Golden Visas: Explained
With a shiny name like Golden Visa, it already sounds expensive. Well, it can be. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be accessible and it’s best to understand how it works. So let’s dive in.
Background
The more technical term for a Golden Visa is referred to as obtaining a “Residency-by-Investment”. So it may not guarantee citizenship but in many countries it leads a path to that. In short, an applicant would be investing, or spending, a significant amount of money into a country in order to access a path to citizenship or at least residency. Over one hundred countries around the world offer some type of residency through investment. The programs can obviously vary by country but they are similar in approach.
The Process
The Golden Visa process is unique to each country but they generally follow a common path.
Analyze the landscape to find a suitable country for the visa. This includes not only the program requirements and cost, but the elements of that country - geography, economy, climate, etc.
Contact the country to engage into the process. This is likely best done through a professional firm specializing in the specifics.
Make the investment required to trigger the visa process and notify the country once you’ve made it.
Document in detail the investments you’ve made to provide the country upon notification to ensure compliance. Again, a professional firm specializing in this will be very helpful.
Reside in the country per their requirements as many countries require some sort of residency minimum. This can vary widely but it’s usually not an amount that requires you to reconfigure your lifestyle.
Apply for and obtain citizenship (if applicable) once the residency and time commitments are met. Generally after application there will be a period of processing time, which is typically measured in months and not years.
Eligible Countries
Over one hundred countries offer some type of residency or citizenship by investment program. We won’t dive into an exhaustive list here, but it’s worth mentioning some of the more popular options.
Across Europe, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus are common options. Portugal and Greece require just seven days per year to meet their residency requirements while Spain requires over half a year. Greece also boasts a lower financial threshold at €250,000 and can still be done into real estate, something Portugal has abandoned.
In the Caribbean there are a variety of options across Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, and St. Lucia. These islands offer much lower requirements than European programs. All of those mentioned required less than $150,000 investment into real estate and they do not have minimum residency requirements.
Other regions offer flexibility as well with the United States, Canada, and Singapore offering programs. Each one of these, however, have much higher financial requirements with the amounts being near or above $1M USD. Dubai and Thailand have much less expensive programs that also require no minimum residency.
Other Considerations
Investment Types: The Investments that enable residency and citizenship come in a lot of shapes and sizes. They also change frequently. For instance Portugal and Ireland were known for their real estate investment options, but that was recently suspended due to increasing costs for locals and political unpopularity. But as a general rule of thumb, you should expect to be investing into a country through an individual business, specific financial products, scientific innovation or even donations into cultural institutions.
Residency Minimums: This is one front where there can be a lot of flexibility depending on the country you seek. Some have no residency requirements and others may require a manageable seven days per year, essentially an annual vacation. Other countries could be more demanding. For instance Cypris has a more reasonable investment program but applicants need to spend two months per year in the country. As you’re seeing the common theme, understanding the requirements ahead of time is key.
Tax Impacts: The impact of a second residency on your taxes is subject to a host of variables. It depends on where you reside currently and where you’re planning to adopt. It’s difficult to project, especially within a high-level article like this, but the safe thing to do is not assume you won’t be impacted. Make sure you get the right professionals in each geography to make sure you don’t create adverse outcomes.
Summing Things Up
The clear upsides are that Golden Visas are widely available and don’t require a particular ethnicity. However, that comes with a cost, literally. An applicant should expect to spend a material amount of money - usually well into six-figures for investment. Additionally, hiring the right expertise is crucial for a process like this and it pays to spend for quality professionals. But despite its costs, Golden Visa programs can open up an avenue to second passports when other options may be less feasible.