These are the world’s best golden visas

These are the world’s best golden visas

The sunny nation provides an affordable and high quality of life, as well as easy access to other European countries and a clear pathway to EU citizenship, according to an index by consultancy Henley & Partners, which examined factors such as time to citizenship, taxes, costs and reputation. Austria and Greece tied for second in the ranking.

While there have been calls to get rid of residence-by-investment programs, which allow foreign investors to access permanent residency in a country via an initial payment, these so-called golden visas have continued to thrive.

Bloomberg

European countries ranked high on the index as many offer relatively easy routes to citizenship, allow investors to travel visa-free across the European Union and set up a business or live on the continent at a low cost.

“European residence-by-investment programs continue to dominate the top spots of most sought-after investment migration programs in the world,” said Henley & Partners Chief Executive Officer Juerg Steffen. “Those programs allow participation in some of the world’s leading economies and are a way to lower exposure to country-specific volatility.”

Portugal Still Offers the Best Golden Visa Program |

Golden visas have been under fire amid concerns they have contributed to rising real estate prices in cities like Lisbon and Athens. This has led some countries to restrict their availability, including Portugal last year and Greece in February.

Faced with a housing crisis that has been blamed, at least in part, on wealthy foreigners, Portugal has moved to end tax breaks for expats. Yet, despite that, global wealth advisers say the country continues to attract foreign investors. Other countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and Hungary, have recently launched their own residence-by-investment policies.

A record 128,000 high-net-worth individuals globally will move to a new country in 2024, according to Henley & Partners. Americans were the top nationality to apply for a golden visa through the consultancy last year and this year, it said.