10 Countries With Golden Visa Programs For Americans

More and more Americans are seeking out ways to move overseas, and golden visa programs have become popular for Americans seeking more global mobility.

The year 2024 was record-breaking for interest in U.S. nationals seeking alternative residence and citizenship, as Henley & Partners, an immigration firm for high-net-worth individuals, told CNTraveler.

After an already big year in 2023, there was a 60% increase in applications in 2024. Indeed, interest has increased by 1000% in the past five years, and Bloomberg reports that 134,000 millionaires moved to other countries last year.

Moreover, since the November presidential election, there has been a massive surge in interest in all the ways Americans can move abroad, including golden visas and passports.

What Is A Golden Visa, A Golden Passport, Or A Gold Card?

Golden visas are programs where some countries offer temporary or permanent residence in exchange for investment in real estate, start-ups, or paying a lot of tax. Some golden visas require full-time residence in the country but others require holders to be in the country for just a few days. A golden visa often allows someone to travel to many more countries easily—an EU golden visa holder, for instance, can travel inside all 27 EU countries plus the Schengen area.

Many golden visa schemes offer temporary residence that, in many cases, provides a path to citizenship, but some countries offer an immediate path to citizenship, called a golden passport. In an EU country such as Malta, this is huge, as residence from a visa means you can travel throughout Europe, but once you have citizenship of one country—a passport—you can work, travel, and study in all of the bloc’s 27 states.

As announced in Bloomberg, Trump recently announced a new gold card for investors looking to obtain U.S. citizenship—a plan to replace the current EB-5 visa program. By investing $5 million in a U.S. business, holders would get to live and travel as U.S. citizens.

The Top Golden Visa Programs That Americans Applied To In 2024

These golden visas offer diverse residency and investment programs, catering to different financial levels and lifestyle goals. Whether prioritizing affordability (Greece, Latvia, Thailand), fast-track citizenship (Portugal, Spain), tax advantages (UAE, Switzerland), or long-term security (Malta, Panama, Italy), each program provides different benefits for investors seeking global mobility and financial diversification.

These golden visa programs were most sought after during 2024, as per Henley & Partners—Greece, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Panama, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, and the UAE—each offering different benefits.

Greece Golden Visa Program

The Greece golden visa program provides one of the most affordable entry points ($271,000) and unlimited residency with no mandatory stay requirements. It offers visa-free travel within the Schengen area and eligibility for citizenship after seven years.

Italy Golden Visa Program (Residence By Investment)

The Italy Residence by Investment Program offers a two-year investor visa, investment flexibility (government bonds, shares, or public interest projects), and a path to citizenship in 10 years. The minimum investment is €271,000 ($295,000) in start-ups.

Latvia Golden Visa Program (Residence By Investment)

The Latvia Residence by Investment Program is one of the least expensive plans ($54,000 investment), granting a five-year residence permit, visa-free Schengen travel, and access to Russia, with no minimum stay required for renewal.

Malta Golden Visa Program (Permanent Residence Programme)

The Malta Permanent Residence Programme grants indefinite residency with visa-free travel in the Schengen area for 90 days per 180-day period without requiring permanent residence in Malta. Applicants must purchase property for $406,000 or lease for $15,100 per year for five years, plus fees and donations.

Latvia Golden Visa Program (Residence By Investment)

The Latvia Residence by Investment Program is one of the least expensive plans ($54,000 investment), granting a five-year residence permit, visa-free Schengen travel, and access to Russia, with no minimum stay required for renewal.

Malta Golden Visa Program (Permanent Residence Programme)

The Malta Permanent Residence Programme grants indefinite residency with visa-free travel in the Schengen area for 90 days per 180-day period without requiring permanent residence in Malta. Applicants must purchase property for $406,000 or lease for $15,100 per year for five years, plus fees and donations.

Spain Golden Visa Program (Residence By Investment)

The Spain Residence by Investment Program, set to end in April 2025, grants an initial three-year residency, renewable for five more years, with the possibility of citizenship after two years of residence for select applicants.

Swiss Golden Visa Program (Residence Program)

The Swiss Residence Program grants an initial six-month residence permit, with indefinite renewal options, providing holders pay between $300,000–$1.2 million of tax per year instead of direct investment. In return, holders can access Switzerland’s impeccable infrastructure, banking sector, and visa-free Schengen travel.

Thailand Golden Visa Program (Residence By Investment)

The Thailand Residence by Investment Program offers a 20-year visa with low entry costs ($20,000) and a tiered membership system. The cost of living is low compared to the U.S., offering a high standard of living and no minimum stay requirement, allowing applicants to include family members.

UAE Golden Visa Program (Residence By Investment)

The UAE Residence by Investment Program grants a 10-year golden visa, offering tax benefits, a streamlined residence system, and the ability to include family members of any age, providing applicants invest at least two million AED (approx. $550,000) in the property.

Golden Visa Programs Are Controversial

For various reasons, many countries have stopped offering golden visas or passports, particularly across Europe. Detractors feel them unfair because golden visas allow holders to hop over immigration requirements demanded of the general population, such as minimum language levels or residency requirements.

There are fears over security, particularly after the start of the Ukraine war when the U.K. and Ireland stopped programs that allowed foreign nationals from Russia, China and the Middle East to live in Europe more quickly than would otherwise be possible. This has been a concern for the golden visa program in Nauru, for instance.

In other instances, such as Spain and Portugal, there are real concerns that golden visa programs cause an increase in local house prices, as most investments tend to be in real estate. For this reason, Spain is closing its golden visa program in April.

All these issues, summarized by Bloomberg as “inflated house prices, absentee homeowners, and allegations of corruption,” mean that golden visa programs are harder to find.

Nevertheless, some countries still believe golden visa programs have enough economic merit to offer them—New Zealand is relaxing its golden visa program from April onwards, making the process more accessible.

For Americans looking to move, for whom the “citizenship by descent” process is not an option (because there are no ancestral ties to the country in question) and where they want a faster method to residency than would otherwise be available by naturalization, residence by investment option—these golden visa and passport programs—offers another path.