Residency by Investment: Current Routes, Capital and Family

Compare current investment-residence directions around actual residence, work and household needs. Separate eligible capital, exposure, presence, renewal and nationality rather than relying on old prices, passport destination counts or fixed family completion dates.

Investment residence: compare real family aims and capital

Define where to live, what to do and for how long

Investment residence is not a single worldwide product. Assets, personal eligibility, family, work and presence differ, as do preliminary approval, residence, permanent status and citizenship. Establish the actual plan before comparing legal directions and commercial exposure.

Separate settlement, spouse employment, education, parents and another nationality. No minimum price automatically covers every aim. A citizen passport’s destination count is not a residence-card benefit, and a three-to-six-month promise cannot cover every country and household.

Current comparison / Principal basis / Separate verification

Portugal ARI

Principal basis: Eligible non-real-estate fund/other statutory directions

Separate verification: Asset conditions, maintenance, family and later applications

Hong Kong New CIES

Principal basis: At least HK$30m qualifying investment and net-assets assessment

Separate verification: Applicant category, asset history and investment evidence

New Zealand Active Investor Plus

Principal basis: Growth NZ$5m / Balanced NZ$10m

Separate verification: 36/60-month investment, presence and subsequent conditions

US EB-5

Principal basis: Standard $1.05m / qualifying $800k and employment

Separate verification: Classification, allocation, conditional residence and removal

Do not mix closed new routes with legacy cases in a price list

UK Tier 1 Investor, Irish IIP and Australian BIIP closed to new filings; Spain’s former investor category closed on April 3, 2025. Existing holders, filings or approved projects need the relevant transition and subsequent rules. An old minimum is not a new-client entry point.

Other work, professional, family, non-lucrative or teleworker directions require their own qualifications. Do not rename them as a continuing investor product or collect funds before establishing an available legal route.

Review Spanish closure and alternatives

Separate assets, lawful funds and household qualification

Review the actual fund or property eligibility

Portugal’s current specified ARI fund direction requires at least €500,000, Portuguese establishment, non-real-estate status, at least five-year maturity at investment and at least 60% invested in Portuguese-headquartered commercial companies. An ordinary property/property wrapper cannot reuse the old €350,000 pitch.

Other statutory ARI directions have research, cultural or enterprise/job requirements; one price cannot represent them all. In any jurisdiction, review intake, project qualification, actual title/units, purpose, charges and exit terms rather than a marketed government-approved badge.

Compare Portugal ARI directions

Hong Kong and New Zealand have different capital and maintenance tests

New CIES includes eligible applicant categories, at least HK$30m net assets with the required history, acceptable investment and individual conditions. Net-assets review, investment compliance and entry permission are separate. A balance certificate or placing everything in one property is not completion.

New Zealand Growth requires NZ$5m/36 months and Balanced NZ$10m/60 months, with baseline presence of 21/105 days and specified additional-investment adjustments. The investment period is separate from a formal permanent-residence application. Acceptable investments can lose value or stay illiquid beyond the minimum period.

Review Hong Kong New CIES

Review Active Investor Plus

Price cannot replace real enterprise and employment

EB-5 requires qualifying capital, lawful funds and at least ten qualifying full-time jobs, then conditional residence and I-829 requirements. The $1.05m standard/qualifying $800k threshold is not the complete family cost. E-2 has separate treaty nationality/enterprise conditions and is nonimmigrant status.

Canadian and other enterprise routes need current intake, background, genuine operations, hiring or nomination as relevant. There is no universal C$150,000 permanent-residence purchase. Assess commercial and immigration merits separately; a purchased job, generic plan or shell is not qualification.

Review EB-5 investor immigration

Distinguish E-2 from immigrant investment

Identify capital, non-refundable charges and household costs

The minimum is not a total or guaranteed recoverable price

A program can involve assets, non-recoverable payments, government checks, family, documents and professionals. Capital is not all a government fee, and a contribution is not guaranteed-redeemable principal. Identify each recipient, purpose, milestone and refund condition.

Budget element / Verify / Purpose

Qualifying capital

Verify: Currency, asset, maintenance and maturity

Purpose: Separate eligibility and commercial exposure

Government/check/family costs

Verify: Filing, review, decisions, cards and relatives

Purpose: Quoted headcount does not prove eligibility

Professionals and documents

Verify: Legal/investment review, certification and banking

Purpose: Define scope, conflicts and refunds

Living and ongoing maintenance

Verify: Insurance, housing, renewal and asset charges

Purpose: Budget beyond entry and the first filing

Maturity, approval and exit are different questions

Funds can extend, borrowers can fail and assets may not sell at the expected price. Acceptability for immigration is no principal, yield or liquidity guarantee. Keep risk capital and household living resources distinct.

Statistics describe a particular procedure and period; preliminary approval weeks are not final family residence time. Transfers, further evidence, investment completion, actual documents and subsequent scrutiny need planning. Fixed dates or return promises cannot fill unverified requirements.

Seven comparison stages and continued family residence

Verify each milestone from aims to actual documents

Establish the open legal category and personal qualification before sequencing capital and filings. Programs differ on investing before or after preliminary approval. Do not impose one payment sequence everywhere; retain actual government evidence separately from receipts and adviser updates.

1. Map the household and aims

   Record residence, work, education, ages, dependency and long-term goals.

2. Check current legal directions

   Distinguish new intake, legacy transition and actual legal foundation.

3. Review the person and assets

   Establish background, lawful funds, offering and exposure.

4. Budget and sequence the whole case

   Define capital, fees, preliminary approval, refunds and later duties.

5. File and invest as required

   Use the proper channel and preserve transfer/receipt evidence.

6. Verify each permission and person

   Confirm admission, residence, work and actual conditions.

7. Maintain eligibility and plan later steps

   Track assets, presence, expiry, children and permanent-status/nationality requirements.

Low presence does not remove maintenance or confer citizenship

Investment, renewal, permanent residence, nationality and tax residence have distinct conditions. One low-day requirement cannot establish every outcome. Work, healthcare, tuition and parent eligibility follow actual facts and permissions rather than blanket family-benefit promises.

Residence does not automatically cancel original nationality, tax or CRS duties. Review genuine address, work, income and relevant laws, and handle each birth, marriage, custody or age change. Another card or bank address must not conceal true facts.

Separate residence and another nationality

Discuss capital, work and household aims

Investment-residence questions

Status, capital, family and subsequent duties

Does investment residence mean buying a passport?

No. Residence, permanent status, nationality and passports have separate legal requirements. A qualifying investment supports assessment under that particular route; it does not automatically confer a passport, third-country employment or every family benefit.

Should I compare the minimum price or family needs first?

Start with real residence, work, children, parents and long-term aims, then risk capital and investment structure. A minimum is not total cost or a measure of lock-up, liquidity, management and renewal. Different-currency headlines are not a meaningful price ranking.

Are the old UK, Irish and Australian investor routes open to new cases?

UK Tier 1 Investor, Irish IIP and Australian BIIP closed to new applications. Existing cases/holders require their particular transition and subsequent rules. Old £2m, contribution or subclass-188 tables are not new-client entry points; closure does not end every immigration route to those countries.

Can a new Spanish property Golden Visa be filed?

The former investor visa/residence route closed to new applications on April 3, 2025. Prior filings, valid permissions and renewals need individual transition review. Non-lucrative, international telework and other categories are separate, not a property purchase extending the former rules.

Can a €350,000 Portuguese property still qualify for ARI?

Do not reuse the old property threshold. Current AIMA directions include qualifying non-real-estate funds, research, culture and enterprise/jobs, with direct/indirect real-estate investment restrictions. A home or a property-fund label does not establish current ARI eligibility.

Does any Portuguese fund qualify?

No. The specified fund route requires at least €500,000 and Portuguese establishment, non-real-estate status, at least five-year maturity at investment and at least 60% invested in Portuguese-headquartered commercial companies, among its conditions. Immigration acceptability does not guarantee returns or redemption; review documents, fees and exposure.

Does HK$30m make every New CIES applicant eligible?

No. Applicant category, net assets/history, qualifying investments and personal/family requirements also apply. Current net-assets and investment thresholds both involve at least HK$30m but require different evidence. A bank balance or single asset purchase is not approval.

How do New Zealand Active Investor Plus options compare?

Current Growth requires at least NZ$5m over 36 months, Balanced NZ$10m over 60 months in acceptable investments. Baseline presence is 21/105 days during those periods; specified additional Balanced investment can adjust days under the rules. Acceptance is no return guarantee or automatic permanent residence/passport on maturity.

Is US EB-5 the same as a property purchase or E-2?

No. EB-5 needs qualifying capital, lawful funds and at least ten qualifying full-time jobs, conditional residence and later removal of conditions. E-2 is nonimmigrant treaty-investor status. A home purchase alone does not satisfy either route, and their amounts/conditions differ.

Is there a universal Canadian C$150,000 permanent-residence purchase?

No such blanket promise is justified. Federal, provincial, enterprise and other directions have current intake, personal, operating and nomination requirements. Money, company registration or a private plan does not replace legal eligibility and genuine activity; old hub pricing is not a current nationwide rule.

Is principal always returned when the immigration holding period ends?

No. Statutory sustainment, fund maturity, extensions, reinvestment, business repayment and sale are different matters. Acceptable assets can lose value or remain illiquid. Contributions differ from assets; rely on actual terms rather than a government-protection sales claim.

Can all relatives and parents be approved under one investment?

Check each program’s spouse/partner, child age/dependency, parent and guardianship rules. Family definitions are not interchangeable, and a quoted headcount is not eligibility approval. Each person has identity, evidence, screening, entry and later deadlines.

Can investors and spouses always work freely?

Employment rights follow the actual program and permission. Passive investment residence, operating-business directions and temporary investor status differ, as can spouse/child rights. A residence/investment label does not authorize every family member to undertake any work.

Do a few days annually satisfy every route?

No. Investment maintenance, residence renewal, permanent residence, citizenship and tax residence have separate tests. Map actual travel, deadlines and family aims. One route’s low-presence rules cannot guarantee another route or eventual nationality.

Does European residence confer EU-wide work and passport waiver counts?

No. Domestic rights, applicable short Schengen travel and other-country work/residence are separate. Ireland is outside Schengen. A citizen passport’s destination count is not an investment residence card benefit, and elapsed time does not automatically confer citizenship.

Does residence remove tax or CRS reporting obligations?

No. Immigration status, actual tax residence, assets/income, reporting and banking scrutiny need separate analysis. Another residence does not cancel existing duties, and transfers or a new address must not conceal genuine identity or funding history.

How should total costs and timing be assessed?

Separate qualifying capital, government/check fees, family, documents/professional work, living and renewal costs. Approval in principle, actual investment, final residence documents and later permanent status are different stages. One processing statistic does not guarantee every family finishes in three to six months.

What helps an initial assessment?

Summarize nationalities/status, birthplaces, family ages/dependency, lawful funds, liquidity tolerance, work and actual residence aims. Add filing/grant summaries for old cases. Share full banking, tax, identity and contract records only for an agreed formal purpose, not a general enquiry field.