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The Index · 2026

The Golden Visa Index

Every open residence and citizenship-by-investment program, scored across five dimensions and ranked. One number, fully transparent, updated as the world changes.

Verified June 2026 Methodology 26 programs ranked

The only major golden-visa ranking with no financial stake in the result.

Most published rankings come from firms that sell the programs they rate. CIVITAS takes no commission from any program, so we have no reason to favour one over another except the merits. This Index is scored the same way for a program we would place a client in and one we would not.

Ranked by

Overall index score

  1. 01 🇬🇷 Greece Golden Visa · Residency by investment
  2. 02 🇮🇹 Italy Investor Visa · Residency by investment
  3. 03 🇭🇺 Hungary Guest Investor Programme · Residency by investment
  4. 04 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates Golden Visa · Residency by investment
  5. 05 🇬🇩 Grenada Citizenship by Investment · Citizenship by investment
  6. 06 🇱🇻 Latvia Residence by Investment · Residency by investment
  7. 07 🇰🇳 St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship by Investment · Citizenship by investment
  8. 08 🇩🇲 Dominica Citizenship by Investment · Citizenship by investment
  9. 09 🇦🇬 Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship by Investment · Citizenship by investment
  10. 10 🇱🇨 St Lucia Citizenship by Investment · Citizenship by investment
  11. 11 🇻🇺 Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment · Citizenship by investment
  12. 12 🇵🇦 Panama Qualified Investor Visa · Residency by investment
  13. 13 🇳🇿 New Zealand Active Investor Plus Visa · Residency by investment
  14. 14 🇨🇾 Cyprus Permanent Residence by Investment · Residency by investment
  15. 15 🇲🇺 Mauritius Residence by Property Investment and Occupation Permit · Residency by investment
  16. 16 🇵🇹 Portugal Golden Visa (ARI) · Residency by investment
  17. 17 🇲🇹 Malta Permanent Residence (MPRP) · Residency by investment
  18. 18 🇨🇭 Switzerland Residence via Lump-Sum Taxation (Forfait Fiscal / Pauschalbesteuerung) · Residency by investment
  19. 19 🇹🇷 Turkey Citizenship by Investment · Citizenship by investment
  20. 20 🇲🇨 Monaco Residency (Carte de Sejour) · Residency by investment
  21. 21 🇸🇬 Singapore Global Investor Programme · Residency by investment
  22. 22 🇹🇭 Thailand Thailand Privilege Visa and Long-Term Resident (LTR) Visa · Residency by investment
  23. 23 🇨🇦 Canada Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP) and Start-Up Visa · Residency by investment
  24. 24 🇲🇾 Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) · Residency by investment
  25. 25 🇺🇸 United States EB-5 Immigrant Investor · Residency by investment
  26. 26 🇪🇬 Egypt Citizenship by Investment · Citizenship by investment

Scores are 0 to 100. Closed programs are excluded. Figures verified June 2026 and subject to change as policy moves.

This ranks programs in general. The right one for you is a different question.

The Index scores programs in the abstract. Your best program depends on your nationality, budget, family, tax position and timeline. A Program-Fit Report turns this ranking into your ranking, with the real all-in cost and the one we would actually choose for you.

Methodology

How the Index is scored

Every open program is scored from 0 to 100 on five dimensions. The overall Index score is the equal-weighted average of the five. We publish the inputs, not just the result, so you can see the reasoning and disagree with it.

Passport
The travel and settlement strength of the status or the citizenship it leads to: visa-free access weighted by where you can actually go, plus Schengen, US and UK reach.
Tax
How the program treats a relocating holder: worldwide versus territorial exposure, special regimes, and the absence of wealth, inheritance or capital-gains drag.
Cost and value
The real five-year, all-in cost against what you receive, and whether the capital is recoverable or a spent donation. Cheap is not the same as good value.
Speed
Time from a completed application to the status in hand, and how quickly, if at all, it leads to permanent residence or a passport.
Lifestyle
Stability, rule of law, healthcare, ease of actually living there, and the durability of the program itself.

Inputs are drawn from official program rules, government fee schedules, tax codes and reputable mobility data, verified June 2026. Scores are judgement applied to evidence, not a black box, and they carry no commercial weighting: CIVITAS earns nothing from any program in this table.

Cite the Index

The CIVITAS Golden Visa Index 2026, globalcitizenship.co/golden-visa-index. Free to cite and reference with a link. For data partnerships or the full methodology, get in touch.

The Brief

Get the Index when it moves.

We re-score the programs as policy changes and send the updated rankings, plus what moved and why. The independent read, once a month. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

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