Golden Visas & Residency by Investment

How to read these pages

Each programme gets the same four facts up front: the lowest genuine qualifying amount, how much time you must actually spend in the country, whether citizenship is reachable and after how long, and how long approval realistically takes. Programmes are grouped by whether they are open, materially restricted, or closed.

• Residence is not citizenship. Most of these grant a permit to live somewhere, not a passport — and in several cases no passport ever follows.
• The investment is a real investment. It can lose money whether or not the permit is granted, and it is usually illiquid.
• These rules change, often abruptly. Spain abolished its programme outright, Portugal removed its property routes and lengthened its citizenship timeline, and the EU’s Court of Justice ruled against Malta’s citizenship scheme.

Information reflects our own independent research as understood in September 2026. Plain Investor does not sell, broker, or advise on any programme, receives no commission from any government, fund, developer, or advisory firm, and is not affiliated with any immigration adviser. Nothing here is legal, immigration, or tax advice — eligibility and processing differ by nationality and circumstances, so consult the official government source and a licensed immigration lawyer before acting.