Immigrant investor programs
Immigrant investor programs are programs that allow individuals to more quickly obtain residence or citizenship of a country in return for making qualifying investments.
Broadly, the programs offer either citizenship by investment, residence by investment, or a hybrid with immediate residence followed by accelerated citizenship.
Program applicants must usually fulfill multiple qualification criteria. Investment can take a variety of forms including a contribution to government funds; purchase of qualifying real estate ; investment in a qualifying business ; or creation of a set number of jobs.
A growing number of countries offer immigrant investor programs, with approximately one quarter of all countries issuing such visas as of 2015. As of 2023 about half went to Turkey.
Citizenship by investment programs
Citizenship by investment programs enable the applicant to rapidly obtain citizenship with no required residence period, or only a short nominal period measured in days or weeks. These are often known as "golden passports" or "cash-for-passport" programs, offering visa-free travel and possible tax advantages.As of mid-2023, more than twenty countries had citizenship by investment programs. These included five countries in the Caribbean, as well as Cambodia, Egypt, Jordan, Malta, North Macedonia, Turkey, Vanuatu and Nauru.
Countries that have historically offered citizenship by investment include Austria, Cyprus, Moldova and Montenegro.
Annually, an estimated 50,000 people, including family members of those who apply, obtain citizenship through investment programs, worldwide.
Dominica
implemented its program in 1993 to provide investors the opportunity to gain Dominican citizenship via a contribution to its Economic Diversification Fund or the purchase of an alternatively approved project along with a fee. As of 2022, Dominica requires a minimum donation of $100,000 in its Economic Diversification fund or a $200,000 minimum investment in a government approved real estate project.Malta
The Malta Individual Investor Programme, which Henley & Partners was contracted in 2014 by the Government of Malta to design and implement, is similarly capped at 1,800 applicants. The minimum investment for this program is $870,000 with a non-refundable contribution of $700,000.Saint Kitts and Nevis
was the first country to offer citizenship by investment, starting in 1984. It requires a minimum of $250,000 as an economic contribution to the country or to invest at least $400,000 in an approved real estate development.St Lucia
has offered citizenship by investment since 2015. It requires a minimum of $240,000 as a contribution to the National Economic Fund or at least $300,000 into an approved real estate development.Nauru
has officially introduced the , unveiled at the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku. The program is defined in Nauru Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Act No. 15 of 2024 Part 2, Section 4, 2025.The passport will cost a minimum of $105,000, but will be prohibited for people with certain criminal histories.
The government says the program will help raise funds for climate action, needed for a plan to move 90% of the island's around 12,500-strong population onto higher ground and build an entirely new community.
Vanuatu
offers one of the fastest citizenship by investment programs in the world. Launched in 2017, the scheme grants citizenship in as little as one month in exchange for a minimum donation of $130,000 to the country's Development Support Program. No residency or language test is required, and family members can be included. While the program has boosted Vanuatu's economy, it faced EU criticism over due diligence, leading to tighter security checks in recent years.Turkey
The Turkish citizenship by investment program was launched in 2017. As of 2024, foreign investors can acquire Turkish citizenship by purchasing real estate worth at least $400,000 and committing to hold it for three years. Alternative options include a fixed deposit of $500,000 in a Turkish bank, or a similar investment in government bonds or a Turkish business. The application process typically takes between six to nine months.Egypt
Egypt grants citizenship to investors who contribute $250,000 to the treasury, invest $300,000 in state-owned property, fund a business with $350,000 plus a $100,000 donation, or place $500,000 in a refundable bank deposit for three years. The program launched in 2020 under Law No. 190/2019.United States
Former schemes
Montenegro
Citizenship of Montenegro could be obtained within a year through an investment of €250,000 into approved development projects and a €200,000 government fee, until the program ended in 2022.Cyprus
The Cyprus Investment Program allowed foreign investors to gain Cyprus Citizenship by investing €2,000,000 in an approved category. The program was closed on November 1, 2020. A later review found that 53% of the passports were illegally issued.Residence by investment programs
Residence by investment programs allow an applicant to obtain a permanent residency visa for a country by making an investment such as purchase of property or investment in a business. These programs are often known as "golden visas". The programs do not allow the applicant to obtain citizenship. However, the person may eventually be able to apply for citizenship using standard naturalization procedures after residing in the country for a required amount of time.Many users of such programs are wealthy Chinese and Russian citizens seeking legal security and a better quality of life outside of their home country. Golden visas have been especially popular with Chinese nationals, over 100,000 of whom acquired them during the period from 2007 to 2016. In 2015, the majority of golden visas were issued to Chinese nationals.
Numerous governments offer these programs including in Abkhazia, Australia, Brazil, Greece, Hong Kong, Malta, Monaco, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In operation
Belize
offers an investor residency program with a real estate investment of $250,000 and after 5 years an individual is eligible for Belizean citizenship which offers a CARICOM passport for travel.Greece
Introduced in 2013, the Greek Golden Visa program offers residency to non-EEA nationals in exchange for specific direct investments in real estate or financial instruments, as an incentive to attract international capital flows. The program originally requires a minimum investment of in real estate or in securities or a bank deposit in Greece. The investors' close family members also receive a residence permit without further investment requirements, including their spouse, children up to 21 years old, parents and parents-in-law.By February 2023, the country had issued 10,105 residence permits to investors and 18,154 to their family members. On 23 December 2022, the golden visa program was changed, setting the 5 year visa at a minimum of for real estate investments in specific areas of the country, coming into effect on 1 August 2023.
As of September 2024, Greece's revised Golden Visa Program requires a minimum real estate investment of, except on islands with fewer than 3,100 residents, where the threshold is halved to. Investors are restricted to purchasing a single residential property of at least 120 square meters and are barred from short-term rentals. Violations incur a fine and revocation of residency rights.
The visa grants residency exclusively in Greece and does not permit employment or guarantee citizenship. Naturalization requires seven consecutive years of tax residency, a Greek language and culture exam, and, for males aged 18–45, completion of compulsory military service unless exempted.
For comparison, ordinary residence visas are available, such as for Financially Independent Persons, or Freelance remote workers, that have a minimum income requirement with private medical insurance, and do not involve investment.
Hungary
Investing €155,000 in any completed residential property in Hungary or creating a local company to provide services, or to trade in goods, will give the investor a temporary residence permit for themselves and their family. Residential investment can give a permit lasting 5 years and the company route, 3 years. these visas are renewable. 3 years of continuous residence allows a permanent residence permit to be applied for. Seven years residency and passing a language exam will open the opportunity to acquire citizenship and a Hungarian passport.Italy
A two year residence permit achieved with buying a house, investing or donating €1,000,000. Investments being €250,000 in a start up, €500,000 in an Italian company or €2,000,000 in government bonds. Extendable for three years periods and after 10 years may be eligible for citizenship.Latvia
An investment of €50,000 into a Latvian company, provided the company pays at least €40,000 per annum in tax will gain the investor a five-year residency after paying a one-off €10,000 fee to the government. The residency is renewable or it can be converted to permanent residency after four years of residency. Citizenship is obtainable after 10 years.New Zealand
In April 2025, New Zealand changed the Active Investor Plus residency-by-investment visa programme to adjust its investment and eligibility requirements. It requires a minimum investment of 5 million, with eligibility for citizenship after three to five years of residency. As of the end of August 2025, 42% of applicants are from the United States, followed by 15% from China and 12% from Hong Kong.Portugal
Portugal introduced a golden visa during the Great Recession to help attract investment into the country's housing market. The programme was launched in 2012.By 2023, the country had issued more than 10,000 golden visas, of which close to 50% had been issued to Chinese nationals. All visa holders bought properties, lived in them for 2 weeks before leaving them empty or renting them out to holidaymakers, resulting in rising property prices and long-term rentals became unaffordable for locals. €7 billion has come into the country, 90% being used to buy property. Only 2 visas a year were issued for job creation reasons.
On 16 February 2023 the Government announced that it would close the programme as soon as possible. However, on 7 October 2023, the Government announced that the Golden Visa will continue albeit without the real estate option. This change was brought about to address housing affordability issues in Portugal, while also redirecting foreign investments towards other sectors.