- Target Audience: Who Can Apply for a Golden Visa?
- Citizens from Developing Nations and Emerging Countries
- Investors and Business Owners
- Citizens of Hong Kong and the USA
- Benefits: What Does Having a Golden Visa Offer?
- Stay Requirement: How Long Must You Stay in the Country to Obtain a Golden Visa?
- Investment: What Types of Investments Qualify for a Golden Visa?
- Citizenship: Does the Golden Visa Lead to Citizenship?
- Waiting Time and Validity: How Long Does It Take to Get a Golden Visa and How Long Is It Valid?
- Application Costs: How Much Does Applying for a Golden Visa Cost?
- Taxes: What Are the Tax Implications of a Golden Visa?
- Final Decision: Which Golden Visa Program Is the Best?
Golden Visa programs have gained popularity in recent years. But what are they? A Golden Visa refers to a temporary residence permit obtained by making a qualifying investment in the host country. The permit grants the applicant a range of rights, usually including the right to live and work in the country, visa-free travel to a number of countries, among other benefits.
The most popular countries in Europe offering Golden Visa programs are Spain, Portugal, and Greece. In this article, we will take a close look at each program and compare them based on various criteria.
Target Audience: Who Can Apply for a Golden Visa?
Technically, anyone with a clean criminal record who is not a citizen of the European Union, European Economic Area, or Switzerland can apply for Golden Visa programs in Spain, Portugal, and Greece, as long as they make a qualifying investment.
The following groups of people generally find these investment residency programs interesting:
- Citizens from Developing Nations and Emerging Countries: Many individuals from developing countries have access to means but seek opportunities, healthcare, education, security, and stability in developed countries. Golden Visa programs offer the best benefits for this group.
- Investors and Business Owners: These programs are attractive to investors and business owners looking to spend a significant amount of time in Europe. The programs in all three countries allow the applicant unlimited access to the Schengen countries of the European Union, making them suitable for those seeking to live, work, and travel in Europe.
- Citizens of Hong Kong and the USA: While neither of these is a developing nation, investors from Hong Kong and the USA are showing growing interest in Golden Visa programs. Their reasons for obtaining additional residency or citizenship may include tax considerations, retirement, commercial relocation, lifestyle change, or ideological disagreement with their home country.
Benefits: What Does Having a Golden Visa Offer?
All Golden Visa programs provide common rights and benefits to their applicants. These common rights include the right to live in the host country, the ability to travel within Schengen states of the European Union without an additional visa, and the right to include dependent family members in the application.
The scope of these rights and benefits slightly differs between programs. You can find them detailed in the following table:
Benefit | Spain | Portugal | Greece |
Residency | Yes: right to live in Spain | Yes: right to live in Portugal | Yes: right to live in Greece |
Work | Yes: right to work in Spain | Yes: right to work in Portugal | No |
Travel | Travel within Schengen area without additional visa | Travel within Schengen area without additional visa | Travel within Schengen area without additional visa |
Family Inclusion | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Stay tuned for the next sections where we cover stay requirements, investment types, citizenship options, waiting times, application costs, and tax implications of Golden Visa programs in Spain, Portugal, and Greece. In the end, you can make an informed decision about which program suits you best based on your priorities and requirements.
Stay Requirement: How Long Must You Stay in the Country to Obtain a Golden Visa?
After obtaining your Golden Visa, the stay requirements vary between the three countries:
- Spain: There is no extensive stay requirement; you only need to enter the country once a year, which can be interpreted as a one-day stay per year.
- Portugal: Applicants are required to stay an average of seven days per year in Portugal to maintain their Golden Visa status. If your Golden Visa is valid for two years, Portugal requires a total of 14 days’ stay in the country during that two-year period.
- Greece: There are no stay requirements for Golden Visa applicants in Greece.
Investment: What Types of Investments Qualify for a Golden Visa?
A qualifying investment is necessary to apply for a Golden Visa. Spain, Portugal, and Greece have lists of qualifying investments for their investment residency programs. Here are some examples:
Spain:
- Investing in real estate in Spain with a minimum value of €500,000.
- Capital transfer of at least €1,000,000.
- Investing at least €1,000,000 in a Spanish business.
- Investing at least €2,000,000 in Spanish public bonds.
Portugal:
- Investing in real estate in Portugal with a minimum value of €500,000.
- Investing in real estate in a low-density area in Portugal with a minimum value of €400,000.
- Investing in real estate in Portugal with a minimum value of €350,000, provided the property is at least 30 years old and will be renovated.
- Creating a company that employs at least ten Portuguese citizens full-time.
- Investing a minimum of €500,000 in a qualified fund in Portugal.
Greece:
- Investing in real estate in Greece with a minimum value of €250,000.
- Making a capital contribution of €400,000 in a Greek government bond.
Citizenship: Does the Golden Visa Lead to Citizenship?
Yes, the Golden Visa indirectly leads to citizenship. A Golden Visa is a pathway to residence in a country, and residence is a pathway to citizenship, provided the specific naturalization requirements of the country are met by the resident. Further details about the citizenship requirements for Spain, Portugal, and Greece can be found in the article.
Waiting Time and Validity: How Long Does It Take to Get a Golden Visa and How Long Is It Valid?
The waiting times for receiving your Golden Visa vary depending on the country and the workload of the immigration office. As of 2020, the average waiting times after making your investment and applying for the Golden Visa are as follows:
- Spain: Six Months
- Portugal: Seven Months
- Greece: Three Months
Keep in mind that these times assume you have no travel restrictions to the host country, allowing you to timely provide your biometric information at the immigration offices.
Regarding the validity of the Golden Visa, the validity periods for different investment residency programs are presented in the article. For instance:
- Spain: Initial permit valid for one year, within which the applicant must visit Spain to receive the two-year permit. Subsequent permits are valid for five years each.
- Portugal: Initial permit was valid for one year (changed in 2020 to two years). Subsequent permits are valid for two years each.
- Greece: Permits are valid for five years each.
Application Costs: How Much Does Applying for a Golden Visa Cost?
In addition to the qualifying investment, applying for a Golden Visa requires payment of fees to the respective government. These fees are generally paid per applicant and per dependent family member. Differences in application fees between Spain, Portugal, and Greece are detailed in the article.
Taxes: What Are the Tax Implications of a Golden Visa?
Taxation is more related to tax residency than the Golden Visa itself. If you have a Golden Visa from Spain, Portugal, or Greece, it does not automatically make you a tax resident in any of these countries. As long as you are not a tax resident, you only have a tax obligation on the income generated within the host country. There is no tax obligation on foreign income.
If you choose to spend most of the year and become a tax resident in these countries, you will face the applicable tax rates. Specific tax rates for income, corporate tax, and other tax-related aspects are detailed for each country in the article.
Final Decision: Which Golden Visa Program Is the Best?
Labeling a specific Golden Visa program as «the best» is not entirely fair, as each program has its own pros and cons. All three Golden Visa programs from Spain, Portugal, and Greece provide a basic set of advantages. These include the ability to live in the host country, travel freely within Schengen countries, include family members, and enjoy the benefits of residing in a beautiful Mediterranean country with a pleasant climate.
The article goes on to explore further details about the Spanish, Portuguese, and Greek Golden Visa programs, such as the option with the highest GDP, the easiest path to European Union citizenship, and the most cost-effective way to obtain European Union residency.
Remember, there are many moving parts when choosing the right investment residency or citizenship program. The key is to establish your priorities and find the program that best fits your criteria. For more detailed information and answers to your questions, feel free to reach out to us.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions or if you need additional information about the Golden Visa programs in Spain, Portugal, or Greece.