Golden Visa comparison 2026 — remaining residence-by-investment programmes
The Golden Visa landscape has contracted sharply since 2023: Portugal removed real-estate investment (October 2023), Ireland's IIP closed (February 2023), Spain's Golden Visa closed (April 2025). This leaves investment-fund and business-creation routes as the primary remaining options, alongside UAE Golden Visa, US EB-5, and Canada SUV.
What does Golden Visa comparison 2026 — remaining residence-by-investment programmes compare?
Investor residence programmes compared — covering current offers after the 2023–2025 EU retrenchment. The page compares 92 routes using Status and Indicative govt fee; each row links to a primary-source route guide.
Verified against Immigration Service Delivery on 22 June 2026.
| Destination | Route | Status | Indicative govt fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP — closed) | In flux | Not applicable. |
| Portuguese Republic | Portugal Golden Visa (residence by investment) | In flux | Investment plus government fees typically €5,000+ on issuance, additional for family. |
| Kingdom of Spain | Spain Golden Visa (ending April 2025) | In flux | Not applicable. |
| United Arab Emirates | UAE Golden Visa | Active — leads to PR | Federal ICP schedule: AED 100 application + AED 100 per year of residence issuance + AED 100 smart-services fee; AED 500 for in-country status adjustment if applicable. Medical, Emirates ID, health-insurance, attestation and emirate-specific charges are additional. |
| United Arab Emirates | UAE Green Residence — investor / business partner | Active | Federal ICP schedule: AED 100 application + AED 100 per year of the 5-year Green Residence + AED 100 smart-services fee. In-country status adjustment is AED 500 if applicable; business-licence, medical, Emirates ID, insurance and emirate/free-zone fees are separate. |
| United States of America | EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program | Active — leads to PR | I-526/I-526E USD 3,675 (plus the USD 1,000 EB-5 Integrity Fund fee); I-829 USD 3,750 — a federal court vacated the higher April-2024 fees (USD 11,160 / USD 9,525) and USCIS reverted to these amounts on 14 November 2025; a new fee rule is pending, so confirm before filing. Plus regional-center or direct-project fees set privately. |
| United States of America | E-2 Treaty Investor | Active | DS-160 USD 315 (reciprocity-adjusted); I-129 USD 1,015 (for in-country change of status). |
| New Zealand | Active Investor Plus Visa | Active — leads to PR | From NZD 27,470. |
| Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | Premium Residency | Active — leads to PR | Verify current fees on pr.gov.sa — the programme initially launched with SAR 800,000 (permanent) and SAR 100,000/year (renewable). |
| Hellenic Republic | Golden Visa | In flux | The Ministry page lists government e-fees and residence-card printing fees for relevant categories. |
| Federative Republic of Brazil | Residence authorization for investment | Active — leads to PR | The authority publishes current government fees and the qualifying investment threshold on the official route page. |
| Argentine Republic | Inversionista (Investor) Temporary Residence | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only; the applicable migration fees are published by DNM on the official page. |
| Republic of Chile | Temporary Residence - Investors and Related Personnel | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government fees may apply. The USD 500,000 figure is an investment threshold, not a fee. Confirm current requirements on the official SERMIG page. |
| Republic of South Africa | Business Visa | Active — leads to PR | The DHA sets the application fee; the prescribed capital contribution and any waivers are determined by the Minister in the Gazette - confirm current figures on the official page. |
| Republic of Mauritius | Occupation Permit (Investor) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only; statutory processing and application fees apply to successful applicants. Confirm current fees on the official EDB page. |
| Republic of Kenya | Class A Work Permit (Prospecting and Mining) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - a processing fee plus an annual issuance fee apply; confirm current amounts on the official Class A page. |
| Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China | Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES) | Active — leads to PR | A visa/entry permit fee applies on issuance, separate from the required investment. Refer to the Immigration Department fee schedule on the official page. |
| State of Qatar | Investor Residence Visa | Active | Indicative only - a government service fee applies per the Ministry of Interior. Confirm the current amount on the official Hukoomi service page. |
| Republic of Türkiye | Turkey Citizenship by Investment | Active — leads to PR | Indicative: qualifying investment thresholds and associated fees are set by regulation; confirm current amounts on official government sources. |
| Republic of Indonesia | Investor KITAS (Limited Stay Permit for Investors) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government fees apply; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of Indonesia | Golden Visa (5 and 10-year) | In flux | Indicative only - government fees apply; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of the Philippines | Special Investor's Resident Visa (SIRV) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government fees apply; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of the Philippines | Special Visa for Employment Generation (SVEG) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government fees apply; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Socialist Republic of Vietnam | Investor Visa (DT1-DT4) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government fees apply; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of Colombia | Visa M Inversionista / Socio o Propietario | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - a study fee and an issuance fee apply; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of Costa Rica | Temporary Residence - Inversionista (Investor) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government processing fees apply; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of Panama | Qualified Investor Permanent Residence (Inversionista Calificado) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government fees apply on top of the qualifying investment; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of Panama | Economic Solvency Residence (Solvencia Economica Propia) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government fees apply on top of the qualifying investment; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Federal Republic of Nigeria | Investor Visa (multiple-entry) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government fees and minimum investment thresholds apply; confirm current amounts on the official Nigeria Immigration Service page. |
| Arab Republic of Egypt | Citizenship by Investment (Egypt, Law 190 of 2019) | In flux | Indicative only - qualifying investment thresholds and government fees apply and were amended in 2024; confirm current amounts on the official GAFI page. |
| Republic of Ghana | GIPC Automatic Immigrant Quota | Active | Indicative only - GIPC and Ghana Immigration Service fees and minimum capital thresholds apply; confirm current amounts on the official pages. |
| Sultanate of Oman | Investor Residency (Golden Visa) | In flux | Indicative only - government fees and qualifying investment thresholds are set by the authorities; confirm current amounts on the official page, not third-party sources. |
| Georgia | Investment Residence Permit | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - a state fee applies; the qualifying investment amount is set by law and indexed - confirm current figures on the official page. |
| Hungary | Guest Investor Programme (golden visa) | In flux | Indicative only - government procedure fees apply and the qualifying investment is set by law - confirm current options and amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of Ecuador | Temporary Residence - Investor (Inversionista) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - a visa application fee and an issuance fee apply; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of Paraguay | Permanent Residence for Investors (SUACE) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government processing fees and SUACE costs apply; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka | Residence Visa (Investor Category) | Active | Indicative only. Government fees apply in addition to the required investment; refer to the official Department of Immigration and Emigration page for current amounts. |
| Dominican Republic | Residence by Investment - Investor | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government residence and card fees apply on top of the qualifying investment; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of Bulgaria | Residence by Investment | In flux | Indicative only - the qualifying investment amounts are set by law, indexed, and expressed in euro from 2026; confirm current figures on the official page. |
| Romania | Residency by Investment / Business Activities (Romania) | In flux | Indicative only - investment and job-creation thresholds are set by law and indexed; confirm current figures on the official page. |
| Republic of Albania | Unique Permit for Investors | In flux | Indicative only - investment thresholds were revised by Law 43/2025 and are indexed; confirm current figures on the official page. |
| Republic of Rwanda | Investor Permit (Class A-1 / B-1) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government fees apply and minimum investment thresholds are set for the classes; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of Botswana | Investor Work Permit | In flux | Indicative only - government fees apply and investment is assessed case by case; confirm current amounts on the official gov.bw page. |
| Republic of Uzbekistan | Golden Visa (5-year residence for investment) | In flux | Indicative only. The qualifying investment or contribution and any fees are set by the rules and can change; refer to the official page rather than relying on a figure here. |
| Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal | Business Visa (foreign investors and representatives) | Active | Indicative only. Fees apply and can scale with investment and period; refer to the official page for current amounts. |
| Republic of Moldova | Temporary Residence for Investors (Moldova) | In flux | Indicative only - the qualifying investment thresholds are set in law and indexed; confirm current figures on the official page. |
| Republic of Peru | Investor (Inversionista) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - a government processing fee applies (paid by the official code at Banco de la Nacion); confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of El Salvador | Investor Temporary Residence | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - government processing fees apply (in US dollars); confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of Fiji | Investor Permit for Non-Citizen Investors | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - permit and bond costs apply on top of the investment; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan | Investor Residency (Qualifying Real-Estate Purchase) | Active | Indicative only - the property must meet a set value and permit fees apply; confirm current thresholds and amounts on the official page. |
| Republic of Latvia | Investor Residence Permit / Golden Visa (Latvia) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - thresholds plus an additional state payment apply and are set in law; confirm current figures on the official page. |
| United Republic of Tanzania | Residence Permit Class A (self-employed and investors) | Active | Indicative only - government fees apply for the permit, and TIC charges separate certificate-of-incentives fees; confirm current amounts on the official channels. |
| Republic of Namibia | Investor Residence (qualifying investment) | In flux | Indicative only - government fees apply and a qualifying investment is expected; confirm current amounts and thresholds on the official channels. |
| Republic of Azerbaijan | Temporary Residence Permit (investment, real estate or deposit) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only. The qualifying investment, real-estate value or deposit, and any government fees, are set by the rules and can change; refer to the official page rather than relying on a figure here. |
| Mongolia | Investor Residence (foreign-invested company) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only. Any qualifying investment and government fees are set by the rules and can change; refer to the official page rather than relying on a figure here. |
| Republic of Guatemala | Temporary Residence - Investor (Residencia Inversionista) | In flux | Indicative only - government processing fees apply; confirm current amounts on the official page. |
| State of Kuwait | Investor Residency (long-term, up to ~15 years) | In flux | Indicative only - no published minimum investment figure is fixed, and government fees and health insurance apply. Confirm current amounts and conditions on the official Ministry of Interior page, not third-party sources. |
| Republic of Vanuatu | Residence Visa (Foreign Investor ground) | Active — leads to PR | Indicative only - residence visa fees vary by validity period, and VIPA approval and any business-licence fees apply separately. Confirm current amounts on the official pages. |
| Islamic Republic of Pakistan | Business Investor Visa | Active | Government fees vary by nationality and route; confirm the payable amount in the Pakistan Online Visa System before submitting. |
| People's Republic of Bangladesh | Investor Visa | In flux | Visa fees are reciprocal by nationality and non-refundable. Confirm the current fee in the Bangladesh Online MRV Portal or with the Bangladesh mission handling the application. |
| Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | Investment Visa | Active | The official fee table lists USD 62 for 30-day single entry, USD 152 for 90-day multiple entry, USD 252 for 6-month multiple entry and USD 502 for 12-month multiple entry. Extension fees are listed separately. |
| Republic of San Marino | Elective Residence Permit | Active — leads to PR | No route-specific public fee is listed on the English guidance page. Confirm current government charges and investment thresholds under the applicable law before filing. |
| Republic of Cabo Verde | Residence Visa for Investment | Active — leads to PR | GOV.CV lists a visa cost of 4,898 CVE; confirm current residence and investment-related charges before filing. |
| Republic of Zambia | Investor Permit | Active — leads to PR | The fees page lists Investor Permit issuance and renewal fees in ZMW. Confirm current totals before filing. |
| Republic of Zimbabwe | Investor Residence Permit | Active — leads to PR | The investor residence page lists a statutory non-refundable fee of US$500 and US$300 per dependent; the fees page lists investor permanent residence at US$1,000. Confirm the applicable tariff before filing. |
| Ukraine | Temporary Residence Permit for Founder or Beneficial Owner | In flux | The official page lists government, administrative-service and blank-form fees in UAH; confirm current totals before filing. |
| Republic of Mozambique | Investment Visa | In flux | Pay the applicable eVisa fee through the official portal and confirm the current amount before submission. |
| Republic of Tunisia | Residence Card for Investors | In flux | The cited Interior procedure does not publish a government fee. |
| Plurinational State of Bolivia | Multiple Visa for Business and Investment | In flux | Government visa or migration fees may apply; the legal framework says migration rates and fees are set in UFV and paid in bolivianos at the collection date. |
| Republic of Angola | Privileged Visa | In flux | The official consular fee decree lists Visto de Privilegiado at USD 250. The migration-act fee decree lists domestic privileged-visa and privileged-visa extension fee lines. |
| Republic of Honduras | Rentist, Pensioner or Investor Residence | In flux | INM publishes route thresholds, but applicants should confirm current government fees and deposits before filing. |
| Republic of The Gambia | Business Establishment / Investor Residence | In flux | No single investment threshold is published on the reviewed GID/GIEPA pages; GID residence and quota fees apply where the investor or expatriate staff need permits. |
| Islamic Republic of Iran | Investment Visa | In flux | No universal public fee amount is published in the reviewed MFA pages; confirm through the official investment and MFA filing channels. |
| Republic of Madagascar | Long-Stay Investor Visa | Active — leads to PR | EDBM lists a stay-visa duty from Ar 292,500 to Ar 487,500 depending on duration, plus resident-card delivery fees from EUR 300 to EUR 838.47; the monthly Central Bank rate is applied at EDBM. |
| Republic of Sierra Leone | Investor Residence Permit | Active | Use the Unified Permit price checker and live application for the current residence permit fee. |
| Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela | Investor Visa | In flux | Confirm the current consular or electronic-visa fee with the serving consulate or Cancilleria Digital before payment. |
| Lao People's Democratic Republic | Business Investor Visa (NI-B2) | Active | The Invest Laos page lists example levies including 5,000 kip for a visa application form and multiple-entry visa fees of 300,000, 600,000 or 1,200,000 kip for 3, 6 or 12 months; confirm current fees before filing. |
| Lao People's Democratic Republic | Multiple Entry-Exit Visa for Investors | Active | The page lists multiple-entry visa levies of 300,000 kip for 3 months, 600,000 kip for 6 months and 1,200,000 kip for 12 months, plus other service fees; confirm current amounts before payment. |
| Republic of Tajikistan | Investor Visa Categories C and MOI | Active | Confirm current consular fees on the official consular site before applying. |
| Bermuda (British Overseas Territory) | Economic Investment Certificate and Residential Certificate | Active | Published Government of Bermuda fees list BMD 2,755 for an Economic Investment Certificate and BMD 2,755 for a Residential Certificate. |
| Aruba (country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | Investor and Shareholder Residence | Active | Confirm current DIMAS investor/shareholder filing fees in the official application channel. |
| Curacao (country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | Residence Permit - Investor, Retired Person or Pensioner | Active | Confirm current fees, deposits and refund treatment through the official Admission Office process. |
| Sint Maarten (country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | Director or Investor Permit | Active | Confirm current filing fees and any contribution or funds requirement directly in the official government service page and portal before paying. |
| Cook Islands (self-governing country in free association with New Zealand) | Resident Investor Permit | Active | Confirm current resident-investor fees through official MFAI guidance or the application channel. |
| American Samoa (United States territory) | Foreign Investor Entry Permit | Active | Confirm current investor-permit, filing, registration and renewal fees with the official process before payment. |
| Montserrat (British Overseas Territory) | Economic Residence Permit | Active — leads to PR | Confirm current economic residence, due-diligence and document fees with official Montserrat authorities. |
| Anguilla (British Overseas Territory) | Residence by Investment | Active — leads to PR | Published thresholds include US$150,000 Capital Development Fund contribution for a single applicant plus US$50,000 per dependant, or US$750,000 minimum investment for listed real-estate or business-premises options; fees and due diligence costs are additional. |
| Independent State of Samoa | Temporary Residence for Business or Investment | Active | Temporary residence conduct-of-business fees listed by Samoa Immigration: SAT$900 main applicant off island, SAT$1,800 main applicant in country, and SAT$450 per dependent spouse/child; 10 working days processing is listed. |
| Republic of Kiribati | Investment Visa | In flux | Confirm the current fee with visaofficer@mfa.gov.ki or the official Kiribati Immigration page before payment. |
| Republic of the Marshall Islands | Business Visa (B-1) | In flux | The official Embassy page lists a non-refundable US$300 application processing fee for the B-1 Business Visa, plus a US$20 departure fee. |
| Tuvalu | Foreign Investment Certificate | In flux | Confirm current investment-approval, certificate and related permit fees with the Tuvalu Foreign Investment Unit or competent authority. |
| Federated States of Micronesia | Foreign Investor's Entry Permit | In flux | Confirm current foreign investment, state-level, entry-permit and renewal fees with the competent FSM or state authority. |
Every row links to a visa page where the underlying primary source and last-reviewed date are shown.
Source basis
This ranking is compiled from Visa Atlas route records. Each row links to a visa guide with its exact primary government source and last-reviewed date.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- ISD — IIP closure FAQ
Immigration Service Delivery - verified
- AIMA — Residence Permit for Investment Activity (ARI)
AIMA - verified
- BOE — Organic Law 1/2025 ending the property Golden Visa
Boletín Oficial del Estado - verified
- UAE Government Portal — Golden Visa
UAE Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) - verified
- UAE Government Portal — Green visa for investors
The Official Platform of the UAE Government - verified
- USCIS — EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - verified
- USCIS — E-2 Treaty Investors
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - verified
- Immigration New Zealand — Active Investor Plus
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) - verified
82 more source records are available through the linked route pages.
Frequently asked questions
Which Golden Visa programmes have closed?+
The European landscape has shrunk sharply since 2023: Ireland closed its Immigrant Investor Programme in February 2023, Portugal removed the real-estate route in October 2023, and Spain closed its Golden Visa in April 2025. Investment-fund and business-creation routes remain, alongside the UAE Golden Visa, the US EB-5, and Canada's Start-up Visa.
Do Golden Visas lead to citizenship?+
Some do, after several years of residence and meeting physical-presence and language requirements; others grant residence only. Each programme differs and several are mid-reform, so check the linked route page and primary source before relying on a citizenship timeline.