Find the Best Golden Visa Program Before Applying for One

According to the news in CNN, “… with Covid-19 dramatically transforming our 2020, some elite families are also considering healthcare, pandemic responses and potential safe havens to ensure they have a backup plan for the future”. In this respect, interest in the Golden Visa programs is increasing daily.

In Portugal, 9,340 investors have obtained residency since 2012 up until now. In Greece, the number reached 7,903 between 2013 and September 2020. This is what the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) and Enterprise Greece declared.

So, what do these programs offer? Let’s take a closer look at them.

Program Types

Golden Visa programs are residency by investment programs. Portugal, Greece, and Spain offer these programs. Similarly, countries like Malta and St. Kitts & Nevis offer direct citizenship through investment programs. In the latter case, you’ll get citizenship quicker than residency through investment programs through Dominica Citizenship by Investment.

Investment types

Each country offers different types of investments. However, we can group most of them under some categories. These include investment through:

• Property purchase
• Certain amounts of capital are transferred to the related country
• Granting some amounts to the related institutions/bonds/funds in the country, and so on.

Minimum investment amount

The minimum investment amount depends on the country you choose. To give you an idea, however, you can check the list below:

• Portugal Golden Visa: €280,000
• Greece Golden Visa: € 250,000
• Spain Golden Visa: €500,000
• Malta Individual Investor Program (IIP): €800,000 + purchase of a property or 5 years of a lease agreement
• St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship by Investment: $150,000
• Dominica Citizenship by Investment: $100,000.

Number of visa-free travel countries

You can travel to more than 150 countries through these programs. The exact numbers differ according to each country. For Portugal, it is 186 countries, and for Greece, the number is 184. It is 187, 184, 154, and 139 for Spain, Malta, St Kitts, and Dominica, respectively.

You need to obtain citizenship first to benefit from the visa-free travel right.

Family Inclusion

One of the best parts of these programs is that you can include your dependent family members as an investor.

While applying for Portugal Golden Visa, you can include your spouse, parents over 65, and children under 18. If the children are single, financially dependent on you, or studying, they can also benefit from the visa regardless of age.

Greece Golden Visa offers an extended family inclusion option. Along with your spouse and children under 21, you can also include your parents and parents-in-law.

As to Malta, family inclusion means parents of the main applicant and spouse, minor children, unmarried dependent adult children under 27.

Stay requirements

In general, Golden Visa programs and citizenship by investment programs require very low stay requirements. For Portugal Golden Visa, it is sufficient to stay for seven days on average per year. At the end of five years, you can also apply for citizenship and permanent residency.

On the other hand, Greece, Malta, St Kitts & Nevis, and Dominica do not require you to stay in the country. So, it will be sufficient to make your investment and live wherever you wish.

Spain also requires only one entrance to the country per year.

Some take-outs of these programs

Portugal

• It is one of the best programs leading EU citizenship. By obtaining EU citizenship, you will have the right to live, work, and study in any EU country you wish.
• It is more affordable than most other citizenship programs
• Also, you can liquidate your investment when you become a permanent resident or a Portuguese citizen.
• Through the Non-Habitual Residency (NHR) schedule, you can be exempt from taxation on most of your foreign income.

Greece

• Greece Golden Visa is the most affordable EU residency program
• The extended family option is a plus
• The recent tax regulation for foreign retirees is also another incentive for pensioners. Through shifting tax residency to Greece, they’ll be taxed only 7% on all of their foreign income for ten years.

Spain

• As an EU country, Spain also offers residency in Europe.
• Spain is also a great place to retire, with many pension schemes.

Malta

• Malta offers direct EU citizenship without any residence requirement
• It also does not put any language requirement for citizenship
• There is no return on investment-oriented program. For example, if you buy real estate, you cannot rent it out.

St. Kitts & Nevis

• It offers fast-track citizenship. You can receive your passport within four months. Through the accelerated process, you can even get it within 60 days.
• It is very affordable, with a minimum investment amount is only $150,000
• Note that it brings only visa-free travel, not the right to live in the EU.

Dominica

• Like St Kitts & Nevis, Dominica is also a Caribbean country that offers a very low investment requirement.
• You can get citizenship within around three months. Following this, you’ll have the right to travel to 139 countries visa-free.