Pillar pages

Golden Visa programs, by country.

Each page is a complete pillar guide: every investment route, real costs, processing reality, tax overlay, and what changed in the last 12 months.

Portugal

Portugal Golden Visa (ARI)

EU residency at ~7 days a year — citizenship now on a 10-year clock.

12–18 months (new applications)

10 years (7 for EU/CPLP; reform signed 3 May 2026)

Greece

Greece Golden Visa

Zone-priced real estate residency, zero days a year required.

4–9 months (new applications)

0 days required

Spain

Spain Golden Visa (closed to new applicants)

Closed to new applicants since April 2025. What the repeal did, what existing holders keep, and the Spanish routes that still work.

Closed to new applicants

n/a (existing holders unchanged)

1 visit/year (existing holders)

United Arab Emirates

UAE Golden Visa (10-year residency)

10-year residency, zero personal income tax, no presence rule.

Not available (presidential nomination only)

Unlimited absence allowed

Malta

Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP)

EU permanent residency in 4–6 months. The citizenship-by-investment route is gone since the April 2025 EU court ruling.

Permanent residence only. No citizenship-by-investment — the investor-citizenship route was abolished after the CJEU ruling of 29 April 2025. Ordinary naturalisation requires several years of genuine residence and is discretionary.

Italy

Italy Investor Visa (Visto per Investitori)

€250k startup tier plus the €300k flat tax — the EU's quiet sleeper.

10 years (4 for EU citizens, 3 for spouses of Italians)

Flexible (no fixed minimum) — tax residency at 183 days

Caribbean (CBI)

Caribbean Citizenship by Investment

St. Kitts, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia — passport in 4–8 months.

Direct (no residency requirement)

0 days (Antigua: 5 days within first 5 years)

United States

EB-5 Immigrant Investor

The slowest, most expensive Golden Visa — and the only one ending in a US passport. Hard 30 Sept 2026 deadline.

Rural TEA: ~8mo to I-526E · 24–36mo to green card

Conditional green card now; permanent green card after the 2-year conditions are removed; US citizenship after 5 years as a permanent resident, with physical-presence and continuous-residence requirements.

Not a zero-stay program. The green card must be genuinely maintained — long absences risk abandonment — and naturalisation requires 30 months of physical presence over 5 years.