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Retirement & Passive-Income Visa Requirements 2026

What income do you actually need to retire abroad? The minimum income and proof-of-funds to get residency without local work — pension, passive-income and non-lucrative visas — across 24 countries. Unlike the listicles, every figure here shows its official source and an honest confidence level — because several of these numbers aren't actually fixed in law.

CC BY 4.024 visas20 government-groundedChecked 2026-06-25JSON APICSV

Press headline · permalink

Across 24 sourced retirement & passive-income visas, the income to retire abroad ranges from ~$800/month (Philippines SRRV) to $80,000/year (Thailand LTR) — and 2 of the most-quoted thresholds (Italy, Portugal's D7) aren't actually fixed in law, in WhereNext's 2026 dataset

Copy with attribution: “Across 24 sourced retirement & passive-income visas, the income to retire abroad ranges from ~$800/month (Philippines SRRV) to $80,000/year (Thailand LTR) — and 2 of the most-quoted thresholds (Italy, Portugal's D7) aren't actually fixed in law, in WhereNext's 2026 dataset” — WhereNext, as of 2026-06-25

Quick answer

Across 24 retirement and passive-income visas, the lowest income bars are Philippines (~$800/mo), Cyprus (~$927/mo), Costa Rica (~$1,000/mo); the highest is Thailand's LTR Wealthy Pensioner at $80,000/year. Spain's Non-Lucrative Visa needs €2,400/mo (400% of IPREM) and Portugal's D7 €920/mo (tied to the minimum wage). Crucially, 14 figures are verified on an official source, but Italy's is a consular benchmark whose exact figure is not fixed in law (its floor is a decree formula); France's visitor floor is the statutory net SMIC. Most require passive income (pension/rent/dividends), not remote-work salary. Every row carries its source and the date checked (2026-06-25). CC BY 4.0.

Key facts

  • Lowest income bar: Philippines SRRV Classic at ~$800/mo. Highest: Thailand LTR Wealthy Pensioner ($80k/yr).
  • 20/24 government-grounded 14 verified on an official source, plus statutory-basis figures indexed to local minimum wages.
  • 2 are consular benchmarks Italy (decree formula, ~€31,000 in practice) and Portugal D7's exact figures are consular benchmarks — not fixed statutory amounts.
  • Mostly passive income pensions, rent, dividends — not remote-work salary. Pensionado routes need a guaranteed lifetime pension.
  • Volatile — re-verify minimum-wage-indexed figures reset every January; checked 2026-06-25. CC BY 4.0 — free to cite.

Will your income qualify?

Enter your monthly passive income (pension, rent, dividends) to see which visas you'd likely meet the income bar for. Directional — most visas also require deposits and passive-income rules; verify with the consulate.

With ~$2,500/mo, you'd likely meet the income bar for 12 of 17 income-based visas (and 3 within reach).

✓ Meets the income bar

  • Philippines — SRRV Classic · bar ~$800/mo
  • Cyprus — Category F Permanent Residence (Reg. 5(f)) · bar ~$927/mo
  • Costa Rica — Pensionado (Rentista alt.) · bar ~$1,000/mo
  • Panama — Pensionado (Jubilado) · bar ~$1,000/mo
  • Peru — Resident Rentista · bar ~$1,000/mo
  • Portugal — D7 (Passive Income / Retirement) · bar ~$1,069/mo
  • Argentina — Temporary Residence — Pensionado · bar ~$1,252/mo
  • Ecuador — Pensioner (Jubilado) / Rentista · bar ~$1,446/mo
  • Colombia — Migrant (M) Visa — Pensioner · bar ~$1,672/mo
  • France — Long-stay Visitor (visiteur) · bar ~$1,718/mo
  • Belize — Qualified Retirement Program (QRP) · bar ~$2,000/mo
  • Thailand — Non-Immigrant O-A (Long Stay) · bar ~$2,000/mo

~ A stretch (within 1.5×)

  • Spain — Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) · bar ~$2,789/mo
  • Indonesia — Silver Hair Retirement KITAS (E33E) · bar ~$3,000/mo
  • Italy — Elective Residence Visa (ERV) · bar ~$3,002/mo

◆ Funds-based (judged separately)

  • Georgia — Short-Term Residence Permit (Property Owner)
  • Malaysia — MM2H (Silver tier)
  • Malta — Malta Retirement Programme (MRP)
  • Türkiye — Short-Term Residence Permit (Property Owner)

No fixed income minimum

  • Chile — Temporary Residence — Pensioner / Rentista
  • Uruguay — Legal Permanent Residence (Rentista / Pensionado)

Financial requirement not published

  • Croatia — Temporary Stay — Other Purposes

Out of reach on income

  • Greece — Financially Independent Person (FIP) · bar ~$4,068/mo
  • Mexico — Temporary Resident (economic solvency) · bar ~$4,727/mo

Income bar only. Most of these also require proof-of-funds/deposits and that the income be genuinely passive. The colored dot shows each figure's confidence (green = official, blue = statutory, amber = consular benchmark, grey = secondary). Not legal advice — verify the current figure with the consulate.

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Read the confidence label before you rely on a number

  • Official — verified on a government/consulate page or the statute.
  • Statutory basis — the rule is in law but the amount is indexed (e.g. 3× the minimum wage) and re-floats, usually each January.
  • Consular benchmark — a figure consulates apply in practice; the exact number is not fixed in law (Italy's floor is a decree formula expressed as ~€31,000; Portugal D7's exact number).
  • Secondary — corroborated across reputable sources but not read off a live government page this cycle.

These thresholds change frequently. This is decision-support, not legal advice — verify the current figure with the consulate before acting.

Country & visaMin incomeConfidence
PhilippinesSRRV ClassicpassiveCurrent PRA materials revised in September 2025 present Classic and Courtesy, with principal-applicant age 40. Classic deposits scale by age and pension status ($15k/$25k/$30k/$50k); annual fees are $360 Classic, $100 Courtesy foreign national, and $50 Courtesy former Filipino, each covering the principal plus two dependants.$800/moPRAOfficial
CyprusCategory F Permanent Residence (Reg. 5(f))passiveThe statutory floor is low but discretionary — income must be entirely foreign-sourced and the permit prohibits any local employment or business. Verify the exact euro figure with CRMD.€9,568/yrStatutory floor ~€9,568/yrSecondary
Costa RicaPensionado (Rentista alt.)passivePensionado requires a guaranteed LIFETIME pension; the Rentista route needs $2,500/mo stable monthly income for at least 2 years, evidenced by bank documents. A standalone $60,000 deposit alternative is not stated in the current regulation. (Older $600 figures circulating online are from a superseded decree.)$1,000/moCurrent Pensionado law art. 81Statutory basis
PanamaPensionado (Jubilado)passiveThe pension must be LIFETIME/guaranteed (annuity-style) from a government, international org, or company — a drawdown 401(k) that can be exhausted does NOT qualify.$1,000/moDecreto Ley 3 de 2008Statutory basis
PeruResident RentistapassiveThe qualifying pension or permanent income may be Peruvian or foreign, but foreign income must be paid into Peru through a supervised bank or financial institution.$1,000/moSuperintendencia Nacional de MigracionOfficial
PortugalD7 (Passive Income / Retirement)passiveIncome must be genuinely passive (pension, rental, dividends). Remote employment routes to the D8 digital-nomad visa instead. The threshold moves with the minimum wage each year.€920/moTied to the Portuguese minimum wage (€Consular benchmark
ArgentinaTemporary Residence — PensionadopassiveThe income must be a regular, permanent foreign pension from a government, international organisation or private company. The ARS threshold re-floats whenever the SMVM changes; the USD equivalent uses the BCRA's 15 September 2026 retail selling average (ARS 1,532.27/USD).1,919,000 ARS/moFive Salarios Mínimo Vital y Móvil: ARStatutory basis
EcuadorPensioner (Jubilado) / RentistapassiveThe dollar figure equals 3× the SBU and resets every January, so a prior-year number is stale. Jubilado needs a foreign-institution lifetime-pension certificate; Rentista does not require a lifetime guarantee.$1,446/mo3× the SBU (Ecuador minimum wage $482,Statutory basis
ColombiaMigrant (M) Visa — PensionerpassiveEquals 3× the Colombian minimum wage, which rose ~23% for 2026 — old peso figures are quickly stale. Requires a verifiable lifetime pension (US Social Security / military retirement qualify); no age requirement.$1,672/mo3× the monthly minimum wage (SMMLV COPStatutory basis
FranceLong-stay Visitor (visiteur)passiveThe floor is statutory (CESEDA L426-20: the annual net SMIC) but re-floats with the SMIC, so a stale cited figure can itself trigger scrutiny. You sign an undertaking not to work in France.€1,478/moCESEDA art. L426-20: resources at leasStatutory basis
BelizeQualified Retirement Program (QRP)passiveApplicants must be 40 or older and cannot engage in gainful employment or income-generating investment in Belize under QRP. It is a programme separate from ordinary permanent residence.$2,000/moBelize Tourism Board: US$2,000/month oOfficial
ThailandNon-Immigrant O-A (Long Stay)passiveApplicants must be 50 or older. O-A is applied for outside Thailand; the annual extension uses the same THB 800,000 / THB 65,000 financial test.65,000 THB/moThai MFA: THB 65,000/month income, THBOfficial
SpainNon-Lucrative Visa (NLV)passiveIncome must be passive — pensions, rentals, dividends. Employment, freelance and remote-work income are explicitly NOT accepted.€2,400/mo400% of IPREM (€600/mo, 2026)Official
IndonesiaSilver Hair Retirement KITAS (E33E)passiveSilver Hair (E33E) needs no local sponsor but locks $50,000; the cheaper standard Retirement KITAS (E33F) is sponsor-based but its income figure is unpublished (sources diverge $1,500–$3,000/mo). Age floor is rising toward 60+.$3,000/moE33E 'Silver Hair' golden-visa retiremSecondary
ItalyElective Residence Visa (ERV)passiveThe floor is a decree formula (DM 11 May 2011: three times the annual Table A subsistence amount) that consulates express as about €31,000 per applicant. Income from employed work is NOT counted, and you typically must secure Italian housing before applying.€31,000/yrConsular benchmark of about €31,000/yrConsular benchmark
GreeceFinancially Independent Person (FIP)passivePassive foreign income only; you may not work in Greece. The expected significant presence (~183 days) carries tax-residency consequences.€3,500/moFixed by Ministerial Decision 225679/2Official
MexicoTemporary Resident (economic solvency)UMA-indexed, so the dollar figure moves with the exchange rate and each consulate prints its own conversion (San Diego 2026: $4,510/month or a $75,950 balance; Houston 2025: $4,342/$73,189). Permanent Residency by solvency requires far more.79,771 MXN/mo680 UMA-days of monthly income over thOfficial
ChileTemporary Residence — Pensioner / RentistapassiveApply from outside Chile. The authority requires evidence of the pension's amount and duration, or regular income from real estate or financial assets, but does not publish a fixed CLP floor.—SERMIG requires a regular pension or rOfficial
CroatiaTemporary Stay — Other PurposespassiveNo dedicated retiree route exists. The alternative requires a genuine other-purpose basis, accommodation, health insurance and proof of means; do not treat Croatia's digital-nomad income floor as a pensioner threshold.—Croatia has no dedicated retirement orOfficial
GeorgiaShort-Term Residence Permit (Property Owner)This is a property-based residence route, not a retirement visa. The US$150,000 value must be evidenced by an accredited assessor; agricultural land does not qualify.—Georgia has no dedicated pensioner perOfficial
MalaysiaMM2H (Silver tier)There is no income floor since 2024 — but the deposit isn't the whole cost: Silver also requires a residence purchase of at least RM 600,000 after approval. Check the official MM2H category page for current terms before applying.—The 2024 overhaul REMOVED the income rOfficial
MaltaMalta Retirement Programme (MRP)passiveIt's a tax-residence programme, not a simple visa: pension must be ≥75% of chargeable income and remitted to Malta, with property + €7,500 minimum tax and a flat 15% on remitted foreign income. Replaced by the Individual Tax Programme from 1 January 2027 (LN 195/2026): €700,000 purchase or €14,000/yr rent and €15,000 minimum tax for pensioners — applications filed by 31 December 2026 keep MRP terms until 31 December 2031.—Pension-composition test (pension ≥75%Official
TürkiyeShort-Term Residence Permit (Property Owner)This is a generic short-term residence route, not a retirement visa. Property ownership alone must be paired with the purpose-of-stay documentation and cannot be presented as a pensioner programme.—Türkiye has no dedicated retirement peOfficial
UruguayLegal Permanent Residence (Rentista / Pensionado)passiveThis is permanent legal residence, not a separate retirement visa. The official checklist asks for evidence that the foreign rent, pension or retirement income can support the applicant's expenses in Uruguay, without setting a fixed amount.—Uruguay's National Migration DirectoraOfficial

Sorted by approximate USD/month income (deposit-only visas last). “passive” = income must be pension/rent/dividends, not remote-work salary. USD figures are approximate at current FX, for comparison only.

Retiring abroad, answered

Frequently Asked Questions

How much income do you need to retire abroad?▾

It varies enormously by visa. The lowest income bars among the visas we track are around $800–$1,000/month (Philippines SRRV, Costa Rica/Panama pensionado), the European non-lucrative routes sit around $2,789–$4,068/month (Spain, Greece), and the highest is Thailand's LTR Wealthy Pensioner at $80,000/year. Several are deposit-driven instead of income-driven (Malaysia MM2H, Philippines SRRV). Every figure on this page shows its source and how confident we are in it.

Why does each row show a 'confidence' label?▾

Because not all of these figures are equal. Some are fixed in law and verifiable on a government page (official). Some are statutory rules whose dollar amount is indexed to a minimum wage and re-floats every January (statutory basis). Some — notably Italy's Elective Residence — have no exact figure fixed in law (Italy's decree sets a formula, three times a subsistence amount); the commonly-quoted numbers are consular benchmarks, not fixed legal minimums. France's visitor floor is statutory (CESEDA L426-20: the annual net SMIC) and re-floats with the SMIC. And some are corroborated from reputable secondary sources but we couldn't read them off a live government page this cycle. We label each honestly rather than presenting them all as hard facts.

Does the income have to be passive?▾

For most of these visas, yes — the income must be passive (pensions, rental, dividends, investments), not salary or remote employment. Spain's NLV and Portugal's D7 explicitly exclude remote-work income (that routes to a digital-nomad visa instead). Pensionado routes in Costa Rica and Panama require a guaranteed lifetime pension — a drawdown 401(k) that can be exhausted does not qualify.

How current are these figures?▾

Every row was sourced on 2026-06-25. But these thresholds change frequently: minimum-wage-indexed ones (Ecuador, Colombia) reset every January; Spain's IPREM moves with each budget; France's net SMIC changes twice in 2026. Treat this as decision-support and always confirm the current figure with the consulate before you act.

Methodology & provenance

  • Scope: minimum income / proof-of-funds for a single applicant to obtain residency without local work — retirement, pension, passive-income and non-lucrative visas.
  • Sourcing: every figure was researched from official immigration/consulate pages or the underlying statute on 2026-06-25. Figures with no credible source were omitted (e.g. Thailand's O-A retirement visa had no verifiable official URL this cycle; Indonesia's standard E33F income diverges with no government anchor).
  • Confidence labels: official · statutory-basis · consular-benchmark · secondary (defined above). We never present a consular benchmark as a legal minimum.
  • USD/month: an approximate comparison figure at current FX — the authoritative figure is the native-currency amount and its basis.
  • Volatility: minimum-wage-indexed figures re-float every January; Spain's IPREM and France's SMIC move within the year. Re-verify before deciding.

Decision-support, not legal advice. Full methodology

Working remotely, not retiring?

If your income is salary or freelance rather than passive, you likely need a digital-nomad visa instead — different rules, different thresholds.

How to cite this data:

WhereNext. "Retirement & Passive-Income Visa Requirements 2026." getwherenext.com/data/retirement-visa-requirements-2026. Accessed 2026-06-25.

Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Free to use with attribution.

Suggested citation

CC BY 4.0

This dataset is free to redistribute, quote, and embed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. The composite form below preserves source lineage so AI assistants can cite both WhereNext and the underlying institutional publishers.

WhereNext composite (lineage)
WhereNext composite — Retirement & Passive-Income Visa Requirements 2026 (2026-06-25). Derived from: Official immigration / consulate pages and statutes (per row — see each source link); WhereNext primary-source research, checked 2026-06-25. Available at https://getwherenext.com/data/retirement-visa-requirements-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.
APA
WhereNext. (2026). Retirement & Passive-Income Visa Requirements 2026. Retrieved from https://getwherenext.com/data/retirement-visa-requirements-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.
MLA
WhereNext. "Retirement & Passive-Income Visa Requirements 2026." WhereNext, 25 Jun 2026, https://getwherenext.com/data/retirement-visa-requirements-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. Accessed via https://getwherenext.com/data/retirement-visa-requirements-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation. CC BY 4.0.
BibTeX
@misc{wherenext_getwherenext_com_data_retirement_visa_requirements_2026,
  author = {{WhereNext}},
  title = {Retirement & Passive-Income Visa Requirements 2026},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://getwherenext.com/data/retirement-visa-requirements-2026?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=citation&utm_campaign=data-citation},
  note = {CC BY 4.0}
}
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