country without a job offer, and after enough years of residence it can open a path to permanent residency and eventually citizenship. The key distinction from citizenship by investment is that a golden visa gives you residency first, not a passport outright.
About this guide
This guide compares the leading golden visas side by side — what counts as a qualifying investment, how much you must put in, how little time you actually have to spend in-country, and whether the residency can lead to citizenship — then links to a full breakdown of each.
Pathways compared
54
Countries covered
43
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Hong Kong Investment Residence
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Investment Residency | HKD 30 million | Permitted financial assets under New CIES | Maintain the qualifying investment; ordinary residence is separate | Not a direct pathway | No under Chinese nationality rules |
Singapore Investor Permanent Residence
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Investment Residency | SGD 10 million business, SGD 25 million select fund, or SGD 200 million family office with SGD 50 million deployed | Business / GIP-select fund / single-family office | — | — | — |
New Zealand Active Investor Plus Visa
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Investment Residency | Growth NZD 5M; Balanced NZD 10M | Growth or Balanced | Growth 21 days / 3 years; Balanced normally 105 days / 5 years | Separate citizenship presence test | Yes |
UAE Investor Residence Visa
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Investment Residency | AED 2M (~USD $545k) | Real estate | None | By invitation | Yes |
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UAE Public Investment Golden Visa
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Investment Residency | — | — | — | — | — |
South Korea Investor or Startup Visa
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Investment Residency | KRW 100M for D-8-1/D-8-3; other tracks differ | D-8 investor, venture, and technology-startup tracks | — | — | — |
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South Korea Public Investment Residence
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Investment Residency | KRW 500M; KRW 300M for qualifying investors over 55 plus KRW 300M other assets | Principal-guaranteed public fund or approved risk-based project | — | — | — |
Luxembourg Investor Residence Permit
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Investment Residency | €500,000 | Business / company | — | 5 years | Yes |
U.S. Investor Green Card
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Investment Residency | USD $800,000 (TEA) | Job-creating enterprise | Maintain green card | 5 years | Yes |
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U.S. Treaty Investor Visa
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Investment Residency | ~USD $100k+ (substantial) | Active treaty business | Run the business | Not directly | Yes |
Malta Permanent Residence Programme
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Investment Residency | ~€375k property + contributions | Property + government contribution | None | PR (no direct citizenship) | Yes |
Cyprus Permanent Residence by Investment
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Investment Residency | €300,000 | Property / company / fund | Residence within 1 year; lapses after 2-year absence | No direct citizenship | Yes |
Italy Investor Visa
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Investment Residency | €250,000 | Startup / company / bonds | — | 10 years | Yes |
Greece Investor Residence Permit
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Investment Residency | €250k–€800k | Qualifying real estate, specified financial investments, or a qualifying National Startup Registry capital contribution | None | No direct citizenship; ordinary naturalization rules apply | Yes |
Bahrain Golden Residence
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Investment Residency | BHD 130,000 property for the property-owner branch | Property / long-term work / retirement / exceptional talent | No general minimum under the current FAQ | Not a direct pathway | Limited |
Andorra Residence for Self-Funded People
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Investment Residency | €600,000 | Bonds/property + €47.5k deposit | 90 days/yr | 10 years | No |
Qatar Property Owner Residence
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Real Estate Residency | QAR 730,000 in qualifying property | Real estate in an approved ownership area | At least 90 days each year | Not a direct pathway | Limited |
Saudi Business Investor Residence
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Investment Residency | SAR 7 million in an operating business | Licensed business investment with job creation | Maintain the qualifying business and product conditions | Not a direct pathway | Limited |
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Saudi Property Owner Residence
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Real Estate Residency | SAR 4 million in qualifying residential property | Qualifying residential real estate | Maintain the qualifying ownership or rights | Not a direct pathway | Limited |
Portugal Golden Visa
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Investment Residency | €500,000 | Funds / business / cultural | ~7 days/yr | 7-10 years | Yes |
Latvia Investor Residence Permit
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Investment Residency | €50,000 company investment + €10,000 State-budget payment | Company / real estate / bank / securities | Annual registration | 10+ years | limited |
Chile Investor Temporary Residence
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Investment Residency | USD $500,000 for the principal foreign-company investment track | Productive foreign-company investment or qualifying related personnel | — | — | Yes |
Türkiye Short-Term Residence Permit
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Real Estate Residency | — | — | — | — | — |
Hungary Guest Investor Residence Permit
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Investment Residency | €250,000 | Real-estate fund / donation | No minimum stated | Separate naturalization rules; actual residence is required | Yes |
Argentina Investor Visa
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Investor Residency | Regulation names ARS 1,500,000; actual project must pass official review | Operating productive, commercial, or service project | — | — | Yes |
Uruguay Business Owner Permanent Residence
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Investor Residency | No fixed immigration investment amount | — | — | — | — |
Bahamas Permanent Residence by Investment
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Investment Residency | BSD 750,000 real estate | Real estate | None | 10 years | — |
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Bahamas Residence Card for Homeowners
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Property Residency | — | — | — | — | — |
Panama Friendly Nations Residence
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Investment Residency | PAB 200,000 for the real-estate or deposit basis | Real estate or three-year fixed deposit; employment is a separate basis | — | — | — |
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Panama Qualified Investor Visa
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Investment Residency | PAB 300,000 real estate; PAB 500,000 securities; PAB 750,000 fixed deposit | Real estate / qualifying securities / five-year fixed deposit | — | — | — |
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Panama Reforestation Investor Visa
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Investment Residency | PAB 100,000 provisional-to-permanent tier; PAB 350,000 direct permanent tier | Ministry of Environment-authorized forestry activities | — | — | — |
Georgia Investment Residence Permit
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Investment Residency | USD $300,000 investment or property certified above USD $300,000 | Georgia investment / applicant-owned non-agricultural property | — | — | — |
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Georgia Property-Owner Residence
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Investment Residency | Property with certified market value exceeding USD $150,000 equivalent in GEL | Applicant-owned non-agricultural real estate | — | — | — |
Oman Golden Investor Residence
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Investment Residency | OMR 200,000 for an investment branch | Property / company / bonds / shares / deposit / jobs / nomination | Confirm the selected route's current rule | Not a direct pathway | Limited |
Malaysia 20-Year Long-Stay Visa
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Investment Residency | MYR 1 million fixed deposit plus participation fees | Mandatory fixed deposit plus income or net-worth evidence | — | Not a citizenship path | — |
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Malaysia Long-Stay Residence Program
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Investment Residency | Four category-specific fixed-deposit and compulsory-property packages | US-dollar fixed deposit at a licensed Malaysian institution plus residential property | 90 days/year for applicants age 21–49; no minimum for applicants age 50+ | Not a citizenship path | — |
Costa Rica Investor Residence
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Investor Residency | USD $150,000 | Registered property, shares, securities, approved projects, venture capital, or sustainable-tourism infrastructure | — | — | — |
Mauritius Golden Investor Residence
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Investment Residency | USD $1 million | Approved high-value sector project | No general minimum stated for the initial visa | Separate naturalization rules | Yes |
Bosnia Residence Through Real Estate
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Real Estate Residency | No general minimum property value stated in the official checklist | Registered real estate plus a documented effective connection | — | — | — |
Mexico Residence by Business Investment
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Investment Residency | More than 45,850 daily UMA (MXN 5,378,663.50 in 2026) | Paid-in company capital plus qualifying assets or business-activity evidence | — | — | — |
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Mexico Residence by Property Ownership
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Real Estate Residency | More than 91,710 daily UMA (MXN 10,758,500.10 in 2026) | Real estate | — | — | — |
Dominican Republic Investor Residence
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Investment Residency | USD $200,000 ordinary; certified official regimes may differ | Registered capital / approved financial instrument / certified free-zone, incentive-law, or state project | — | Separate naturalization process after qualifying permanent residence | Yes |
Ecuador Investor Visa
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Investor Residency | USD $48,200 in 2026 for threshold-based branches | Deposit or security / real estate / Ecuador company equity / qualifying state contract | — | — | — |
Moldova Temporary Residence by Investment
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Investment Residency | MDL 522,000 of equity in 2026, or a qualifying job-creation alternative | Moldovan-company equity or qualifying jobs | — | — | — |
Brazil Investor Residence for Businesses
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Investor Residency | BRL 150k–500k | Brazilian business / qualifying innovation | — | — | — |
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Brazil Property Investor Residence
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Investor Residency | BRL 700k–1M | Urban real estate | — | — | — |
Colombia Investor Residence Visa
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Investment Residency | — | — | — | — | — |
Fiji Investor Permit
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Investment Residency | No fixed amount published on the current application page | Business | — | — | — |
Paraguay Permanent Residence by Investment
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Investor Residency | — | — | — | — | — |
Vietnam Investor Visa
Lowest
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Investment Residency | Documented Vietnamese investment; statutory categories range from DT4 under VND 3 billion to DT1 at VND 100 billion+ or certain incentive projects | Capital contribution / Vietnamese company / qualifying investment project | — | — | — |
Indonesia Investor Residence
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Investment Residency | USD $350,000 for the five-year portfolio branch | Business / bonds / listed shares / funds / qualifying property | Maintain the selected qualifying commitment | Not a direct pathway | Generally no for adults |
Philippines Investor Residence Visa
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Investment Residency | USD $75,000 | Eligible corporate shares or government securities under BOI rules | — | No direct citizenship grant | — |
El Salvador Investor Residence
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Investor Residency | 4,000 monthly trade-and-services minimum wages | Active registered foreign capital in a Salvadoran enterprise | — | — | — |
Vanuatu Investor Residence Visas
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Investment Residency | VUV 10 million funds for provisional; >VUV 20 million local assets for direct; >VUV 50 million local assets plus 10-year history for permanent | Provisional / operating business / direct assets / permanent investor | — | — | — |
No pathways match that filter.