Where is investment-based residency cheap?
There are several ways to gain residence in another country: by entering a local university, finding a job opportunity or creating a family with a national of another country. These strategies work for those who plan on moving abroad. However, many people want to obtain foreign residence for other purposes, such as to facilitate interaction with foreign banks, travel freely across the EU, or as a safety precaution in case the holder needs to emigrate urgently. A good option in such cases is the so-called Golden Visa, which is a residence permit issued to buyers of real estate or other assets above a certain value. This is the easiest and quickest way to obtain a residence permit. Tranio describes the most popular programmes, and on what terms a Golden Visa can be obtained in another country?
Andorra
Andorra provides several residence-by-investment options. An obligatory requirement is to own or rent property in the country and have an income level exceeding the Andorran minimum salary by three times over. Investment-based residency does not give foreign nationals the right for economic activity within Andorra.
Minimum amount: €400,000 + €50,000 deposit per principal applicant and €10,000 per each family member
Investment vehicles: property, companies registered in Andorra, public bonds, deposits
Term: indefinite, the holder is eligible for citizenship after 20 years of actual residence
Residence requirements: 90 days per year
Visa-free access: Spain, France
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, children
Australia
Australia offers investors two residence-by-investment options:
Investor visa (subclass 891)
This visa can only be obtained by the holders of the subclass 162 visa whose issuance is currently terminated.
Minimum amount: A$1.5mn (€945,000) in 4 years
Investment vehicles: business
Term: indefinite
Residence requirements: none
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, children
Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188)
To become eligible for this type of visa, an investor needs to apply preliminarily through SkillSelect and receive an invitation from a governmental organisation.
Minimum amount: A$200,000 (€124,000)
Investment vehicles: business
Term: 4 years, renewable for 2 or 4 years depending on the investment amount, eligible for permanent residence (subclass 888 visa)
Residence requirements: none
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, children
Bulgaria
Bulgaria offers two residence-by-investment options to economic investors:
Minimum amount: BGN 600,000 (€306,000) —> Investment vehicle: real estate
Minimum amount: BGN 250,000 (€127,000) —> Investment vehicle: a company creating 5 jobs for Bulgarian national
The investor living permanently in Bulgaria becomes eligible for a long-term residence permit within five years.
Canada (Quebec)
Foreign nationals can obtain Canadian residency under the programme of Quebec, the country's largest province. To become eligible for residence, applicants must prove a holding of at least C$2mn (€1.3mn) and have at least 2 years of experience in business administration over the past 5 years. The number of participants is limited: for instance, between 10 September 2018 and 15 March 2019, Quebec will review no more than 1,900 applications. Unlike other programmes, this takes account of the applicant's proficiency in French.
Minimum amount: C$1.2mn (€793,000)
Investment vehicle: brokers and trusts that have been authorised by the government for participation in the programme
Costa Rica
Costa Rica offers a rather flexible residence-by-investment programme: applicants can buy any type of property or make a business investment in any sector of the economy. Three years after receiving a residence permit they can apply for permanent residence.
Minimum amount: $200,000
Investment vehicles: property or business
Cyprus
The country offers foreign nationals permanent residency for a property purchase. Financial requirements are relatively low: the applicant's annual income outside Cyprus must be at least €30,000 (extra €5,000 or €8,000 per each family member depending on the degree of kindred) with an equal amount being deposit in a Cypriot bank account.
Minimum amount: €300,000
Investment vehicle: real estate
Residence requirements: at least one visit to Cyprus every two years
Lead time: 1–2 months
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, parents and children of both
Estonia
Foreign nationals can obtain Estonian residency by investing in purchasing or registering a new company in Estonia or opening their own business. Applicants must provide a business plan.
Minimum amount: €16,000
Investment vehicle: business (as an individual investing in an own business — €16,000, purchase or registration of a new company — €65,000.
Term: 5 years, renewable
France
France offers residency to foreign nationals in exchange for business investment. Investors must hold at least 30% of a company capital and create or preserve 50 jobs.
Minimum amount: €10mn
Investment vehicle: company created in France.
Residence requirements: none
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, children
Greece
The Greek Golden Visa is one of the cheapest residence-by-property-purchase programmes in Europe. Many investors rent the purchased properties out short term. Thanks to a relatively low price per square metre and the growing popularity of the country among tourists, the yield of rental business in Athens is higher than in other European capitals.
Minimum amount: €250,000
Investment vehicle: real estate (one or several properties)
Term: 5 years, indefinitely renewable, the holder is eligible for citizenship after 7 years of actual residence
Residence requirements: none
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, parents and children of both
Ireland
Ireland offers investors four residence-by-investment options. To become eligible for residence, applicants must prove a holding of at least €2mn.
Minimum amount: €500,000
Investment vehicles:
- business (€1mn within 3 years)
- investment fund (€1mn)
- real estate investment trust (€2mn within 3 years)
- endowment (€500,000)
Residence requirements: at least one visit to Ireland a year
Term: 2 years, renewable for 3 years and then 5 years
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, children
Italy
Foreign nationals can apply for Italian residency in exchange for significant investment in the country's economy.
Minimum amount: €500,000
Investment vehicles:
- innovative startup (€500,000)
- business (€1mn)
- donation (€1mn)
- public bonds (€2mn)
Term: 2 years, renewable every 3 years
Residence requirements: none
In 2016, the Italian government introduced a special tax regime for new residents who spend most of their time in Italy and are its tax residents. From now on, investors can pay a fixed annual tax of €100,000 for themselves (and €25,000 per family member), which exempts them from paying tax on profits obtained outside Italy (usually calculated at a progressive rate from 23% to 43%).
Latvia
Latvia launched its Golden Visa programme in April 2010. Its low investment threshold (€140,000 for Riga and €70,000 for other regions) guaranteed instant popularity. However, when in September 2014 the Latvian government raised the investment threshold to €250,000, the demand for Golden Visas fell almost tenfold. Russian nationals constitute 70% of the Latvian residence permit recipients.
Minimum amount: €60,000
Investment vehicles:
- enterprises with at least 50 employees and an annual turnover below €10mn (€50,000+€10,000 fee).
- enterprises with over 50 employees and an annual turnover above €10mn (€100,000+€10,000 fee).
- property (€250,000 +€12,500 fee)
- 5-year subordinated bank deposit (€280,000 +€25,000 fee)
Residence requirements: none
Term: 5 years, renewable every 5 years
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, children
Malaysia
In Malaysia, foreign nationals can obtain residency under the Malaysia My Second Home Program. It does not imply real estate or business investments, as it is enough for the applicant to open an account with a Malaysian bank. The residence permit is granted for 10 years. The programme's financial requirements differ depending on the age of the applicants:
For applicants under 50 years of age:
Requirements: at least RM 500,000 (€104,000) in assets and monthly income abroad of at least RM 10,000 (€2,000). Opening a RM 300,000 (€63,000) account upon conditional approvement
For applicants over 50 years of age:
Requirements: at least RM 350,000 (€73,000) in assets and monthly income abroad of at least RM 10,000 (€2,000). Opening a RM 150,000 (€31,000) account upon conditional approvement
Malta
Foreign nationals can obtain residency under the programme Malta Residence & Visa Programme. Investors holding at least €500,000 and having at least €100,000 in annual income can participate. An obligatory requirement is to own or rent property in Malta for five years. It must cost at least €320,000 in the case of purchase and €12,000 in the case of rent (€270,000 and €12,000 for the south of Malta or Gozo).
Minimum amount: €280,000
Investment vehicle: public bonds (€250,000 +€30,000 fee)
Residence requirements: none
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, children, parents, grandparents
New Zealand
There are two residence-by-investment programmes under which investors can obtain a residence permit in New Zealand:
Investor 2 Category
Minimum amount: NZ$3mn (€1.7mn) within 4 years
Residence requirements: spending 438 days in New Zealand in 4 years
Applications requirements: at least 3 years of business experience, English proficiency (for all family members), below 65 years of ageTerm: indefinite
Investor 1 Category
Minimum amount: NZ$10mn (€5.7mn) in 3 years
Investment vehicle: companies, bonds, commercial residential property construction, up to 15% — philanthropic investment
Term: indefinite
Panama
There are three residence-by-investment options in Panama:
Panama’s Reforestation Investor Visa
Minimum amount: $80,000
Investment vehicle: reforestation project and purchase of 5ha of land
Panama’s Self Economic Solvency Visa
Minimum amount: $300,000
Investment vehicles: property, bank deposit or property + bank deposit
Panama’s Business Investor Visa
Minimum amount: $160,000
Investment vehicle: business in Panama
Portugal
Portugal provides residency to foreign nationals under the Golden Residence Permit Programme. This is the most popular Golden Visa in Europe: between 2013 and 2017, investors obtained over 5,000 Portuguese residence permits.
Minimum amount: €250,000
Investment vehicles:
- property (of at least €500,000 in value, property built at least 30 years ago or located in areas of urban renovation worth more than €350,000)
- creation of 10 jobs
- bank deposit or approved investment projects (€1 mn)
- scientific research (€350,000)
- cultural heritage (€250,000)
- investment and venture funds (€350,000)
Term: 1 year, renewable twice for 2 years
Residence requirements: 1 week during the first year, and 2 weeks during the next 4 years
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, children, dependants
Singapore
Foreign nationals can obtain residency under the Global Investor Programme. To participate, investors must own a company with an annual turnover of at least S$50mn (€31 mn) for three years.
Minimum amount: S$2.5mn (€1.6mn)
Investment vehicle: new or existing business in Singapore or the programme's fund
Spain
Unlike most other countries, in Spain, work permits are available along with residence.
Minimum amount: €500,000
Investment vehicles:
- property (€500,000)
- business or financial institutions (€1 mn)
- public bonds (€2 mn)
- launch of a company with jobs.
Term: 2 years, renewable every 5 years, the holder is eligible for citizenship after 5 years of actual residence
Residence requirements: none
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, children and parents
Switzerland
Switzerland offers foreign nationals an unusual way to obtain a residence permit: through a lump—sum taxation agreement. The tax amount depends not on the income value but on the number of expenses which is to exceed the applicant's lodging expenses seven times at least. Each canton independently determines the amount to be taxed. Foreign nationals who have obtained residency in such a way must spend in Switzerland 6 months at least without the right to work, however.
Thailand
Foreign investors can obtain a long-term visa for 5 to 20 years and ฿500,000 to ฿2mn (€13,000 and €52,000) under the Thailand Elite programme. The more expensive the programme, the more bonuses there are for the participants: for instance, the holders of the most expensive visa can play golf, visit a spa and have a complete health screening once a year for free. The programme comes in seven variants, differing by costs, visa validity terms and the number of bonuses available.
United Kingdom
The UK investment-based residence is available through one of the two following programmes:
Tier 1 (Investor) visa
Minimum amount: £2mn (€2.2mn)
Investment vehicles: public shares and bonds or assets of companies registered and operating in the UK.
Term: 40 months, renewable for another 2 years. Permanent residence can be obtained in 3 years by those who invest £5mn (€5.6mn) and in 2 years by those investing £10mn (€11.2mn)
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, children
Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa
Minimum amount: £50,000 (€56,000) if the source of funding is a foundation or a venture capital firm, approved by the government, £200,000 (€223,000) otherwise
Investment vehicle: business
Term: 40 months, renewable in 2 or 3 years, permanent residence available within 5 years
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, children
United States
Foreign nationals can obtain residency in the US under the EB-5 programme which entitles the holder to live and work in the USA. This is one of the most popular residence-by-investment programmes in the world: under the EB-5 programme launched in 1990, 60,000 visas were awarded over the past decade. The US issues no more than 10,000 of such visas annually.
Minimum amount: $500,000
Investment vehicle: business with 10 jobs in the US
Term: not defined
The main applicant's family members eligible for the visa: spouse, children
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