The Discreet InvestorGolden visas & residence permits Residency by investment
European residency through investment runs from €50,000 in Latvia to Malta's lifelong permanent residence — with permits for the financially independent and digital nomads starting near zero. Beyond Europe: the UAE, Panama, Thailand, Indonesia and the American EB-5.
For investors
Residency by investment
Capital in — status out: property, funds, deposits and donations from €50,000, several ending in permanent residence on day one.
Greece
Golden Visa- Visa-free Schengen travel
- Live, study & do business in Greece
- Citizenship prospect in 7 years
Portugal
Golden Visa- Visa-free Schengen travel
- Returnable fund investment, yields up to 10%
- Citizenship after 10 years (7 for EU/CPLP)
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- Permanent, lifelong status from day one
- Family members can be added later
- Life-long status
- Territorial tax optimisation
- Citizenship prospect in 5 years
Hungary
Golden Visa- Visa-free Schengen travel
- 10-year residence, affordable living
- Low-rate tax optimisation
- Tax optimisation
- Property investment income
- Citizenship prospect in 8 years
Italy
Golden Visa- Visa-free Schengen travel
- Safe haven or full relocation
- Special flat-tax regime for new residents
Latvia
Residence permit- Cheapest EU golden-visa entry
- 2-year permit, €40k/yr tax test
- Property & deposit routes closed 2026
Andorra
Residence permit- Visa-free France & Spain
- Simplified US & Schengen visa processing
- Only 3 months a year to keep the status
UAE
Golden Visa- 10-year residency
- Zero personal income tax
- UAE bank account access
For the financially independent
Passive-income residencies
No investment at all — prove stable income from outside the country and Europe opens for a fraction of a golden visa’s cost.
Portugal
D7 passive income visa- The lowest-cost move to Europe
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- High safety, healthcare and education
Spain
Non-Lucrative Visa- Move to Spain at minimal cost
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- Permanent residency prospect in 5 years
Greece
FIP residence- Qualify on passive income or savings
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- Citizenship prospect in 7 years
Austria
Residence permit- Quota-limited, prestige EU status
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- Permanent residence after 5 years
Switzerland
Lump-sum tax residence- Visa-free Schengen travel
- The blue-chip base for wealth
- Citizenship prospect in 10 years
For digital nomads
Digital nomad visas
Remote income from €2,700 a month buys a legal European base — and several convert into long-term residency later.
Portugal
Digital Nomad Visa- Move to Europe on remote income
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- Path onward to residency & citizenship
Hungary
White Card- Live in the EU as a remote worker
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- No Hungarian income tax under 183 days
- English-speaking EU base
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- Tax optimisation
Spain
Digital Nomad Visa- EU residency for the whole family
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- Permanent residency prospect in 5 years
Italy
Digital Nomad Visa- Residency for spouse, children & parents
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- Citizenship prospect in 10 years
For business owners
Residency through business
Founders’ routes: a Hungarian company from €7,700, a Portuguese startup — or the American EB-5 for the full Green Card play.
Hungary
RP for business owners- EU residency for 3 years via your company
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- Low corporate and income taxes
Portugal
Startup Visa- Launch a business and move to the EU
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- High safety, healthcare and education
USA
EB-5 Investor Visa- Green Card path for the family
- US citizenship prospect 5 years on
- Investment returnable in 5–7 years
Other options
Special & lifestyle permits
Malta’s 15% tax regime, Portugal’s talent track, and Asia’s long-stay heavyweights.
- Visa-free Schengen travel
- 15% special tax regime
- Live, study & do business in Malta
Portugal
Global Talent Visa- Faster route to EU residency
- Flexible stay requirements
- Visa-free Schengen travel
Thailand
Privilege / Elite Visa- Long-term visa up to 15 years
- Airport & lifestyle privileges
- Tax optimisation
Indonesia
Second Home Visa- Bali base for up to 10 years
- Permanent residency prospect in 3 years
- Do business and invest locally
The honest map
Recently closed programmes
We list what died so you don’t chase it: the UK investor visa, Hungary’s old PR and Spain’s golden visa are gone — and their demand moved to the tables above.
United Kingdom Unavailable
Investor visa — closed- Programme suspended — successors under discussion
- We track every announcement
- Ask about UK alternatives on a call
Hungary Unavailable
PR by investment — closed- Replaced by the Hungary Golden Visa above
- Existing holders unaffected
- We migrate pending files
Spain Unavailable
Golden Visa — closed April 2025- Programme terminated by law
- Non-lucrative & nomad visas remain
- Portugal & Greece absorb the demand
Residency now. Passport in parallel.
The structure our best clients run: a golden visa delivers the lifestyle, schooling and tax base this year, while a Caribbean citizenship matures alongside it as the irrevocable Plan B — each doing the job the other can't. We sequence both on one strategy call.
Know the difference
Residence permit vs permanent residency
Residence permit (RP)
- Valid 1–5 years in Europe; up to 10–15 in the UAE, Thailand, Indonesia
- Requires renewal — miss it and the status expires
- The usual first step: RP → PR after a few years → citizenship after a few more
- Investor RPs skip language tests entirely
Permanent residency (PR)
- Termless — live in the country for as long as you like
- Cards renew every 5–10 years, near-automatically
- Malta, Cyprus and Panama grant PR by investment directly, skipping the temporary stage
- No language exam on the investment routes
Why bother
9 advantages of EU residency
Schengen without queues: 90 days in any 180 across the area (Cyprus, outside Schengen, is the exception).
Moving to the EU
Safety, climate, political stability, low crime — the reasons are old because they're real.
Several routes run through property you keep — Malta prices grew ~1.5× in a decade.
Spouses and children everywhere; Malta PR takes parents and grandparents too.
EU banking
Resident accounts in first-tier institutions — savings, transfers, structure.
Business expansion
Loans, venture capital and a 450-million-consumer single market.
Education & healthcare
EU schools and universities for the children; Portugal's public healthcare is free to residents.
Tax regimes
Malta's 15% GRP rate, Cyprus's zero on worldwide income, flat-tax deals in Greece and Italy.
Path to citizenship
Greece from 7 years, Cyprus 8, Portugal and Italy 10 — language and exams apply; we plan the runway from day one.
Beyond Europe
America and Asia, briefly
USA — EB-5
- $800,000+ (inflation reset 1 January 2027) into job-creating projects → conditional Green Card → citizenship ~7 years on
- Spouse and children under 21 included; no sponsor needed
- The honest part: 3–4 year waits, investment paid before approval, refusals happen — we model the risk before you commit
Asia's long-stay heavyweights
- Thailand: 5–15-year Privilege visa from $25,500 — passport and payment, no source-of-funds file
- Indonesia: Second Home Visa from $130,000, Bali for a decade, PR prospect in 3 years
- Both take the immediate family; both pair beautifully with a zero-tax structure
Procedure
Six steps to the residence card
Country details differ; the skeleton doesn't. Typical end-to-end: 1 month to 1 year.
Strategy & preliminary check 1 day
Goals, budget, family shape, tax picture — then our confidential pre-screening against the same databases the migration services use. The programme is the output, never the starting point.
Document preparation 2–6 weeks
Passport, clean-record certificates, proof of funds, CV, insurance — translated, notarised, apostilled. Our lawyers assemble; you sign.
Investment & application 2–8 weeks
The qualifying investment completes and the file goes to the Migration Service — in person, by proxy, or online depending on the country; some routes start with a D-visa at the consulate.
Due Diligence 1–6 months
Eligibility, legality of funds and background are verified. Files we pre-screened at step 1 pass this stage quietly — that's the point of step 1.
Biometrics & the card 2–4 weeks
Fingerprints and photos on approval; residence cards arrive by mail or in person.
Renewals & the long game years 1–10
We calendar every renewal, stay requirement and document refresh — and when the PR or citizenship window opens, the file is already built.
Start from the goal
Where to get residency by investment
Low-cost relocation
Portugal D7, Greece FIP, Spain NLV, Malta & Hungary nomad permits
Long-term status
Malta PR, Cyprus PR, Panama PR, UAE 10-year, Thailand 15-year
Greece (7 yrs), Panama (5 yrs), Portugal — or skip the wait entirely with a direct citizenship programme
FAQ
About residency by investment
Where is residency easiest to get? +
For speed: Malta, Latvia, the UAE, Thailand and Indonesia — 1–3 months. For price: Thailand from $25,500 overall; Latvia at €50,000 is still the EU's cheapest entry — though since September 2026 the company must pay €40,000 a year in Latvian taxes. Investor routes skip language tests and heavy stay requirements everywhere.
Do I have to live there to keep the status? +
On investor routes, barely: Greece and Hungary set no minimum stay, Portugal asks 7 days a year, Andorra 3 months. Passive-income and nomad permits are stricter — that's part of why they're cheaper.
Which routes lead to a passport? +
Greece opens citizenship at 7 years, Cyprus 8, Portugal and Italy 10, Panama 5 — with language exams and real residence usually required. If the passport is the actual goal, compare that runway against a direct citizenship programme from $90,000 — often faster and cheaper than a decade of renewals.
What happened to the Spanish golden visa? +
Terminated in April 2025. The UK investor visa closed earlier; Hungary's old PR was replaced by the new Golden Visa. Demand moved to Portugal, Greece and Hungary — and anyone still advertising the dead programmes is selling you yesterday's map.
PR straight away — where? +
Malta (€169,000+), Cyprus (€300,000+) and Panama ($300,000 new-build, $500,000 resale) grant permanent residency directly by investment: lifelong status, no temporary stage, no language exam.
Twenty-plus permits. One right sequence.
Tell us the life you're designing — where you'll live, school the children, bank and pay tax — and we'll pick the residence that fits and the passport that should mature beside it. Personal quote within one business day.