Cheapest Golden Visa Programs in 2026: Residency Ranked by True Cost

Headline minimums are misleading in two ways. First, some of the money is recoverable: a bank deposit is returned at the end, while a government fee or donation is gone for good. Second, some cheap programs carry obligations that cost more than the capital, such as a business that must hire local staff, pay a set amount of tax or reach a turnover target. We therefore show three numbers for each program:

• Capital committed: the qualifying investment, deposit or purchase price.
• Sunk costs: government and permit fees, donations and contributions, purchase taxes where they apply, and typical legal fees.
• Hidden obligations: minimum stays, jobs, tax or turnover tests, and short permit terms that force frequent renewals.

Amounts are for one main applicant in US dollars, converted at about €1 = US$1.12 (ECB reference rate, 2 Oct 2026) and AZN 1 = US$0.588 (the manat's fixed peg). Local-currency thresholds such as Ecuador's 100 basic wages, Colombia's minimum-wage multiples and Mexico's UMA multiples are re-indexed every January. A program counts as investor residency here if the permit is granted because of an investment or deposit. Income-based retirement and nomad visas are treated separately at the end.

Eight programs let a single applicant qualify with less than US$100,000 of capital. They differ a lot in how much of that money you get back and in what the permit actually gives you.

Nicaragua: US$30,000, the lowest headline

Nicaragua's investor residence needs at least US$30,000 placed in a business registered with the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce. A house bought only to live in does not count unless it is part of a business. The permit is issued for five years, but in practice the card is renewed more often. Advisers report a six-month-a-year presence expectation and total processing of about nine months^[7]. Note the caveats. Law 1228 of November 2024 repealed the old rentista and pensioner incentive law. The country's relations with the US and EU are poor, and sanctions make banking harder. We could not confirm the current rules from an official Nicaraguan source. See our Nicaragua investor residency guide for details.

Ecuador: US$48,200, almost all of it recoverable

Ecuador's temporary investor visa needs 100 unified basic wages, which is US$48,200 in 2026 at the US$482 basic wage. You can use a certificate of deposit of at least 730 days at a regulated bank, a registered property deed, or shares in an Ecuadorian company. The official fees are US$50 to apply and US$270 when the visa is granted, with a 50% discount for applicants aged 65 and over^[1]. The visa lasts two years. While you hold it, you may spend at most 90 days a year outside Ecuador, and longer absences can be fined. After 21 months you can apply for permanent residence. Naturalisation needs three years of regular, continuous residence^[2]. The October 2025 reform of the Human Mobility Law kept the 21-month rule but made permanent residence lapse automatically after two continuous years abroad^[33]. Ecuador uses the US dollar, so there is no currency risk on the deposit. Our Ecuador investor visa page compares the deposit, property and share routes.

Egypt: US$50,000 in dollars at a state bank

Egypt grants a one-year renewable residence permit for a US$50,000 deposit, or a three-year permit for US$100,000. The money must be new foreign currency held in US dollars at a state-owned bank, and it earns interest in dollars. Advisers also describe property tiers, which apply only to properties on the official registry^[5]. Since Prime Ministerial Decree 3326/2023, foreigners must pay residence fees in hard currency^[6]. We did not find an official Egyptian page that publishes the deposit tiers, so treat them as reported. The Egypt residency by deposit guide covers this, and the Egyptian citizenship by investment page covers the separate citizenship program.

Mauritius Investor Occupation Permit: US$50,000 if you will run a business

Mauritius's Economic Development Board issues a ten-year Occupation Permit to investors who bring US$50,000 and run a Mauritian business. The business must then meet turnover tests: advisers cite MUR 1.5 million in year one and MUR 20 million cumulative over five years under the 2025 guidelines^[22]. This suits genuine entrepreneurs, not passive investors. Passive buyers need the US$375,000 property route^[21]. See Mauritius residence options.

Azerbaijan: AZN 100,000

The State Migration Service grants temporary residence for at least AZN 100,000 in real estate (excluding land value), a fixed-term deposit or state securities. AZN 500,000 can go into the wider economy instead. After two years of temporary residence you can get a five-year permanent permit, which needs AZN 200,000 in the same assets^[3][4]. The temporary permit lasts only up to one year at a time. Azerbaijan does not generally allow dual citizenship, which limits the citizenship path. More on the Azerbaijan investor residence page.

Latvia: €60,000 all-in, the only EU option under US$100k

Under the new Immigration Law, in force since 15 September 2026, Latvia kept the share-capital route: €50,000 in a smaller company, or €100,000 in a larger one, plus a €10,000 payment to the state budget. Permits now last up to two years. The law also adds a €150,000 route through a state-established fund manager, which PMLP says cannot be used until that fund exists^[8][9]. The company tests carry over from the old rules: at most 50 employees, turnover or balance sheet of at most €10 million, and at least €40,000 a year paid in taxes^[10]. That tax test is what makes the route expensive in practice. The route still gives Schengen residence and, after five years' continuous residence, leads to permanent residence under s. 31 of the 2026 law, which requires A2 Latvian and a culture and history course; the separate EU long-term resident status act was repealed and merged into it^[34]. See the Latvia residence by company investment guide.

Paraguay SUACE: US$70,000 spread over ten years

Paraguay's SUACE track under Law 6984/2022 gives permanent residence directly when a company invests US$70,000 over ten years under a business plan and creates five formal jobs. The new Investor Pass (from 28 April 2026) asks US$150,000 for tourism projects and US$200,000 for real estate or listed securities, with no jobs needed. Its maintenance rules were still to be published^[13]. Compare both on the Paraguay permanent residence page.

Sri Lanka: US$75,000 condominium or US$200,000 deposit

The Department of Immigration's current Golden Paradise page asks for a deposit of at least US$200,000 in a Golden Paradise foreign-currency account. Half can be withdrawn after the first year, and the visa fee is US$2,000 for ten years^[11]. The 2022 Cabinet scheme also offers long-term visas for condominium buyers: five years for US$75,000 in a suburban unit or US$150,000 in an urban one, and ten years for US$200,000 in an urban unit^[12][32]. Older brochures cite a US$100,000 deposit, so confirm the current amount before applying. See the Sri Lanka Golden Paradise Visa guide.

Europe has no residence-by-investment program under US$100,000 except Latvia's company route, and that one needs a functioning, tax-paying business. Since Spain closed its program in April 2025 and Portugal dropped real estate in 2023, the cheapest European options are as follows:

• Latvia: €50,000 company capital + €10,000 fee. Two-year permits, Schengen access^[8].
• Montenegro: property with a tax value of €150,000 or more. Non-EU, one-year permit, no right to work, no Schengen access^[18].
• Serbia: residence for owners of a habitable registered property, with no statutory minimum value. Advisers report permits of up to three years (first permits can be as short as six months) and permanent residence after more than three years of continuous temporary residence. Non-EU^[29].
• Malta MPRP rent option: €99,000 in non-refundable fees, contribution and donation (plus a €500 residence card), plus a lease of at least €14,000 a year. You must also show €500,000 in assets (at least €150,000 of it financial). In exchange you get permanent residence from day one^[23]. See the Malta permanent residence programme.
• Portugal culture donation: €250,000, or €200,000 in low-density areas, given to an approved arts or heritage project. The money is not returned^[24]. Our Portugal investor residency guide explains the fees of about €14,500–€19,400 per person over five years.
• Greece €250,000: converting a commercial building to residential use, or restoring a listed building^[25]. A standard home costs €400,000 or €800,000, and the government announced on 6 September 2026 a planned rise in transfer tax for non-EU buyers from about 3% to 15%, provisionally from 1 July 2027. See the Greece residence by property guide.
• Hungary: €250,000 in a qualifying real estate fund, held five years^[31]. See the Hungary guest investor permit.

For a single investor who wants Schengen residence, does not need to live there, and wants as little money as possible permanently lost, Malta's rent option is often cheaper in practice than Portugal's donation, although it needs a much larger asset base. For a full EU comparison, see our European residence programs compared.

If you want the residence permit to be backed by a home you own, the order changes a little:

1. Serbia: any habitable registered property, with no legal minimum^[29].
2. Ecuador: US$48,200 registered property value^[1].
3. Egypt: reported from US$50,000 for one year, but only registered properties qualify^[5].
4. Azerbaijan: AZN 100,000 (≈ US$58,800), excluding land value^[3].
5. Sri Lanka: US$75,000 suburban condominium (five-year visa)^[32].
6. Cape Verde: €80,000 or €120,000 depending on the island^[30].
7. Georgia US$150,000^[17], Montenegro €150,000 tax value^[18], Costa Rica US$150,000–200,000^[14] and Colombia 350 minimum wages^[20].
8. Turkey: US$200,000 everywhere since the October 2023 regulation^[16]. See the Turkey property residence permit guide.

The Turkish figure is often misquoted. The rule that applies today is a flat US$200,000 for all provinces, for property bought on or after 16 October 2023. The older US$75,000/US$50,000 thresholds still apply only to homes bought before that date^[16]. Separately, Turkish citizenship needs US$400,000; see our Turkish citizenship by property page. In Colombia, the official Cancillería page lists real estate at 350 monthly minimum wages and other direct investment at 650^[20]. At the 2026 minimum wage of COP 1,750,905, the property figure is about COP 612.8 million, roughly US$155,000–165,000 depending on the exchange rate. See the Colombia investor visa page.

Some of the cheapest long-stay permits are not investment programs at all. They rely on savings you keep, income you prove, or a membership fee:

• Mexico: temporary residence on economic solvency. You need an average balance of 11,460 UMA (MXN 1,344,373, about US$74,700) over 12 months, or monthly income of about US$4,430. Permanent residence directly needs about US$298,800 in savings. Mexico's investment-based alternatives are dearer: about MXN 5.38 million (≈ US$300,000) invested in a Mexican business, or property worth about US$598,000^[19]. See Mexico residency by solvency.
• Philippines SRRV: from 1 September 2025, a refundable deposit of US$15,000–30,000 for applicants aged 50 and over, or US$25,000–50,000 for ages 40–49. The application fee is US$1,500^[27]. See the Philippines retiree visa guide.
• Thailand Privilege: a membership visa costing THB 650,000 (Bronze, 5 years) or THB 900,000 (Gold, 5 years). The fee is spent, not invested. Bronze was due to close on 30 September 2026; authorised agents report it has been extended to 31 December 2026, but TPC has not confirmed this and its site still lists Bronze with no closing date^[28][35]. See the Thailand long-stay membership visa.
• Costa Rica rentista and pensionado: residence based on income rather than investment, under the same Law 9996 framework^[15].

These routes can be cheaper than any investment program, but none of them gives you an asset. The membership fee and the deposit's lost returns are the true cost.

A quick way to test a cheap program before you pay anyone:

• Retirees and Plan B seekers on a budget: Ecuador (dollarised, recoverable deposit) or Egypt (no stay rule).
• Entrepreneurs who will actually trade: Latvia, Mauritius or Paraguay SUACE.
• Passive investors who want EU residence: Malta (rent), Portugal (culture) or Greece (€250,000 conversion). Budget US$120,000–290,000.
• Buyers in Latin America who want permanent residence on day one: Panama's US$300,000 investor route or the Paraguay Investor Pass.

If a passport is the goal, compare our cheapest second passports by investment and the residence programs with the quickest naturalisation. For programs that have shut, see closed investor residence schemes. Every live program is listed on our investor residency hub.