The Residence by investment (RBI) schemes or Golden visa programs from EU countries grant immediate residency visa with citizenship path to foreign investors against a lump sum investment in real estate, or in business & commerce. These schemes offer a perk to spend only few days in the country with no requirement to live in the country after making the investment. There is a great demand for european golden visa programs from investors coming from Middle East (UAE), Asia and Africa. Please note that EU/ EEE nationals are not eligible for the Golden Visa schemes as per Government rules.
Third country nationals had to apply for visa at embassy/consulate after investing in the property. Those who already in the schengen visas, can apply for migration offices by appointment to receive residence permits.
Greece, Portugal, Malta, Latvia, Ireland (stamp4) offer permanent resident permits including for family members with free movement in the Schengen area. All other countries offer limited term temporary residence permits (TRP) valid for one or two years with extensions.
We will take a quick look on all the golden visa programs available in 12 European countries. We will list it top most popular and least popular schemes in Europe
1. Greece Golden visa
The following investments qualify under Greece real estate acquis (Law 4146/2013)
| Real Estate | Business Investment |
| € 250,000 euro in residential real estate or hotels | € 300,000 to 10 million euro under strategic investment creating 150 jobs in appropriate sector |
- Golden visa offers immediate permanent residency in Greece
- Most popular golden visa program in Europe
- Property investment in Athens, Piraeus etc..
- Permanent residence permit issued for 5 years
- No residency requirements
- Freely travel in Schengen zone
- Greek citizenship after 7 years of living in Greece.
2. Portugal Golden visa
The following investments qualify under the portuguese golden visa program:
| Real Estate | Business | Research | Art & Culture | Investment Funds |
| Real estate investment:€350,000 refurbished property outside Lisbon or €500,000 in Lisbon | Capital transfer with a value equal to or above 1 million Euros and create 10 jobs | Capital transfer with a value equal to or above €350,000 Euros for investing in research activities | Capital transfer with a value equal to or above €250,000 Euros for investing in supporting the arts, for reconstruction or refurbishment of the national heritage | Capital transfer with a value equal to or above €500,000 euros, for purchasing shares in investment funds or in venture capital |
- Residence visa (renewable) status to live and work in Portugal
- Permanent residence permit for €500,000 property purchase
- Portuguese citizenship, by naturalization, provided all other requirements set out by the Nationality Act are fulfilled (Act number 37/81 of 3 October)
- No residency requirement (except visit Portugal once every year)
- Freely travel in the schengen area
- Family and children included in one application
3. Ireland Golden visa
The following investments qualify under the Irish golden visa program:
| Endowment | Irish investment funds | Real Estate | Mixed |
| €500,000 one time donation to Irish philanthropic | € 1 million euro invested in the Government approved bond at 0% interest rate | €2 million euro in any Irish REIT | €1,000,000 worth of Real estate + Bonds mixed |
- Irish immigrant investor scheme
- Irish residency through investment.
- No minimum residency requirements (1 day residence condition).
- Immediate Permanent residence (stamp 4) conditions
- Irish citizenship/passport after 5 years of legally living.
4. Spain Golden visa
The following investments qualify under the spanish golden passport program:
| €2,000,000 euros in Spanish public debt | €1,000,000 euros in shares or equities of companies with business activity. | €1,000,000 million in investment funds. | €1,000,000 million in bank deposits | Real estate acquisition in Spain of €500,000 euro or more |
- You will be given immediate residency in Spain under spanish golden visa Law 14/2013
- No residency requirement (except visit Spain atleast once every year)
- Freely travel in the schengen area
- Family and children included in one application
- Spanish citizenship after 6-8 years of living under spanish naturalization law.
5. UK Golden visa
The following investments qualify under the UK golden visa program (entrepreneur visa or tier1 investor)
- UK innovator visa (£ 50,000) with path to PR
- UK tier-1 investor visa (£2,000,000)
Innovator visa is the cheapest route for entrepreneurs.
For HNW investors, investor route works best, with the quickest path to permanent resident status.
| UK Government Bonds | Share Capital or Loan Capital in UK companies | ILR Settlement status |
| £ 2,000,000 pounds | £ 2,000,000 pounds | in 5 years |
| £ 5,000,000 pounds | £ 5,000,000 pounds | in 3 years |
| £ 5,000,000 pounds | £ 10,000,000 pounds | in 2 years |
- Immediate entry clearance within 2 weeks, issued to live in the UK (valid for 40 months).
- Work or study in the UK.
- UK citizenship after 5-6 years of living in the UK.
- Satisfy residency requirements (live 80% of time in UK)
- No language test.
3. Malta Golden Visa
| Malta Citizenship by Investment | Malta Golden Visa |
| € 900,000 one time costs under Malta Individual Investor Program (IIP) | €250,000 investment in immovable property investment or Government bonds under Malta Residency Visa Programme (MRVP) |
- Buy € 250,000 five year Government bond in Malta or €900,000 for direct Malta passport through Malta IIP
- Investment required only for five years
- Malta permanent residence card valid for 5 years (renewable indefinitely) under golden visa.
- Free movement in Schengen zone
- Family and children included in one single application.
- Buying Real estate is optional and additional to above investment amount.
- No taxes unless you are having resident status.
- No language requirement. No business experience needed.
4. Cyprus Golden Visa
The following investments qualify under the golden passport program under Cyprus naturalization scheme Subsection (2) of Section 111A:
| Cyprus citizenship by investment | Cyprus Golden Visa |
| € 2 million euro in luxury property purchase, construction of residential/commercial projects | Purchase of real estate immovable property for €275,000 plus VAT |
- Citizenship and Residence by investment scheme in Cyprus
- Family and children included under one single application.
- No requirement to live in Cyprus after getting citizenship.
- Permanent residence permit
- No taxes unless you are having resident status.
- No language requirement. No military service.
- Golden visa offers permanent residency in Cyprus.
6. Latvia Golden visa
The following investments qualify under the Latvian golden visa scheme
| Real estate | Business investment | Bank Deposit |
| €250,000 euro in real estate acquis in capital Riga + 5% state fee | €100,000 euro in business investment in a Latvian company | €300,000 euro bank deposit in a latvian bank |
- You will be given immediate residence permit to live in Latvia (EU schengen country)
- No residency requirements.
- Freely travel in Schengen zone.
- Permanent residence permit valid for 5 years (only for real estate, bank deposit and bonds)
- Latvian citizenship after 10 years of residency.
7. Hungary Golden visa
The following investments qualify under the Hungarian available for non-EU nationals:
| Hungarian Government Bonds | Real Estate Investment |
Buy € 300,000 euro worth of Hungarian Government bonds in Euro (entire amount returned after 5 years with no interest).
|
do not qualify |
- You will be given immediate Permanent Residency (PR) valid for 5 years in Hungary.
- Freely travel in Schengen zone.
- No minimum residency requirements.
- Permanent residence permit
- Hungarian citizenship after 8 years of living.
8. Netherlands Golden visa
The following investments qualify under the Netherlands golden visa program (aka foreign investor program):
| Business Investment | Venture Capital |
| € 1,250,000 euro investment in an innovative single dutch company or joint venture. | Invest in a € 1,250,000 euro venture fund or venture capital recognised by the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs |
- You will be granted immediate residency in Netherlands to do business.
- Freely travel in Schengen zone with Dutch residence permit.
- No minimum residence requirements.
- Temporary Residence permit with short tem extensions.
- You can qualify for PR or Citizenship after 5 years of living in Netherlands.
11. Bulgaria Golden visa
The following qualify under the Bulgarian golden visa program.
| Business Capital | Bulgarian Government Bonds |
| €512,000 euro (PR immediate) | €512,000 euro maintained for 5 years (PR immediate |
| €1 million euro (fast track citizenship) | €1 million euro (fast track citizenship) |
- Bulgaria is EU member state
- Bulgaria permanent residence card.
- Bulgaria passport gives full EU citizenship possible after holding PR card for 1 year.
- No residence requirements.
- Bulgaria passport offers full EU citizenship rights
12. Italy Golden visa
The following investments qualify for italian golden visa under 2017 Budget Law, were discussed and approved by the Italian Parliament on 7 December 2016 and made effective as of 1 January 2017
| Business | Government bonds | Public Interest |
| EUR 500,000 capital investment | EUR 2 million in Italian government bonds (fully refunded after 5 years) | EUR 1 million in projects such as culture, education, immigration management, research and development, arts and heritage |
- You will be given residence permit to live in Italy (Rome, Milan, Florence)
- You can live, work anywhere in Italy
- You can freely move around 26 schengen states (France, Germany, Switzerland etc)
- TRP residence permit valid for 2 years.
- You can get permanent residence after 5 years of living.
- You can get Italian citizenship after 10 years of living.
There are no golden visa programs officially exist in Belgium, Switzerland, Austria etc..
About Best Citizenships (BC)
Best Citizenships (BC) is a golden visa comparison platform, assisting very wealthy, talented and high net worth individuals with global residency and citizenship solutions in over 30 countries. The company has assisted HNW clients with immigration, relocation, company setups, real estate , tax advisory and has helped bringing in over millions of dollar investment through immigrant investor schemes currently running EU member states and Caribbean.
