Highest Ranking Golden Visa Programmes in Europe
Many Golden Visa investors do not typically intend to relocate to their chosen country of investment. In most circumstances, investors main interest is to acquire a ”Plan B” residency visa or passport, sometimes with the possibility of moving later in life. La Vida has run a number of surveys over several years on applicants applying for second residency or citizenship. Our data shows that just a mere 4.8% of our investors plan to live in their chosen country within the first two years of gaining their residency visas. Interestingly, 36.4% stated that they never plan to relocate whilst 50.8% said they would possibly consider moving in the distant future. The three biggest motivators for investors were the need for a second passport, ease of visa-free travel and insurance for the future. Not surprisingly, those motivated by political concerns grew from 12.5% in 2020 to 37.5% in 2022.
Whilst the data shows that a large proportion of investors are not immediately considering immigrating to Europe, many may want to consider the quality of life in the country they decide to invest in, just in case they later choose to reside there. According to data provided by Numbeo, the key European countries offering Golden Visa programmes, rank highly in terms of quality of life and several other factors. We decided to look closely and compare Europe’s four main Golden Visa countries – Portugal, Greece, Spain and Malta.
Out of the four mentioned countries, Portugal ranked the highest for the overall lowest cost of living followed by Spain, then Greece and Malta. In terms of healthcare, Spain was ranked the highest, Portugal second, then Greece and Malta. Portugal was ranked with the cleanest air, recording the lowest pollution levels, again followed by Spain, Greece and then Malta. In terms of crime rates, Portugal took first place again, followed by Spain, then Malta, and Greece in last place. To put these figures into perspective, Portugal scored 31.52 and Greece 47, compared to the world’s countries with the highest crime rates, Venezuela scored 82.6 and Afghanistan 78.6. In conclusion, all four of the Golden Visa countries mentioned score fantastically on all levels, but
Portugal is ranked the highest in most areas, which correlates nicely with the percentage of our customers who choose to invest in Portugal over the other countries. If like the majority of investors, you do not plan to reside in the chosen country then La Vida recommends considering which programme brings the best value for money, the most flexibility and how easy the path to citizenship is later down the line. To discuss your options with one of our experts, please get in touch for a free consultation.
