Compare
Every program, side by side.
One table, one dataset. The cost, timeline, citizenship path and tax for each program, so the numbers can never disagree with each other. The score weighs passport strength, tax, value, speed and lifestyle.
| Program | From | Timeline | Citizenship | Stay | Tax | Schengen | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greece Open Golden Visa | €250,000 (conversions / restorations) to €800,000 | 2 to 6 months to approval; longer with property search | 7 yrs | None for the residence permit; 183+ days/year to build toward citizenship | €100k/year flat tax on foreign income (non-dom), optional | Yes | 80 |
| Italy Open Investor Visa | From €250,000 | 1 to 3 months | 10 yrs | No minimum stay to hold or renew the permit | Optional €300,000/yr flat tax on foreign income (2026) | Yes | 80 |
| Hungary Open Guest Investor Programme | From €250,000 (real estate fund) | 1 to 3 months to residence card | 8 yrs | No minimum stay to hold the permit; physical residence required only to pursue PR and citizenship | 15% flat personal income tax; 9% corporate (EU's lowest) | Yes | 80 |
| United Arab Emirates Open Golden Visa | AED 2,000,000 (~$545,000) | 1 to 4 weeks | Residence | None. Golden Visa holders are exempt from the standard rule that cancels residence after 6 months abroad. | 0% personal income tax | No | 78 |
| Grenada Recently changed Citizenship by Investment | $235,000 NTF donation | 6-8 months | Residence | None today; pending reform adds ~5 days in year 1 and 30 days per family over 5 years | No tax on foreign income, gains, wealth, or inheritance | Yes | 76 |
| Latvia Recently changed Residence by Investment | From €50,000 (business) / €250,000 (real estate, closing 2027) | About 1 to 3 months to a residence card | 10 yrs | No minimum days; re-register in Latvia roughly once every 12 months | Progressive PIT 25.5% / 33% (plus 3% surtax over €200k); residency triggers worldwide tax | Yes | 75 |
| St Kitts & Nevis Recently changed Citizenship by Investment | $250,000 (SISC or PBO contribution) | 6 to 8 months | On approval | None required to qualify today; a residency/physical-presence rule is announced for 2026 but no day count is yet enacted | No tax on worldwide income, capital gains, gifts or inheritance | Yes | 75 |
| Dominica Recently changed Citizenship by Investment | $200,000 (EDF donation) + government and due diligence fees | ~3-4 months to approval, ~6-9 months to passport in hand | On approval | Historically none. A mandatory visit to collect and renew the passport was announced June 2026; implementation date not yet confirmed. | No tax on worldwide income, capital gains, gifts or inheritance for non-residents | Yes | 75 |
| Antigua & Barbuda Open Citizenship by Investment | From USD 230,000 (NDF donation, family of 4) | 3 to 6 months to approval | On approval | 5-day visit required within the first 5 years after approval. Note: Antigua legislated a 30-day residency qualification and officials have signaled a possible move to 90 days over five years, pending US negotiations. Confirm the rule in force at application. | No tax on worldwide income, capital gains, inheritance, or wealth | Yes | 75 |
| St Lucia Open Citizenship by Investment | From USD 240,000 (National Economic Fund donation) | About 4 to 9 months | On approval | None. No residence, visit, or stay requirement before or after citizenship. | No tax on worldwide income, wealth, gift, or inheritance for non-residents | Yes | 75 |
| Vanuatu Recently changed Citizenship by Investment | From USD 130,000 DSP contribution (single applicant) | About 1 to 2 months | On approval | None for residence. Applicants must submit biometrics, which can be done at an approved overseas representation or consular visit rather than in Vanuatu itself, so a trip to the islands is not strictly required. | No personal income, capital gains, inheritance, or wealth tax | No | 74 |
| Panama Recently changed Qualified Investor Visa | USD 300,000 in real estate (rises to USD 500,000 after 15 Oct 2026) | About 30 to 60 days to permanent residence | 5 yrs | No mandated annual stay. To preserve status and a future naturalization claim, visit at least once every two years. Citizenship later expects real ties. | Territorial: foreign-source income is not taxed | Yes | 74 |
| New Zealand Open Active Investor Plus Visa | NZD 5,000,000 (~USD 3,000,000) over 3 years into Growth-category direct investments or approved managed funds | Approval in principle in roughly 3 months, then 6 months to transfer and invest | 5 yrs | Growth tier: minimum 21 days in New Zealand across the 36-month investment period. Balanced tier: minimum 105 days across 60 months, reducible by 14 days per extra NZD 1 million invested in Growth assets, to a floor of 63 days. Citizenship later demands 1,350 days over 5 years, a separate and much heavier requirement. | No capital gains tax and a 4-year exemption on most foreign income for new migrants | No | 74 |
| Cyprus Open Permanent Residence by Investment | From EUR 300,000 (plus VAT on new residential property) | About 2 to 6 months to approval | 8 yrs | None to keep PR (one visit every two years). Citizenship is different: it needs genuine residence, roughly 7 of the prior 10 years plus the final 12 months continuous. | EU non-dom: 0% on foreign dividends, interest and rents for up to 17 years | No | 73 |
| Mauritius Open Residence by Property Investment and Occupation Permit | USD 375,000 into approved real estate (PDS, IRS, RES, Smart City or Ground+2 apartment); or as low as USD 50,000 into a Mauritian company for the investor occupation permit | 2 to 6 months to a permit | 5 yrs | No minimum physical presence to hold the property-based residence permit, which stays valid as long as you own the qualifying asset. Physical presence and genuine residence matter if you later want to become tax resident or pursue naturalization, where continuity of residence is assessed. | No capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, low headline income tax, but the old flat 15 percent has been replaced by progressive brackets | No | 72 |
| Portugal Recently changed Golden Visa (ARI) | From €250,000 (cultural donation; €200,000 in low-density areas) | 12 to 36 months to residence card | 10 yrs | 7 days per year average | No worldwide tax on non-residents; IFICI 20% flat rate possible if eligible | Yes | 70 |
| Malta Recently changed Permanent Residence (MPRP) | From ~€169,000 (rental route, single applicant, all-in) | 4 to 6 months to approval in principle | Residence | No minimum stay requirement; main applicant must visit Malta once during the process | Non-dom remittance basis: foreign income taxed only when brought into Malta; €5,000 minimum annual tax may apply | Yes | 70 |
| Switzerland Open Residence via Lump-Sum Taxation (Forfait Fiscal / Pauschalbesteuerung) | No investment sum. Instead a negotiated annual tax, commonly CHF 250,000 to 1,000,000+ (~EUR 260,000 to 1,050,000+) depending on canton, on a deemed base of at least CHF 434,700 federal (~EUR 455,000) for 2026. The number shown is an illustrative low-end annual cost in EUR, not a one-time fee. | 3 to 9 months to a B permit once a canton agrees the ruling | 10 yrs | Substantial. You must make Switzerland your genuine center of life. In practice lump-sum status requires spending the majority of the year (commonly read as more than 183 days) in Switzerland, and naturalization later demands real, continuous presence. | A fixed annual tax based on living costs, not worldwide income or wealth, but it is real money and it is not zero | Yes | 69 |
| Turkey Open Citizenship by Investment | USD 400,000 in real estate (3-year hold) | 6 to 12 months to passport | On approval | No residency requirement. The investor and spouse must appear in person in Turkey once, to submit the citizenship application and give fingerprints. Children do not need to attend, and the passport can be collected at a Turkish consulate abroad. | Worldwide taxation if you actually live there; a 20-year foreign-income exemption is proposed but not yet law | No | 66 |
| Monaco Open Residency (Carte de Sejour) | EUR 500,000+ deposited in a Monegasque bank (many tier-1 banks want EUR 1,000,000 or more); plus Monaco accommodation, with rents from roughly EUR 3,000 to EUR 10,000+ per month | 3 to 6 months to first card | 10 yrs | No statutory minimum is published, but authorities expect genuine residence: roughly 3 months per year to renew the temporary card, and at least 183 days per year to hold a Monaco tax residence certificate. Extended absence risks non-renewal. | Zero personal income tax for residents, with one major exception: French nationals. | Yes | 66 |
| Singapore Open Global Investor Programme | From S$10 million (business route) | 12 to 24 months to PR | 2 yrs | No formal day-count for initial PR, but renewal of the 5-year Re-entry Permit effectively requires real presence: meeting business/job-creation milestones, or the applicant or dependents residing in Singapore more than half the period. Citizenship requires genuine residence and renouncing prior nationalities. | Territorial system, no capital gains tax, top personal rate 24% | Yes | 63 |
| Thailand Open Thailand Privilege Visa and Long-Term Resident (LTR) Visa | THB 650,000 (~USD 19,000) one-time membership fee for the Thailand Privilege Bronze tier; the LTR visa has no membership fee but the Wealthy Global Citizen route needs USD 500,000 placed in Thai assets | 1 to 3 months | Residence | No minimum stay is required to keep either visa valid. Both let you live in Thailand full time or use the country as a base while traveling. Note that spending 180 days or more in a calendar year makes you a Thai tax resident, which is the trigger that makes the LTR foreign-income exemption matter. | Territorial-style relief on the LTR, ordinary remittance tax on Privilege | No | 59 |
| Canada Recently changed Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP) and Start-Up Visa | Start-Up Visa: no fixed sum, but CAD 75,000 (~USD 55,000) angel commitment or CAD 200,000 (~USD 150,000) VC commitment into a real business; QIIP (dormant): CAD 1,200,000 (~USD 880,000) total, of which CAD 1,000,000 is a refundable 5-year loan and CAD 200,000 is a non-refundable donation | Start-Up Visa: PR on approval, but ~3-4 years processing; QIIP: 3-year work permit then PR | 3 yrs | Start-Up Visa carries no formal presence quota before PR but you must actively run the business in Canada. QIIP requires the investor to spend 6 months in Quebec within the first 2 years, plus another 6 months by the investor or spouse. PR status itself requires 730 days in any 5-year period, and citizenship requires 1,095 days in 5 years. | Full residence-based worldwide taxation once you become a Canadian tax resident | No | 57 |
| Malaysia Open My Second Home (MM2H) | USD 150,000 fixed deposit (Silver tier) plus a MYR 600,000 (~USD 127,000) property purchase; Sarawak S-MM2H is cheaper at roughly MYR 150,000 (~USD 32,000) deposited with no property requirement | About 4 to 8 months from application to visa endorsement | Residence | Principal applicants aged 25 to 49 must spend 90 cumulative days per year in Malaysia (shareable across dependents) on the mainland tiers; applicants 50 and over have no minimum stay. Sarawak S-MM2H requires 30 days per year. Note 182 days triggers tax residency, a separate threshold. | Effectively territorial for most residents through 2036, but remitted foreign income exemption details keep shifting | No | 56 |
| United States Open EB-5 Immigrant Investor | USD 800,000 (TEA: rural or high-unemployment area) | Rural TEA I-526E often 8 to 16 months; urban high-unemployment I-526E around 32 to 36 months; conditional green card then I-829 removal of conditions around 20 months | 5 yrs | EB-5 grants residence, not a stay-away program. To keep the green card you must make the US your actual home and avoid trips abroad longer than six months without a reentry permit. For naturalization after five years, you must be physically present at least 30 of the prior 60 months and not break continuous residence. | Full US worldwide taxation from day one of residency | No | 53 |
| Egypt Open Citizenship by Investment | USD 250,000 non-refundable contribution to the Egyptian public treasury (plus a USD 10,000 state fee) | Roughly 6 to 12 months | On approval | None. No requirement to visit, reside, or take a language or history test. | No tax residency is created by holding the passport; Egypt taxes residents on worldwide income but non-resident citizens are generally outside the net. | No | 51 |
Scores are CIVITAS estimates for orientation only, not advice. Closed programs are excluded here and listed on the program tracker.