How many golden visa programmes are active in the 2026 index?
28 programmes are active in the WhereNext registry. 33 programmes in total are tracked, including 4 closed programmes and 1 paused programme.
Open Data · CC BY 4.0
Golden Visa Index 2026
Which countries offer a golden visa in 2026, and at what minimum investment?
28 open programmes are recorded in the registry. The lowest genuine residency-by-investment threshold is €60K; route conditions and citizenship paths vary by country.
Every active residency- and citizenship-by-investment programme worldwide, ranked across 7 dimensions: investment cost, processing speed, physical presence, citizenship timeline, Schengen access, EU citizenship pathway, and programme-closure risk. Data source-verified against official regulators and re-checked every 30–120 days.
Open programmes
Minimum investment and route thresholds
Registry checked 2026-10-11
| Country | Segment | Route | Minimum | Residency to citizenship | Status | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | RBI | cultural donation | €250K | 10 years | Open | AIMA — Autorização de Residência para Investimento | 2026-10-07 |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | RBI | real estate | €250K | 7 years | Open (reforming) | Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum — Circular 9 of 24 Sept 2024 implementing Law 5100/2024 art. 64 (Migration Code art. 100 as amended) | 2026-09-09 |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | RBI | real estate fund | €250K | 8 years | Open (reforming) | Hungarian National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (OIF) — ‘Time period for procedural administration: 21 days.’ | 2026-10-01 |
| 🇲🇹 Malta | RBI | real estate | €99K | 5 years | Open (reforming) | Residency Malta Agency (RMA) | 2026-09-09 |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | RBI | startup | €250K | 10 years | Open | Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) | 2026-09-09 |
| 🇨🇾 Cyprus | RBI | real estate | €300K | No direct citizenship path | Open (reforming) | Cyprus Civil Registry and Migration Department | 2026-08-19 |
| 🇱🇻 Latvia | RBI | company shares | €60K | 10 years | Open (reforming) | Immigration Law of Latvia (Imigrācijas likums), Section 23(1) — likumi.lv consolidated Latvian text; president.lv 2026-06-19 and Saeima/LSM 2026-08-20 on the new law | 2026-09-09 |
| 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | RBI | real estate | €469K | No direct citizenship path | Open | UAE Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP) | 2026-10-11 |
| 🇺🇸 United States | RBI | capital transfer | €688K | 5 years | Open | US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) | 2026-09-09 |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | RBI | company shares | €6.8M | 2 years | Open | Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) | 2026-10-11 |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | Talent | talent based | €0 | 4 years | Open | Australian Department of Home Affairs | 2026-10-11 |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | Tax | talent based | €450K | 10 years | Open | Swiss Federal Tax Administration | 2026-09-06 |
| 🇵🇦 Panama | RBI | real estate | €258K | 5 years | Open | Gaceta Oficial de Panamá — Decreto Ejecutivo 193 de 15 de octubre de 2024 | 2026-09-09 |
| 🇲🇨 Monaco | HNW | bank deposit | €500K | 10 years | Open | Government of the Principality of Monaco | 2026-09-06 |
| 🇳🇿 New Zealand | RBI | company shares | €2.5M | 5 years | Open (reforming) | Immigration New Zealand | 2026-10-07 |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | HNW | capital transfer | €430K | No direct citizenship path | Open | Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) | 2026-09-09 |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | RBI | company shares | €500K | 5 years | Open | Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg | 2026-09-09 |
| 🇹🇷 Turkey | CBI | real estate | €344K | Citizenship on approval | Open | Republic of Turkey Ministry of Interior — Directorate General of Migration Management | 2026-09-06 |
| 🇰🇳 St. Kitts and Nevis | CBI | philanthropic donation | €215K | Citizenship on approval | Open (reforming) | St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) | 2026-09-09 |
| 🇩🇲 Dominica | CBI | philanthropic donation | €172K | Citizenship on approval | Open (reforming) | Commonwealth of Dominica Citizenship by Investment Unit | 2026-09-06 |
| 🇬🇩 Grenada | CBI | philanthropic donation | €202K | Citizenship on approval | Open (reforming) | Investment Migration Agency (IMA) | 2026-09-06 |
| 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia | CBI | philanthropic donation | €207K | Citizenship on approval | Open (reforming) | Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment Unit | 2026-09-06 |
| 🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda | CBI | philanthropic donation | €198K | Citizenship on approval | Open (reforming) | Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Unit | 2026-09-06 |
| 🇳🇷 Nauru | CBI | philanthropic donation | €77K | Citizenship on approval | Open | Republic of Nauru Citizenship Unit | 2026-09-09 |
| 🇻🇺 Vanuatu | CBI | philanthropic donation | €112K | Citizenship on approval | Open (reforming) | Vanuatu Citizenship Office | 2026-10-11 |
| 🇪🇬 Egypt | CBI | philanthropic donation | €215K | Citizenship on approval | Open | Arab Republic of Egypt — Cabinet General Secretariat | 2026-09-06 |
| 🇸🇹 São Tomé and Príncipe | CBI | philanthropic donation | €77K | Citizenship on approval | Open | São Tomé and Príncipe Government (secondary industry sources) | 2026-09-06 |
| 🇲🇺 Mauritius | Permit | company shares | €43K | 7 years | Open | Economic Development Board Mauritius | 2026-09-09 |
Press headline · permalink
Golden visa investment thresholds range from €46,000 (Mauritius) to €6.9M (Singapore) across 29 active investment-residency programmes ranked by WhereNext in 2026
Copy with attribution: “Golden visa investment thresholds range from €46,000 (Mauritius) to €6.9M (Singapore) across 29 active investment-residency programmes ranked by WhereNext in 2026” — WhereNext, as of 2026-04-15
Quick answer
The Golden Visa Index 2026 ranks residency- and citizenship-by-investment programmes separately so a comparison stays like-for-like: 13 residency-by-investment (RBI) programmes and 10 citizenship-by-investment (CBI) programmes, each scored across 7 dimensions. The cheapest genuine RBI entry is €60K (Latvia Golden Visa). Highest RBI composite is Greece Golden Visa (85/100); highest CBI composite is St Kitts CBI (74/100). A further 5 routes (talent, tax-residence, HNW-deposit and business permits) are listed separately because their qualifying threshold is not a comparable capital investment — so a €0 or low figure cannot pose as the "cheapest golden visa." 4 programmes have closed since 2022, most recently Spain in April 2025.
Key facts
- 13 RBI + 10 CBI programmes ranked separately; 5 non-investment routes fenced out. Re-checked every 30–120 days from official portals.
- Cheapest RBI entry: €60K Latvia Golden Visa — the lowest genuine residency-by-investment threshold (not a talent, tax or permit route).
- Top RBI composite: Greece Golden Visa 85/100 across 7 dimensions; €250K minimum.
- Top CBI composite: St Kitts CBI 74/100 — fastest route to a second passport in the index.
- 4 closed programmes tracked Closures run from the UK in February 2022 to Spain in April 2025 — programme stability is a real risk factor.
13
Residency-by-investment
10
Citizenship-by-investment
5
Other routes (not investment-ranked)
4
Closed programmes tracked
Residency-by-investment — composite ranking
The core “golden visa” set: programmes where a qualifying capital investment buys residence. Equal-weighted composite of 7 dimensions — your own priority weighting will shift the order, so use our interactive finder to apply it.
| Rank | Programme | Investment | Processing | Presence | Citizenship | Schengen | EU Citz | Stability | Composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇬🇷Greece Golden Visa migration.gov.gr · verified 2026-09-09 | €250K | 2–6 months | none | 7y | ✓ | ✓ | 70 | 85 |
| 2 | 🇮🇹Italy Investor Visa investorvisa.mise.gov.it · verified 2026-09-09 | €250K | 3–6 months | none | 10y | ✓ | ✓ | 80 | 84 |
| 3 | 🇱🇻Latvia Golden Visa likumi.lv · verified 2026-09-09 | €60K | 2–3 months | none | 10y | ✓ | ✓ | 60 | 83 |
| 4 | 🇱🇺Luxembourg Investor guichet.public.lu · verified 2026-09-09 | €500K | 4–6 months | 90d/yr | 5y | ✓ | ✓ | 80 | 80 |
| 5 | 🇵🇹Portugal Golden Visa aima.gov.pt · verified 2026-10-07 | €250K | 36–40 months | 7d/yr | 10y | ✓ | ✓ | 60 | 71 |
| 6 | 🇲🇹Malta MPRP residencymalta.gov.mt · verified 2026-09-09 | €99K | 8–14 months | none | 5y | ✓ | — | 60 | 70 |
| 7 | 🇭🇺Hungary GIVP oif.gov.hu · verified 2026-10-01 | €250K | not published* | none | 8y | ✓ | ✓ | 50 | 69 |
| 8 | 🇨🇾Cyprus PR moi.gov.cy · verified 2026-08-19 | €300K | 2–3 months | none | — | — | ✓ | 40 | 63 |
| 9 | 🇵🇦Panama Qualified Investor gacetaoficial.gob.pa · verified 2026-09-09 | €258K | 1–3 months | none | 5y | — | — | 70 | 59 |
| 10 | 🇦🇪UAE Golden Visa u.ae · verified 2026-10-11 | €469K | not published* | none | — | — | — | 80 | 40 |
| 11 | 🇳🇿NZ Active Investor Plus immigration.govt.nz · verified 2026-10-07 | €2.5M | not published* | 7d/yr | 5y | — | — | 70 | 33 |
| 12 | 🇺🇸USA EB-5 uscis.gov · verified 2026-09-09 | €688K | 17–120 months | 183d/yr | 5y | — | — | 70 | 30 |
| 13 | 🇸🇬Singapore GIP edb.gov.sg · verified 2026-10-11 | €6.8M | not published* | 183d/yr | 2y | — | — | 80 | 25 |
* Hungary: The OIF states a 21-day period for procedural administration. It does not publish an end-to-end processing range, so no end-to-end estimate is shown.
* United Arab Emirates: End-to-end processing time not published on the authority page on 2026-10-01.
* New Zealand: Two-stage at Immigration New Zealand: INZ averages ~35 working days to approval-in-principle, then ~36 working days to final approval once investment documentation is provided (~7 weeks each). A 6-month window to transfer funds sits between the stages, so end-to-end calendar time is applicant-paced. These stage averages are not an end-to-end percentile service standard. Current INZ page quote: ‘Approval in principle 80% within 4 months’; this is an AIP-stage metric, and INZ does not publish an end-to-end time.
* Singapore: End-to-end processing time not published on the authority page on 2026-10-01.
Citizenship-by-investment — composite ranking
Direct second-passport programmes — citizenship is granted on approval, with no residence period, so the “Citizenship” column reads direct. These are a different product from a golden visa and are ranked on the same 7 dimensions separately, not mixed into the RBI table.
| Rank | Programme | Investment | Processing | Presence | Citizenship | Schengen | EU Citz | Stability | Composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇰🇳St Kitts CBI ciu.gov.kn · verified 2026-09-09 | €215K | 4–6 months | none | direct | ✓ | — | 40 | 74 |
| 2 | 🇬🇩Grenada CBI imagrenada.gd · verified 2026-09-06 | €202K | 4–6 months | none | direct | ✓ | — | 40 | 74 |
| 3 | 🇱🇨St Lucia CBI cipsaintlucia.com · verified 2026-09-06 | €207K | 3–6 months | none | direct | ✓ | — | 40 | 74 |
| 4 | 🇦🇬Antigua CBI cip.gov.ag · verified 2026-09-06 | €198K | 3–5 months | 1d/yr | direct | ✓ | — | 40 | 74 |
| 5 | 🇳🇷Nauru CBI ecrcp.gov.nr · verified 2026-09-09 | €77K | 3–5 months | none | direct | — | — | 50 | 62 |
| 6 | 🇪🇬Egypt CBI egypt.gov.eg · verified 2026-09-06 | €215K | 6–9 months | none | direct | — | — | 60 | 62 |
| 7 | 🇹🇷Turkey CBI invest.gov.tr · verified 2026-09-06 | €344K | 3–9 months | none | direct | — | — | 60 | 61 |
| 8 | 🇸🇹São Tomé CBI gov.st · verified 2026-09-06 | €77K | 4–8 months | none | direct | — | — | 50 | 61 |
| 9 | 🇩🇲Dominica CBI cbiu.gov.dm · verified 2026-09-06 | €172K | 4–6 months | none | direct | — | — | 30 | 58 |
| 10 | 🇻🇺Vanuatu CBI vancitizenship.gov.vu · verified 2026-10-11 | €112K | not published* | none | direct | — | — | 20 | 45 |
* Vanuatu: End-to-end processing time not published by the authority on 2026-10-01.
Other residence routes — not investment-ranked
These are often listed as “golden visas,” but the qualifying threshold is not a comparable capital investment — it is a talent/merit test, a negotiated annual tax, a bank-set deposit, or a turnover-conditioned business permit. We keep them out of the “cheapest” ranking so a €0 or low figure can’t masquerade as the cheapest golden visa. Each is labelled with why.
🇲🇺Mauritius ResidencePermit
Business / occupation permit
~€43K ($50K) Occupation Permit (business route) OR ~€323K ($375K) Integrated Resort Scheme real estate.
🇦🇺Australia NIVTalent
Talent / merit visa — no financial investment
No financial investment required. Invitation-only, based on exceptional achievement in a specific field.
HNW residence — deposit / asset threshold
~€500,000 estimated bank deposit (not a fee — remains yours, must be maintained; amount varies by bank). Plus obligatory Monaco property (purchase or 12-month+ lease).
Tax residence — negotiated annual tax, not capital
~CHF 450K minimum annual lump-sum tax (canton-level estimate; no federal minimum; verify locally).
HNW residence — deposit / asset threshold
Wealthy Global Citizens needs USD 1M+ total assets AND USD 500K+ invested in Thailand (~€430K) — both are required (BOI). Other categories are income/talent-based without a fixed investment.
Dimension leaders
Which programme is best for each individual dimension?
Cheapest RBI entry
🇱🇻 Latvia Golden Visa
Score 97/100
Fastest processing
🇱🇻 Latvia Golden Visa
Score 94/100
Lowest presence requirement
🇬🇷 Greece Golden Visa
Score 100/100
Shortest citizenship path
🇰🇳 St Kitts CBI
0 years (direct citizenship)
Lowest closure risk
🇮🇹 Italy Investor Visa
Score 80/100
Registry FAQ
Golden Visa Index questions
Which active programme has the cheapest fund class?
Hungary (Hungary GIVP) records the lowest fund-class route among active programmes at €250K, across real-estate-fund and investment-fund route types. The amount is the registry route minimum.
Is the Spain Golden Visa still open?
The Spain Golden Visa is recorded as closed. Programme formally terminated 3 April 2025. No new applications accepted.
When was the golden visa registry last verified?
The most recent programme-level verification date in the WhereNext registry is 2026-10-11; per-programme dates range from 2026-08-19 and are shown per row in the index table.
Methodology
Scope & category fencing. Only programmes whose qualifying threshold is a comparable capital investment are ranked by “cheapest entry”: residency-by-investment (RBI) and citizenship-by-investment (CBI), ranked in separate tables because they are different products. Routes whose threshold is not a comparable investment — a talent/merit visa (no financial investment), a negotiated annual tax (Switzerland lump-sum), a bank-set deposit or asset gate (Monaco, Thailand LTR), or a turnover-conditioned business/occupation permit (Mauritius) — are listed separately and never counted as the “cheapest golden visa.”
Each of the 7 dimensions is scored 0–100 and the composite is the simple average. Scoring formulas:
- Investment: 100 − (minInvestmentEUR / 20,000), floored at 0. Rewards lower capital requirements.
- Processing: 100 − (maxProcessingMonths × 2), floored at 0. Rewards faster turnaround.
- Presence: 100 − (daysPerYear × 0.5), floored at 0. Rewards light-touch physical-presence requirements.
- Citizenship: 100 for direct-citizenship (CBI); 20 for no pathway; else 100 − (years × 7). Rewards faster paths to passport.
- Schengen: 100 if programme confers Schengen access, else 0.
- EU citizenship: 100 if programme leads to EU citizenship, else 0.
- Stability: (10 − closureRiskScore) × 10. Our closure-risk score is 0–10 based on recent programme tightening, EU scrutiny, political environment.
Data sources. Every programme entry is sourced from the official regulator (AIMA for Portugal, USCIS for the US, Residency Malta Agency for Malta, etc.) and re-verified every 30–120 days depending on volatility. See our methodology page for the full review cadence.
Licence. This index is published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. Anyone may copy, redistribute, adapt, or build upon the data, including for commercial purposes, as long as appropriate credit is given to WhereNext (getwherenext.com) and a link to the licence is provided.
Citation. WhereNext (2026). Golden Visa Index 2026. Retrieved from https://getwherenext.com/data/golden-visa-index-2026.
Open API endpoint
First open-data REST endpoint in the residency-by-investment category. Returns the full registry with all 33 programmes and every structured field.
GET /api/intelligence/golden-visa # Filters (all optional) ?status=open|open-reforming|closed|all ?budget_max_eur=500000 ?citizenship_max_years=10 ?presence_max_days=30 ?schengen=true ?eu_citizenship=true ?country=PT,GR,HU ?format=json|csv # Examples curl https://getwherenext.com/api/intelligence/golden-visa curl https://getwherenext.com/api/intelligence/golden-visa?format=csv curl https://getwherenext.com/api/intelligence/golden-visa?schengen=true&budget_max_eur=250000
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