Residence by investment programs by minimum investment, open programs first
Residence by investment programs by minimum investment, open programs first
Golden visas, country by country
1. Ireland
Ireland's Stamp 1 business permission or Start-up Entrepreneur Programme starts at €50,000 (about $56,900) Source: irishimmigration.ie, checked September 29, 2026 of investment and can be renewed. No tax break; the business owner is taxed as a normal resident on Irish trading income.
Not a classic golden visa: Stamp 1 lets you run a business in Ireland once Immigration Service Delivery issues a letter allowing it, and Ireland has no permit for remote workers.
2. Paraguay
Paraguay's permanent residence for investors (SUACE) starts at $70,000 Source: migraciones.gov.py, checked September 28, 2026 of investment and can be renewed. No tax effect by itself; the 120-day presumption and the Paraguayan-source rule apply as for any resident.
SUACE investors skip the temporary residence of up to 2 years that everyone else holds before permanent residence, under Law 6984 of 2022, article 46.
3. Malaysia
Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H), Silver starts at $150,000 Source: mm2h.gov.my, checked September 28, 2026. Fixed deposit of USD 150,000 (up to 50% withdrawable after approval for a home, education, medical or tourism), plus a residence of MYR 600,000 or more held for 10 years of investment, lasts 5 years and can be renewed. No tax effect of its own; residence needs 182 days, and the pass needs 90 days a year in Malaysia.
Silver is the entry tier of MM2H, and up to half the deposit can be withdrawn after approval for a home, education, medical or tourism costs.
4. Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic's residence by investment starts at $200,000 Source: dgii.gov.do, checked September 28, 2026. Law 171-07 links pensioners and rentistas to the investment residence program but does not state this amount of investment. No tax effect by itself; work done in the country stays taxable at the normal scale.
There is no nomad visa, and the rentista route under Law 171-07 accepts only passive income, so remote workers come in through investment or a local job.
5. Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda's Citizenship by Investment starts at $230,000 Source: cip.gov.ag, checked September 28, 2026 of investment. Citizenship carries no tax effect by itself.
This is citizenship, not residence: the options are a National Development Fund contribution, a university fund, approved real estate or an approved business.
6. St Kitts and Nevis
St Kitts and Nevis's Citizenship by Investment (Sustainable Island State Contribution) starts at $250,000 Source: ciu.gov.kn, checked September 28, 2026. Industry reports say a 2026 overhaul adds physical presence requirements of investment. Citizenship carries no tax effect by itself.
Citizenship rather than residence, with no mandatory travel or stay, so it changes neither where you live nor where you pay tax.
7. Hungary
Hungary's Guest Investor Residence Permit starts at €250,000 (about $284,000) Source: fragomen.com, checked September 28, 2026. EUR 250,000 (about $284,000) in units of a Hungarian real estate investment fund, or a EUR 1,000,000 donation to a higher education institution. Reports of a EUR 500,000 residential property option conflict of investment, lasts 10 years and can be renewed. No tax break; holders are taxed as normal residents once resident.
The €250,000 (about $284,000) buys units in a Hungarian real estate investment fund; the other route is a €1,000,000 (about $1,140,000) donation to a university, per a Fragomen summary.
8. Greece
Greece's golden visa (real estate investment) starts at €400,000 (about $455,000) Source: stegasi.gov.gr, checked September 29, 2026. Law 5100/2024 art. 64: €400,000 outside the high-demand areas, and €800,000 (about $910,000) in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands of more than 3,100 residents. A separate route anywhere in Greece starts at €250,000 (about $284,000) for a building converted from non-residential use to homes or a listed building to restore of investment. No tax effect; residence for tax still depends on the normal tests.
That minimum applies outside Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands of more than 3,100 residents, where it is €800,000 (about $910,000), and a building converted from non-residential use to homes, or a listed building to restore, qualifies from €250,000 (about $284,000) anywhere in Greece. Investors who also become Greek tax resident can opt for the art. 5A lump sum of €100,000 (about $114,000) a year on all foreign income, which needs €500,000 (about $569,000) invested in Greece.
9. United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates' golden visa, real estate investor starts at AED 2,000,000 (about $545,000) Source: dubailand.gov.ae, checked September 28, 2026 of investment, lasts 10 years and can be renewed. Same as any residence permit for the 90-day test; golden visa holders are not subject to the 180-day absence rule.
The federal portal sets the property route at a minimum capital of AED 2 million (about $545,000), and the visa needs no sponsor and can cover your family.
10. Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands' Residency Certificate for Persons of Independent Means starts at KYD 1,000,000 (about $1,200,000) Source: stuartslaw.com, checked September 28, 2026. KYD 1,000,000 (about $1,200,000), at least KYD 500,000 in developed real estate; KYD 500,000 with KYD 250,000 in real estate on the Sister Islands. Fees KYD 500 on filing and KYD 20,000 on grant of investment, lasts 25 years and can be renewed. No income tax applies either way; the certificate does not allow local employment.
The certificate runs 25 years but allows no local employment, so it suits people whose income is earned abroad.
11. Hong Kong
Hong Kong's New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme starts at HKD 30,000,000 (about $3,820,000) Source: newcies.gov.hk, checked September 28, 2026. At least HKD 30,000,000 in permissible investment assets, including HKD 3,000,000 in the CIES Investment Portfolio; permanent residence possible after 7 years of investment and can be renewed. No tax effect: dividends and gains from the investments are not taxed.
You also need net assets of at least HKD 30,000,000 (about $3,820,000) over the 6 months before applying, under InvestHK's eligibility rules.
12. Georgia
Georgia's short-term residence permit for real estate owners starts at $150,000 Source: matsne.gov.ge, checked September 29, 2026. The property, other than agricultural land, must have a market value above USD 150,000, set by a certified assessor (Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, Article 15(j)). The threshold was USD 100,000 until March 1, 2026 of investment, lasts 12 months and can be renewed. A permit does not make you tax resident by itself; the 183-day test still applies. Its terms changed recently.
Citizens of 94 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and the EU, can already stay a full year visa-free under Ordinance No. 255, so the permit is optional for many.
13. Panama
Panama's Qualified Investor permanent residence starts at $300,000 Source: icazalaw.com, checked September 28, 2026. $300,000 in new real estate; $500,000 in resale real estate, securities or a state bank deposit; $750,000 in a private bank deposit; held 5 years (law firm summary of Executive Decree 17 of September 8, 2026) of investment. No tax effect by itself; foreign-source income stays untaxed. Its terms changed recently.
Executive Decree 17 of September 8, 2026 replaced the 2020 rules and took effect on September 16, 2026.
14. The Bahamas
The Bahamas' economic permanent residence starts at $1,000,000 Source: immigration.gov.bs, checked September 28, 2026 of investment. No income tax applies either way. Its terms changed recently.
Permanent residence comes outright rather than after a temporary permit, and with no income tax in The Bahamas it has no tax effect of its own.
Does a golden visa make you tax resident?
Almost never by itself. 8 of the 14 routes leave it to the country's ordinary test, 183 days in most places, and Greece's golden visa has no tax effect at all. The other 5 are citizenship programs or sit where the investor's income is not taxed, so the question barely arises.
The stay rules are why this matters. A golden visa usually asks for very little time in the country: Portugal's investment residence permit needs 7 days in the first year and 14 days in each later year, and the UAE's lets holders stay abroad beyond the usual 6 months. Malaysia's MM2H is stricter at 90 days a year, still well short of its 182-day residence test.
So the permit can leave you resident nowhere new while your home country keeps taxing you. Where a golden visa does pay off for tax, it is because you move for real and pass the new country's test: the UAE treats a permit holder with a home there as resident after 90 days under Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022.
Reading "the golden visa makes me resident"
Right reading
You buy into the UAE property route, rent a home in Dubai, spend 120 days there, ask the Federal Tax Authority for a tax residency certificate and cut your ties at home in the same year.
Wrong reading
You buy a Greek apartment for the visa, visit for 3 weeks a year and stop filing at home. Greece never treats you as resident and your home country still does, so it keeps taxing your worldwide income.
Residence, permanent residence or a passport: what each program buys
Most of these routes are renewable residence permits that last as long as you keep the investment: Hungary's runs 10 years and renews once, and Malaysia's MM2H runs 5 years at a time. Paraguay, Panama and The Bahamas grant permanent residence from the start, and the Cayman Islands issues a 25-year certificate.
Antigua and Barbuda and St Kitts and Nevis sell citizenship. A second passport settles where you may live and travel, but not where you are taxed, which follows where you actually live. Local work is a separate question: the Cayman certificate allows no local employment.
| The Bahamas, economic permanent residenceReal estate or central bank bonds held at least 10 years, plus a BSD 200 (about $200) processing fee | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Panama, Qualified InvestorNew real estate held 5 years; $500,000 for resale property, securities or a state bank deposit | $300,000 |
| Malaysia, MM2H SilverFixed deposit, plus a home held for 10 years | $150,000 plus MYR 600,000 (about $147,000) |
| St Kitts and Nevis, citizenshipContribution for a family of up to 4, plus due diligence for the main applicant | $250,000 plus $10,000 |
| Cayman Islands, residency certificateAt least KYD 500,000 (about $600,000) in developed real estate; KYD 20,500 (about $24,600) in fees | KYD 1,000,000 (about $1,200,000) |
| Hong Kong, New CIESHKD 3,000,000 (about $382,000) of it in the CIES Investment Portfolio | HKD 30,000,000 (about $3,820,000) |
From the Bahamas Department of Immigration, a summary of Panama's Executive Decree 17, MM2H, the St Kitts Citizenship by Investment Unit, a Cayman law firm's summary and InvestHK, converted at the exchange rates of September 28, 2026.
Before you put money into a golden visa
- Confirm on the government's own page that the program is open and what the threshold is on the day you commit.
- Check how long the money stays locked: 10 years in The Bahamas, 5 in Panama.
- Read the stay rule next to the residence test: the days that keep the visa rarely make you tax resident.
- Check whether the permit lets you work in the country or only live there.
- Plan the exit at home, because the golden visa proves nothing to your old tax office.
Golden visas that closed, and programs not in the Index yet
Spain closed its golden visa: Organic Law 1/2025, in force from April 3, 2025, emptied the investor residence articles, though permits already issued keep their validity and renew under the rules they were granted under. Portugal kept its investment residence permit but excludes real estate, and its lowest routes are €250,000 (about $284,000) for cultural heritage and €500,000 (about $569,000) in Portuguese investment funds.
Italy's investor visa starts at €250,000 (about $284,000) in an innovative startup and runs to €2 million (about $2,280,000) in government bonds. Neither Portugal's nor Italy's program is scored in the Index yet.
Programs change after you buy
Rules move faster than holding periods. Spain closed in 2025, Portugal dropped property, and Panama replaced its investor rules in September 2026. A property bought for a visa that closes before you file is still yours, but the permit is not, so commit money only once the program's own page confirms the route you are applying under.
When a golden visa is the wrong route
If you have income rather than spare capital, an income route costs far less: the ranking of easiest countries to get residency covers every route a remote worker can use, and digital nomad visas need only proof of foreign earnings. And if tax is the goal, choose the country before the program. The low tax countries are where a remote worker pays 25% or less on $100,000 of revenue, while a resident freelancer in Hungary pays 25% to 35% whatever permit they hold.
How this list is ranked
Open programs come first, then those whose terms changed recently, each group ordered by minimum investment in US dollars at the exchange rates of September 28, 2026. Every golden visa and investment residence route in the Index with a stated minimum is included, which brings in the 2 citizenship programs and Ireland's business permission; thresholds still being confirmed at an official source are marked in the table.
David's note
I would put the money into the move, not the visa. A golden visa buys the right to live somewhere; it does not buy tax residence, and for someone who earns abroad it rarely beats an income-based permit. It earns its price when you have capital to park anyway, want permanence, and cannot qualify another way.
