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; the threshold is measured by the property's full value rather than the amount paid (Article 8, section Second, of the Annex to Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 2022, in force 3 October 2022), so mortgaged and off-plan purchases qualify; the old AED 1m minimum down payment was an administrative requirement dropped in January 2024, not February 2026. Saudi Premium Residency (Royal Decree No. M/106 of 10/09/1440H, 15 May 2019) is the only programme in the region that sells an open-ended status outright: SAR 800,000 as a single payment for residence with no time limit, or SAR 100,000 a year for the annual track, both with no presence requirement and no personal income tax; five qualifying categories were added in January 2024 — investor from SAR 7m creating ten jobs, residential property owner from SAR 4m, entrepreneur from SAR 400,000, special talent on a salary threshold, and gifted on a recommendation from the relevant ministry. The programme carries no route to citizenship. 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.
This map answers the question of which programmes exist. The decisive layer is a different one: which legal structure is actually being bought and what is consumed for good in each — contribution, fund, property, business or deposit: the five models of investment migration. The overall order — from model to region and on to a specific programme — is set out in the investor cluster map.
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 opened intake for the "Gold Card" — the route created by Executive Order 14351 of 19 September 2025 (published 24 September 2025, 90 FR 46031): a contribution from $1m by an individual or $2m under a corporate scheme, plus a $15,000 fee (announced as $5m). It carries no tax break: a successful applicant receives lawful permanent resident status as an EB-1 or EB-2 holder and is therefore a U.S. person taxed on worldwide income — the official programme site states that holders will be subject to U.S. tax, including on non-U.S. income. The right to reside up to 270 days a year without tax on non-U.S. income is promised for a separate "Platinum Card" at $5m: the executive order did not create it, it is not open for applications, and the Commerce Secretary has said its implementation requires action by Congress. 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.