Home / Compare / CBI vs Golden Visa
CBI vs Golden Visa · 2026 Q3 EditionCitizenship by investment delivers a passport; a Golden Visa delivers the right to live, and can carry a published path to one. Compare the ranked programmes of both kinds on cost, mobility, speed and outcome; there is no universal winner.
MCP
The guided chooser
Filter and re-rank the table below by the priority that matters most to your family. Each preset re-sorts on the matching published dimension of the Mirabello Index; the default order is the Index ranking. A metric lead is not a recommendation, and there is no universal winner.
| # | Programme | Type | From | Processing | Mobility | Outcome | Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇰🇳 St. Kitts and Nevis | Citizenship | $250,000 | 4-6 months | 157 visa-free | Passport | 85.7 |
| 2 | 🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda | Citizenship | $230,000 | 4-7 months | 154 visa-free | Passport | 83.2 |
| 3 | 🇩🇲 Dominica | Citizenship | $200,000 | 4-6 months | 145 visa-free | Passport | 81.8 |
| 4 | 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia | Citizenship | $240,000 | 4-5 months | 144 visa-free | Passport | 81.5 |
| 5 | 🇦🇱 Albania Residence by Investment | Residency | €100,000 | Approx. 10-25 working days for the residence-permit decision once documents are complete | n/a | Residence permit | 79.8 |
| 6 | 🇪🇨 Ecuador Investor Residence | Residency | $48,200 | ~60 days from application to approval | n/a | Residence permit | 79.6 |
| 7 | 🇧🇷 Brazil Residence by Investment | Residency | BRL 700,000 | n/a | 170 visa-free | Residence permit | 79.5 |
| 8 | 🇬🇩 Grenada | Citizenship | $235,000 | 6 months | 147 visa-free | Passport | 79.1 |
| 9 | 🇯🇵 Japan Business Manager Visa | Residency | $200,000 | Approximately 1-3 months for the residence-status examination once a complete application is filed. A Certificate of Eligibility | n/a | Residence permit | 78.1 |
| 10 | 🇲🇹 Malta Global Residence Programme (GRP) | Residency | €220,000 | 3-6 months | 184 visa-free | Residence permit | 77.6 |
| 11 | 🇦🇲 Armenia Residency | Residency | $150,000 | Current system: 80-90 days. New fast-track | n/a | Residence permit | 77.6 |
| 12 | 🇲🇹 Malta Permanent Residence (MPRP) | Residency | €99,000 | 6-12 months | 184 visa-free | Residence permit | 77.2 |
| 13 | 🇵🇹 Portugal Golden Visa | Residency | €250,000 | 12-18 months | 184 visa-free | Residence permit | 77 |
| 14 | 🇦🇷 Argentina Citizenship by Investment | Citizenship | $500,000 | 30 business days from complete application submission | 170 visa-free | Passport | 77 |
| 15 | 🇨🇴 Colombia Migrant Investor Visa | Residency | $48,920 | Approximately 2-6 weeks from a complete online application; visa decisions are issued electronically by the Visa Authority. | n/a | Residence permit | 76.8 |
| 16 | 🇬🇷 Greece Golden Visa | Residency | €250,000 | 90 days statutory maximum | 185 visa-free | Residence permit | 76.3 |
| 17 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus Permanent Residency | Residency | €300,000 | 4-6 months | 174 visa-free | Residence permit | 75.8 |
| 18 | 🇰🇭 Cambodia My Second Home (CM2H) | Residency | $50,000 | 4-6 months | n/a | Residence permit | 75.6 |
| 19 | 🇵🇦 Panama Qualified Investor Residency | Residency | $300,000 | Approximately 30-90 days. Kraemer & Kraemer: 30-45 business days. an investment-migration firm: ~3 months. NTL Trust: 1-3 months / PR in ~90 days. | n/a | Residence permit | 75.4 |
| 20 | 🇮🇹 Italy Investor Visa | Residency | €250,000 | Approximately 3-6 months end to end; nulla osta decision by law within 30 days of a complete application | 185 visa-free | Residence permit | 75 |
| 21 | 🇺🇸 USA EB-5 Investor Visa | Residency | $800,000 | 6 to 30 months (route dependent) | 179 visa-free | Residence permit | 73.5 |
| 22 | 🇬🇪 Georgia Residence by Investment | Residency | $150,000 | n/a | n/a | Residence permit | 73.2 |
| 23 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | Citizenship | $400,000 | Approximately 3-6 months from complete application to citizenship | 114 visa-free | Passport | 73.1 |
| 24 | 🇻🇨 St. Vincent and the Grenadines | Citizenship | $500,000 | Not yet announced | 157 visa-free | Passport | 71.2 |
| 25 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria Investor Permanent Residence | Residency | €512,000 | Approximately 3-7 months from application to permanent-residence card in hand | n/a | Residence permit | 70.3 |
| 26 | 🇸🇻 El Salvador (Freedom Visa) | Citizenship | $1,000,000 | n/a | 135 visa-free | Passport | 70.2 |
| 27 | 🇲🇺 Mauritius Residency | Residency | $375,000 | 2-6 months | n/a | Residence permit | 70 |
| 28 | 🇪🇪 Estonia Business Residence | Residency | €65,000 | Decision within 90 days | n/a | Residence permit | 69 |
| 29 | 🇱🇻 Latvia Golden Visa | Residency | €50,000 | Approximately 2-4 months | n/a | Residence permit | 68.1 |
| 30 | 🇳🇷 Nauru | Citizenship | $115,000 | 3-5 months | 86 visa-free | Passport | 67.5 |
| 31 | 🇧🇼 Botswana Impact Investment Program | Citizenship | $75,000 | Not yet confirmed, estimated 3-6 months based on comparable programmes | 82 visa-free | Passport | 67.4 |
| 32 | 🇸🇹 São Tomé and Príncipe | Citizenship | $90,000 | 6-8 weeks | 61 visa-free | Passport | 67.2 |
| 33 | 🇿🇦 South Africa Business Visa | Residency | ZAR 5,000,000 | 2 months | 100 visa-free | Residence permit | 67 |
| 34 | 🇦🇪 UAE Golden Visa | Residency | AED 2,000,000 | 2-3 months | 187 visa-free | Residence permit | 66.7 |
| 35 | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica Investor Residency | Residency | $150,000 | Approximately 6-12 months from filing to resolution | n/a | Residence permit | 66.7 |
| 36 | 🇻🇺 Vanuatu | Citizenship | $130,000 | n/a | 90 visa-free | Passport | 66.6 |
| 37 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Premium Residency | Residency | SAR 800,000 | 60-90 business days for review; 2-4 weeks for card issuance after approval | 91 visa-free | Residence permit | 66.1 |
| 38 | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | Citizenship | $140,000 | 60-90 days | 62 visa-free | Passport | 64.2 |
| 39 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | Citizenship | $493,000 | Approximately 3-6 months for the citizenship route | 52 visa-free | Passport | 63.1 |
| 40 | 🇲🇻 Maldives Pearl Residence | Residency | $250,000 | n/a | Residence permit | 60.6 | |
| 41 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | Citizenship | $250,000 | n/a | 51 visa-free | Passport | 59.5 |
| 42 | 🇧🇸 Bahamas Residency by Investment | Residency | $1,000,000 | Approximately 3-6 months under the streamlined process | n/a | Residence permit | 58.1 |
| 43 | 🇰🇪 Kenya Class G Investor Permit | Residency | $100,000 | Approximately 3-6 months for a complete and accurate application | n/a | Residence permit | 55.4 |
| 44 | 🇴🇲 Oman Golden Visa | Residency | $520,000 | 3-6 weeks | n/a | Residence permit | 55.2 |
| 45 | 🇨🇻 Cape Verde Residence by Investment | Residency | €80,000 | n/a | 63 visa-free | Residence permit | 54.7 |
| 46 | 🇬🇬 Guernsey Investor Residence | Residency | £200,000 | Adviser/market guides: Open Market property identification ~4-12 weeks; conveyancing ~8-16 weeks; Housing Licence & Population Management registration ~2-6 weeks post-completion, total end-to-end to arrival typically ~4-7 months. | n/a | Residence permit | 54.4 |
| 47 | 🇧🇭 Bahrain Golden Residency | Residency | $345,000 | 5 working days for property owners, employees | n/a | Residence permit | 53.4 |
| 48 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan Investment Residence | Residency | $480,000 | Investment approval | n/a | Residence permit | 52.4 |
| 49 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam Investor Visa | Residency | $2,000,000 | n/a | 48 visa-free | Residence permit | 48.5 |
| 50 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria Investor Visa | Residency | $250,000 | , NIS pages state the visa is valid 90 days from issuance but do not state an adjudication timeline | 44 visa-free | Residence permit | 47.9 |
| 51 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Golden Paradise Residence Visa | Residency | $200,000 | n/a | 39 visa-free | Residence permit | 45.7 |
| 52 | 🇨🇿 Czechia Residence for Investment | Residency | CZK 75,000,000 | n/a | n/a | Residence permit | 43.6 |
| 53 | 🇷🇼 Rwanda Residence by Investment | Residency | $250,000 | n/a | n/a | Residence permit | 42.3 |
Generated from the Mirabello verified programme dataset, 2026 Q3 Edition. Only programmes with rank_status "ranked" appear here; provisional and reference entries are tracked in the full Index.
Indicative routing only, never an eligibility determination. The AI assessment maps your answers against all 98 tracked programmes.
Methodology and integrity
Each programme is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions, combined into a weighted composite. Where a dimension has no verified data it is excluded and the remaining weights are re-normalized (see data_completeness). The full weights, dimension definitions and official-source hierarchy are published on the Index methodology page. This comparison is rules-based: it reports where each programme leads on published criteria, and it does not recommend one programme over the other, because there is no universal winner.
Generated from the Mirabello verified programme dataset, 2026 Q3 Edition.
Head-to-head
Every pair page compares the two programmes metric by metric on the same verified dataset, with per-row sources, family cost computation where verified fee schedules exist, and the observatory change log for both.
Questions
On the current 2026 Q3 Edition, St. Kitts and Nevis holds the highest composite in this table (85.7 / 100). The ranking is rules-based against published, weighted criteria; it is not a recommendation and there is no universal winner, because the right programme depends on the criteria you weight.
Each programme is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions, combined into a weighted composite. Where a dimension has no verified data it is excluded and the remaining weights are re-normalized (see data_completeness). The full weights and dimension definitions are published on the Index methodology page, and every headline figure carries field-level provenance with a verification date.
Published minimums in this table run from $48,200 upwards, before government fees per family member. Family totals differ materially by programme; the pair pages linked below compute government-side family costs from published fee schedules where verified data exists.
On published processing scores in the current dataset, Albania Residence by Investment currently leads this table on the speed dimension. Published timelines are indicative lower bounds; individual files vary with due diligence and documentation.
Yes. Governments amend thresholds, fees and rules; verified changes are recorded in the public Mirabello observatory change log with official sources, and this page regenerates from the dataset each edition. Verify time-sensitive figures against the linked official source.
A confidential, no-obligation conversation with a Mirabello specialist, in your language, on the verified figures.
Book a free consultation WhatsApp usMirabello Consultancy provides information and advisory services on investment-migration programmes. Figures on this page are indicative, verified against official sources and provenance-tracked; they are informational only, not an eligibility determination and not legal, tax, immigration or investment advice. Programme terms change; confirm the detail with a specialist and seek independent advice where appropriate.