TIME:
2 - 9 Months
VISA-FREE:
Schengen countries
9 Best Golden Visa Programs in Europe
European golden visa secures you the right to settle down and live and, in many cases, work in your new country.
Top Tier Golden Visa Countries
LATVIA
- Most affordable option
- From €60,000
- Investment: Business, property
- Time: 3 months
BULGARIA
- Citizenship after 5 years
- From €55,000
- Investment: Business
- Time: 2-4 months
PORTUGAL
- Citizenship after 5 years
- From €80,000
- Investment: Start Up
- Time: 6months
MALTA
- Immediate PERMANENT residency
- From €125,000
- Investment: Donation
- Time: 9-12 months
HUNGARY
- 10-year residence permit
- From €320,000
- Investment: Fund, property
- Time: 2 months
GERMANY
- Europe's Leading Country
- From €280,000
- Investment: Business
- Time: 4-9 months
GREECE
- Totally online
- From €430,000
- Investment: Property
- Time: 4-6 months
CYPRUS
- Profitable investment
- From €300,000
- Investment: Property
- Time: 4 months
What are the main benefits of a European Golden Visa (residence permit)?
Safe Future for Your Family
Always have a plan B and get a European residency, which is the most satisfying alternative. Europe offers stability, safety and many other advantages.
European Education
Your children will have access to the highly-developed European education system at a moderate price.
European Life
Change your life by living in Europe. Have access to all European opportunities and live in safety and security.
Free Movement in Europe
Get the freedom of travel. You are allowed to travel throughout the Schengen countries freely.
WHICH IS THE BEST EUROPEAN GOLDEN VISA FOR YOU?
Your ultimate guide to finding the most suitable option
Residency or Citizenship Program List Quick Guide ToolsResidency or citizenship?
Citizenship
European citizenship provides free settlement and life in any European Union (EU) country. That means you may live and work (be employed); your children can access education in any EU country. With your European passport, you can travel visa-free in most countries in the world. For example, Malta citizenship offers visa-free travel to 188 countries and eTA to the USA. As you see, European Union citizenship is very precious. Unfortunately, a second EU passport is quite expensive. Find more about European citizenship by investment programs.
Residency
European permanent and temporary residence by investment (golden visas) secure you the right to settle down and live and, in many cases, work in your new country -- but only in that country. Please note that a permanent residence permit does not give you the right to live, settle, or work in ANY European country. You may have access to the medical system; your children can go to school in that country. You will be a European resident, so you have free access to Europe to Europe as a traveller and also as a businessman. Holding a European residence permit makes travelling throughout Europe easy and free, as well as obtaining visas to other countries, e.g. USA and UK.
Temporary or permanent residence permit?
We have received many questions about permanent residency. There is a fake news that permanent residency allows to live and work in any European country. It is not true. Both temporary and permanent residency offer you almost the same rights and benefits that citizens enjoy. The only exceptions are the freedom to live and work in any European country, voting in national government elections and hold a European passport.
As its name indicates, the temporary residence permit is limited in time (usually 1-5 years), while the permanent residence permit is issued for your life. Regarding your rights, temporary and permanent residencies are the same. A temporary permit should be renewed after expiration which may take time and additional costs. See our video: 5 Myths About Permanent Residency in Europe
Residence permit or work permit or visa?
A residence permit is your permit to be a resident in the country. The work permit is permission to be employed (to get a job) in the country. If you do your own business, you do not need any work permit as another company does not employ you. Some resident permits (Latvia, Malta, etc.) enable you to work there, while others (Greece, Cyprus, etc.) do not allow you to work there.
European visa or Golden visa are nicknames of European residency programmes. European visa programmes offer you and your family EU residency permanently or temporarily. You will have the right to live, in many cases, work in your new country of residence and travel visa-free throughout the Schengen area of the EU.
How can you get the best golden visa in Europe?
Here is your quick guide to decision
It is not easy to select the best residence program for you as there are too many factors you should consider. We have gained much experience during the last 10+ years meeting and talking with hundreds of clients. We can help you to find the best option in an easy and fast way. Frankly, you should consider only two main factors: your desire and your budget. What you wish and what you can get. Hope and reality. Let us see them in detail.
Your budget makes you solid and practical. If you have 100,000 USD and want to buy a luxury apartment in New York's best place — you will fail. Your budget will determine what options are and are not available for you. So your budget — the maximum amount of money you can spend — will divide the residency options into two parts: available — and not available.
Of course, you would like to have everything. Residence by investment programmes are far from perfection; they cannot offer everything. To know your wish list is critical. Create your list and know how important one or the other element is. You have to set up your priorities. With your wish list, you can find the most appropriate option.
You may consider the following questions to clarify your wish list:
General questions
- Do you have a clean police record?
- Are you able to prove the clean source of your fund?
- Do you want to include your family (spouse, children, parents)?
- What type of investment do you prefer?
- Do you want to do business in Europe?
- Do you want to use the residence permit for travelling only, or do you want to move to the country and live there?
Questions for settlement
- Is it a safe country? Is there any racism?
- Can I get citizenship?
- What is the climate of the country?
- What are the living costs?
- Will I survive with my English?
- Are there good schools for my children?
- How much tax should I pay?
DECISION TOOLS
Tools to compare residency by investment (RBI) programs
Total prices of the programmes for a single applicant
Which family members can be included?
| Who? | Bulgaria | Cyprus | Greece | Hungary | Italy | Latvia | Malta | Portugal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spouse | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Minor Children | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Adult Children | No | -25 | -21 | No | -24 | No | dependent | full-time student |
| Dependent Parents | No | 65 | Yes | No | 65 | No | Yes | 65 |
| Spouse's Parents | No | 65 | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Dependent means financially dependent. Children must be at a higher level of education.
What types of investments are available?
| Investment (euro) | Bulgaria | Cyprus | Greece | Hungary | Latvia | Malta | Portugal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property | - | 300,000 | 250,000 | 500,000 | 250,000 | - | - |
| Business | 250,000 | - | 400,000 | - | 50,000 | - | 500,000 |
| Bond | - | - | 400,000 | 250,000 | - | - | 500,000 |
| Bank Deposit | - | - | 400,000 | - | 280,000 | - | - |
| Donation | - | - | - | 1,000,000 | - | 68,000 | 250,000 |
Property investment is the minimum buying price of the property
Countries offering permanent residence or temporary residence
| Bulgaria | Cyprus | Greece | Hungary | Latvia | Malta | Portugal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial status | Temporary Permanent |
Permanent | Permanent 5 yrs | Temporary 10yrs | Temporary 5yrs | Permanent | Temporary 1yr |
| Renewal | Every 5yrs No need |
No need | Every 5yrs Property should be kept |
Every 10yrs | Every 5yrs Investment should be kept |
No need | Every 2yrs Investment should be kept |
| Update to permanent | 5 yrs No need |
No need | No need | No | 5 yrs continuous living | No need | 5 yrs |
| Update to citizenship | 10 yrs 5 yrs |
7 yrs continuous living | 7 yrs continuous living | 8 yrs continuous living | 10 yrs continuous living | 18 yrs continuous living | 5 yrs |
| Work Permit | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Continuous living means that you should actually live in the country and spend most of the time there.
Spain issues a visa for the first year, which a temporary permit will replace after one year.
How easy and fast is the process?
| Bulgaria | Cyprus | Greece | Hungary | Latvia | Malta | Portugal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time (months) | 2-4 | 3-4 | 4-6 | 2-4 | 3 | 9-12 | 6-12 |
| Requirements | Easy | Moderate | Moderat | Easy | Easy | High | Moderate |
Safety of the country
| Bulgaria | Cyprus | Greece | Hungary | Latvia | Malta | Portugal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global Peace Ranking | 30 | 64 | 60 | 18 | 27 | NA | 7 |
| Legatum Safety | 58 | 34 | 43 | 35 | 31 | 17 | 29 |
| Average Safety | 44 | 49 | 52 | 26 | 29 | 17 | 18 |
Scores are expressed as rankings. Source: Global Peace Index, The Legatum Prosperity Index, Numbeo
European Residence by Investment
Where are the countries offering residency?
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