The Concept
A golden visa is residency in exchange for a passive investment: buy an asset of a set size — receive the right to live in the country (more often, the right not to live there while keeping the status). It differs from citizenship by investment fundamentally: you get residence, not a passport; and from ordinary residence permits — in requiring no job, no business activity and no permanent presence.
The class emerged in 2012: Portugal and other peripheral EU economies, emerging from the debt crisis, sought capital inflows and offered residency for property purchases. Within a decade the scheme spread to some fifty countries — from the Caribbean to the Gulf — peaking in the late 2010s. Then the pendulum swung back, under pressure from Brussels, money-laundering scrutiny and the housing question boiling over in the capitals.
The Active Programs
Europe
Greece — real estate at €400–800k thresholds (€800k in Athens, Thessaloniki and islands like Mykonos and Santorini); the €250k entry survives only for commercial-to-residential conversions, heritage restorations and startup investments; no residence requirement — Europe's most in-demand program (a record 8,879 approvals in 2025, +61% applications in Q1 2026). Portugal — €500k via investment funds (residential real estate excluded since 2023; the fund must be CMVM-regulated, hold at least 60% in Portuguese companies and carry no direct or indirect real-estate exposure); the citizenship path since 19 May 2026 is ten years (seven for EU/CPLP), counted from card issuance (Lei Orgânica 1/2026). Nearby without dedicated breakdowns: Italy (the investor visa: €250k into a startup / €500k into a company / €2m into government bonds, +43% in Q1 2026) and Hungary (guest investor: €250k into a fund, 10 years with no presence requirement). Malta's GRP gives resident status with a flat 15% on remitted income. Gibraltar's Category 2 caps tax for HNWIs. Andorra stands apart — passive residency with an investment from €600k (in practice closer to €1m with the AFA deposit).
The Middle East and Asia
The UAE Golden Visa — 10 years for an investment from AED 2m in property, with no minimum presence and zero personal income tax; since February 2026 the threshold is measured by the property's full DLD registry value, so mortgaged and off-plan purchases qualify. Singapore's GIP — permanent residence from S$10m into business or funds, for operating entrepreneurs. Malaysia's MM2H — long-term residency via deposit, tiered after the reform. Hong Kong's CIES — HK$30m into portfolio assets.
The Americas and the Islands
The Cayman Islands and the Bahamas — residency through property in zero-tax jurisdictions; Bermuda follows the same logic. Paraguay and Costa Rica (inversionista) — low thresholds and territorial tax systems.
How to Choose
The task first, the program second. If the goal is a backup base without relocating, pick programs with no presence requirement (Greece, the UAE, the Caribbean). If the goal is citizenship, count the naturalisation clock and the actual-residence requirements. If the goal is taxes, a golden visa by itself solves nothing: look at the special tax regimes and the 183-day rule — a residence permit does not make you a tax resident automatically, and conversely, excess days in the country will make you one even without a visa.
Regulation and the Cancellation Risk
Brussels presses along two lines. Citizenship for money was held incompatible with the nature of Union citizenship by the EU Court in April 2025 (Commission v Malta, C-181/23) — closing the EU's last CBI program. Residency was untouched by the ruling: golden visas remain a member-state competence. The political pressure is real nonetheless: Spain closed its program from April 2025; Portugal and Greece raised thresholds and narrowed property as the entry route.
The second line is transparency. Source of funds is vetted under AML rules, and new-resident status falls within automatic exchange: CRS sees the account regardless of where the residence permit was issued. Residency is therefore planned together with tax residency and the exchange regime, not as their replacement; a genuine relocation adds the exit tax of the country of departure.
Where It Is All Heading
The trend runs from residential property to investments in the economy: funds, business, government bonds. New entrances appear too: in December 2025 the US launched the "Gold Card" — an accelerated green card for a contribution from $1m plus a $15k fee (announced as $5m), with a discussed "platinum" version at $5m and the right to spend up to 270 days a year without US tax on foreign income. Demand is modest so far: by spring 2026 only a handful of approvals. In parallel, the Gulf's fast zero-tax hubs and the Caribbean hold their ground, and the perpetual-traveler scenario is back in fashion among those who need the status without the move.
Q&A
How does a golden visa differ from citizenship by investment?
A residence permit gives the right to live and (in the EU) move around Schengen, but not a passport. Citizenship by investment is a separate class of programs (the Caribbean, Türkiye) with different thresholds and risks: see the "Second citizenship" hub.
Can you hold a golden visa without becoming a tax resident?
Yes — that is the standard configuration: the status is maintained with minimal presence (in Greece, zero), while tax residency stays in another country. It breaks when the actual centre of life moves: formal day counts stop helping, and the treaty tie-breaker decides.
Can the state cancel the program after I buy?
Programs are cancelled regularly, but existing statuses are usually preserved (grandfathering): Spanish visas issued before April 2025 keep renewing. The risk is not losing the status, but the impossibility of upgrading terms — and the politics of the next government.