Global Passive Income Visas | An Incomplete Guide
What is passive income visa?
A passive income visa is one of the most common types of income visas. Broadly speaking, it refers to a long-term residence visa granted to applicants who do not invest or work but qualify because they have stable passive income, bank savings, or net assets.
Generally, passive income visas across various countries have the following characteristics:
1. Stable Passive Income Requirement: The income source must be stable passive income such as rent, dividends, interest from deposits or bonds, pensions, etc. Work income or business operations are generally not considered. This rule is strictly enforced in retirement visas in some Latin American countries and passive income visa programs in European countries.
Some programs, like Malaysia’s My Second Home, the Philippines’ SRRV, and similar visas in some Latin American countries, do not require proof of income but need a stable, non-revocable deposit in a local bank to support your overseas life.
Alternatively, like Chile’s retirement visa or South Africa’s permanent residency, you can qualify by proving your net assets.
Only in a few countries—France, Cyprus, Uruguay, Argentina, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mauritius—can active income be considered. These countries do not care if your income source is passive income, remote work income, self-employment income, or salary income. As long as you earn the required income while living locally, you qualify for their economic independence visas.
financially independence visas in countries like France and Uruguay are somewhat similar to a combination of passive income visas, digital nomad visas, self-employment visas, and even work visas.
If you are not familiar with digital nomad visas and self-employment visas, these are two types of active income visas.
Digital nomad visas are provided to those who can work entirely remotely using a computer and the internet. We have also created a guide on digital nomad visas if you are interested.
Self-employment visas are popular in developed European countries and require the applicant to be self-employed (freelancer or business owner) and have some economic ties with the destination country (local clients or products). We can summarize these visas in detail another time.
2. Not be a burden on society: To ensure that you do not compete for local opportunities and benefits, you must provide sufficient proof of income or financial resources.
This includes two main points:
In summary, you are going to contribute to the economy by consuming rather than taking social resources.
Most passive income visa holders can only enjoy full citizen rights, including free work and access to the social welfare system, after residing for a certain period and converting their status to permanent residency or other identities.
Some exceptions include countries like Portugal, Malaysia, the Philippines, Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama, etc., where passive income visa holders can start their own business or engage in commercial activities. A few Spanish-speaking countries allow passive income visa holders to apply for a work permit after obtaining the visa, enabling them to work locally.
However, these are exceptions.
3. Conversion to Permanent Residency and Citizenship: Passive income visas can generally be converted into permanent residency and citizenship.
Most countries offering passive income visa programs provide one, two, or three-year visas, which can be continuously renewed under the original conditions. Even the shortest one-year visa can usually be continuously renewed. After meeting certain residence requirements (staying a certain number of days each year) and other basic conditions such as no criminal record and good health, you can apply for permanent residency and even citizenship.
Six countries—Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Panama, South Africa, and Vanuatu—offer programs where you can directly obtain permanent residency upon first application if all conditions are met.
Only four programs cannot be converted into permanent residency: Ireland’s economic independence visa, Colombia’s passive income visa, Thailand’s retirement visa, and Sri Lanka’s My Dream Home project. However, for these programs, you can theoretically continuously renew the visa as long as you maintain the income/deposit, effectively allowing long-term residence.
A Complete List Of Global Passive Income Visas:
Currently, the globally stable passive income visa programs include the following:
Europe:
1. Italy Elective Residency Visa: Requires an annual income of 32,000 euros, which must be entirely passive income.
2. Spain Non-lucrative Visa: Requires an initial annual income of four times the local minimum wage, currently 28,800 euros. Most of this income must be passive and can be demonstrated with savings of more than 30,000 euros.
3. Portugal D7 Passive Income Visa: Requires a stable annual income of 8,460 euros, which must be entirely passive income. In practice, having four to five times the stated amount can increase the chances of approval.
4. Ireland Independent Means Visa: Only available to retirees or those with direct local connections, requiring an annual income of no less than 50,000 euros. Holders cannot apply for permanent residence or citizenship in Ireland, and the visa is currently under strict scrutiny due to immigration saturation.
5. Greece Financially Independent Person Visa: Requires a monthly income of 2,000 euros, which must be passive income. Alternatively, a deposit of over 48,000 euros in a local bank is acceptable. The Greek FIP is relatively easier to obtain but has a cumbersome process for permanent residency.
6. France Financially Independent Person Visa: Requires a stable monthly income of at least 1,800 euros that does not depend on France, a year’s lease or purchase of property, and a bank deposit of more than 30,000 euros. In practice, a monthly income of over 3,500 euros can improve the approval rate.
7. Cyprus Temporary Residence Permit: Requires an annual income of 24,000 euros, preferably between 25,000 and 35,000 euros, and a local bank deposit of 24,000 euros.
8. Malta Retirement Visa: Requires applicants to be over 55 years old, purchase property worth over 275,000 euros, or rent property with an annual rent of over 9,600 euros. The main applicant must have stable income, with 75% coming from a pension.
9. Austria Financially Independent Person Visa: Requires a monthly income of 2,060.98 euros and German proficiency at A1 level. The visa is renewable but has an annual quota of 450, making each renewal competitive.
10. Luxembourg Residence Permit for Private Reasons: Requires a monthly income at least equal to the local unskilled worker’s minimum wage, i.e., 2,570.93 euros, and proof of economic ties with the EU.
11. Bulgaria Retirement Visa: No specific numerical requirement, but applicants must have sufficient government pension.
12. Albania Retirement Visa: Requires an annual pension of over 1.2 million Lek, approximately 13,000 US dollars.
13. Latvia Retirement Visa: Limited to applicants from countries and regions that have visa-free entry to Latvia. Requires a monthly pension income of at least 900 euros.
14. Gibraltar High Net Worth Individuals Category 2 Visa: Requires a net worth of over 2 million pounds, property purchase or rental locally, and annual tax payment of over 37,000 pounds.
Asia:
1. Malaysia My Second Home Program: Requires a deposit of 500,000 Ringgit in a local bank, approximately 107,400 US dollars, and proof of annual income over 480,000 Ringgit. East Malaysia states Sabah and Sarawak offer their own independent programs with lower economic requirements.
2. Philippines SRRV: The Philippines’ retirement visa SRRV has five options. The “Smile” option requires applicants over 35 years old to deposit 20,000 US dollars and pay an annual fee of around 360 US dollars. The “Classic” option varies depending on retirement age and pension status.
3. Thailand Retirement Visa: Thailand offers two types of retirement visas. The ten-year O-X visa is issued to retirees from 14 specified Western countries, requiring a deposit of 3 million Baht (about 83,100 US dollars) or a deposit of 1.8 million Baht and an annual income of no less than 1.2 million Baht. The one-year O-A visa is available worldwide, requiring applicants over 50 years old to have a deposit of 800,000 Baht (about 22,200 US dollars) or a monthly pension income of 60,000 Baht (about 1,700 US dollars).
4. Indonesia Second Home Program: Requires a deposit of 20 billion Rupiah in a local bank, approximately 122,700 US dollars.
5. Cambodia Retirement Visa: Requires a monthly pension of 500 to 1,000 US dollars.
6. Dubai (UAE) Retirement Visa: Requires applicants to be over 55 years old, with deposits/purchase of 1 million Dirhams (about 272,300 US dollars) or a monthly pension income of 15,000 Dirhams (about 4,100 US dollars).
7. Sri Lanka My Dream Home Program: Requires applicants to be over 55 years old, with a monthly income of 1,500 US dollars or a local deposit of 15,000 US dollars.
South America:
1. Uruguay Permanent Residency Program: Requires living in Uruguay and proving a stable monthly income of no less than 1,500 US dollars.
2. Chile Rentista Visa: Requires a monthly passive income of over 1,500 US dollars. The retirement visa requires a stable pension income of over 1,500 US dollars per month or a net worth of 125,000 US dollars.
3. Brazil Retirement Visa: Requires a monthly pension income of 2,000 US dollars.
4. Argentina Retirement Visa: Requires a pension income five times the local minimum wage, i.e., 156,000 Pesos per month (about 170 US dollars), and an rentista visa requiring five times the minimum wage but ideally 2,000 US dollars per month.
5. Colombia Retirement Visa: Requires a pension income of 3,901,818 Colombian Pesos per month (about 965 US dollars), and a rentista visa requires a monthly income of 13,006,060 Colombian Pesos (about 3,217 US dollars). Holders of the passive income visa cannot apply for permanent residence or citizenship.
6. Ecuador Retirement Visa: Requires applicants to be over 65 years old, with a monthly pension income of 1,350 US dollars. The rentista visa requires a monthly income of 1,350 US dollars.
7. Peru Retirement Visa: Requires a stable monthly income of over 1,000 US dollars.
8. Paraguay Retirement Visa: Requires 100 times the local minimum wage, i.e., a monthly income of 7,015,600 Guarani, about 926 US dollars.
Central and North America and the Caribbean:
1. Mexico Income Residency Program: Requires a monthly income of over 4,400 US dollars for the past 12 months or bank/savings account balance of over 74,000 US dollars for the past 12 months. The permanent residency program requires a monthly income of over 7,400 US dollars for the past six months or bank/savings account balance of over 300,000 US dollars for the past 12 months.
2. Costa Rica Retirement Visa: Requires a monthly pension income of over 1,000 US dollars, and the rentista visa requires a monthly income of 2,500 US dollars.
3. Panama Retirement Visa: Does not strictly limit the applicant’s age, requiring a monthly pension income of over 1,000 US dollars or the purchase of property worth over 100,000 US dollars and proof of a monthly pension income of over 750 US dollars.
4. Belize QRP Special Residency Program: Requires applicants to be over 40 years old and prove a stable monthly income of over 2,000 US dollars.
5. El Salvador F7 Retirement Visa: Requires a monthly pension income of over 1,095 US dollars, and the F8 Rentista Visa requires a monthly passive income of over 1,460 US dollars.
6. Nicaragua Retirement Visa: Requires a monthly pension income of 1,000 US dollars, and the rentista visa requires a monthly income of 1,250 US dollars.
7. Guatemala Retirement Visa: Requires a monthly income of 1,250 US dollars.
8. Dominican Republic Retirement Visa: Requires a monthly income of 1,500 US dollars.
9. Honduras Retirement Visa: Requires a monthly income of 1,500 US dollars, and the rentista visa requires a monthly income of 2,500 US dollars.
10. Bahamas Short-term Residence Card: Issued to financially independent individuals or local property buyers, with no specific economic requirements.
11. Aruba Retirement Visa: Requires applicants to be over 55 years old, have a determined pension or long-term deposit/financial product for more than two years, with annual earnings of 50,000 Florins, about 27,800 US dollars. The passive income visa requires an annual income of 100,000 Florins, about 55,600 US dollars.
Africa:
1. South Africa Retirement Visa: Requires proving a monthly income of over 70,000 Rand, about 3,800 US dollars, and the financially independent 27f visa requires proving a net worth of 12 million Rand, about 660,000 US dollars, and a one-time payment of 120,000 Rand government fee.
2. Mauritius Premium Visa: Requires a monthly income of 1,500 US dollars, or a local bank deposit of 18,000 US dollars. The retirement visa requires applicants to be over 50 years old, with a monthly pension income of 1,500 US dollars or a local bank deposit of 18,000 US dollars.
Oceania:
1. Vanuatu Self-funded Resident Visa: Requires a monthly income of 250,000 Vatu, approximately 2,100 US dollars. In practice, you can obtain Vanuatu permanent residency by paying up to 10,000 US dollars, although this residency is not very beneficial.
2. Fiji Retirement Visa: No specific income requirements.
All the currency units above are converted based on the exchange rate as of July 26, 2024. Please check the current exchange rates for real-time conversions.
Some countries have variable income requirements that change annually. For example, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile do not have fixed standards, and visa officers have considerable discretion. The figures provided here are the upper limits of the current floating standards in these countries.
Furthermore, all the amounts provided are the minimum requirements for a single applicant. If your spouse, children, or parents want to accompany you, the income requirements will proportionally increase, typically between 20% and 100%.
If you are interested in a specific visa, you can click on the red links to learn more details about each visa program.
Passive income visa by deposit Programs:
During the application process for passive income visas, providing sufficient proof of income, especially passive income, often presents a cumbersome and challenging barrier.
Thus, visa programs that allow applicants to substitute proof of deposits for proof of income significantly simplify the application process.
Here we list some passive income visa programs that accept deposit applications:
1. Greece: The Greek financially independent person visa requires a monthly income of 2000 euros. You can complete the visa application with a deposit of 48,000 euros plus a small portion of passive income, or you can significantly increase the deposit amount and apply for the visa solely with a deposit.
2. Spain: Theoretically, you can use a deposit of 28,800 euros to prove income and apply for this visa; in practice, you need to provide a much larger deposit to apply for the Spanish non-lucrative visa solely with a deposit.
3. Malaysia: The Malaysia My Second Home program requires a deposit of 500,000 Malaysian Ringgit, approximately 107,400 USD, and proof of an annual income of over 480,000 Malaysian Ringgit, but the review process is not very strict.
4. Philippines: The SRRV Smile card requires a deposit of 20,000 USD; for applicants aged 35 to 49 under the Classic option, a deposit of 50,000 USD is needed, part of which can be withdrawn for local property purchase.
5. Mexico: For the Mexican income residency, you can provide evidence of a stable bank account, securities, or trust account amounts over the past 12 months to qualify for application.
6. Costa Rica: For the Costa Rican rentista visa, you can deposit 60,000 USD locally and sign a commitment to use only 2,500 USD per month from this deposit to apply for it.
7. Chile: For the Chilean retirement visa, you can apply by proving a net worth of at least 150,000 USD.
8. Thailand: Thailand offers two retirement visa pathways, the O-A visa available globally if you are over 50 years old, requiring a deposit of 800,000 Thai Baht, approximately 22,200 USD; the ten-year O-X visa is available only to nationals from 14 Western countries, requiring a deposit of 3 million Thai Baht, approximately 83,100 USD.
9. UAE: The Dubai retirement visa requires you to be at least 55 years old and have a deposit of 1 million dirhams, approximately 272,300 USD, to qualify for application.
10. Sri Lanka: The Sri Lanka My Dream Home program allows you to qualify for application by making a deposit of 15,000 USD.
11. Fiji: If you are over 45 years old, you can qualify for a Fijian retirement visa by depositing 100,000 Fijian dollars, approximately 44,300 USD, in a local bank.
12. Mauritius: The Mauritius retirement and premium visas can be obtained by making a local bank deposit of 18,000 USD.
13. Indonesia: The Indonesia Second Home program requires a local deposit of 2 billion Indonesian Rupiah, approximately 122,700 USD.
Passive income visas that do not need actual residence:
For the purpose of permanent residency or citizenship, almost all countries’ long-term residence visas have minimum residence requirements of varying lengths (immigration surveillance).
If you are not considering permanent residency or citizenship and just want a long-term passive income visa without actually living in the locality, here are some feasible options:
1. Spain non-lucrative visa, from April 2024, no longer requires actual residence. You can live elsewhere and maintain the visa;
2. Philippines SRRV, which requires local registration only at the initial application and has no residence duration restrictions;
3. Dubai retirement visa, which has no residence duration restrictions;
4. Indonesia’s Second Home program also has no minimum residence duration requirements as long as you maintain your deposit to keep the visa.
5. Chile: According to Chilean immigration law, neither the Chilean rentista visa nor the retirement visa has minimum residence duration requirements if you do not apply for permanent residency.
6. Argentina: Similar to Chile, neither the Argentine retirement visa nor the rentista visa has any minimum residence duration requirements. However, any single visa in Argentina can only be held for a maximum of four years, and if you wish to convert it to permanent residency or citizenship within four years, you need to reside locally for at least 183 days per year.
7. Paraguay retirement visa also has no minimum residence duration requirement, but you need to log in locally once a year to renew the visa.
8. Panama retirement visa: This is a direct permanent residency visa. To maintain it, you only need to log in to Panama once every two years and renew the residence card every five years.
9. Dominican Republic retirement visa: This visa does not require you to actually reside; you only need to enter the Dominican Republic once every four years to renew the residence card.
10. Honduras retirement and rentista visas, holders must ensure that they do not leave the country for more than 12 months at a time, meaning you must log in to Honduras once every twelve months.
11. Nicaragua retirement and rentista visas have no minimum residence duration requirements, but generally, visa holders need to enter Nicaragua every six months to renew their identity proof.
List Of Best Passive Income Visa Program:
If you carefully review the global passive income visa programs, you might find that there aren’t many options available.
Most of these programs are retirement visa programs that strictly stipulate the applicant’s age or require a sufficient retirement fund.
Passive income visa programs may also be limited by the country’s attractiveness, economic requirements, and application difficulty, leading individuals who want to apply for a passive income visa to find only two or three feasible options.
In this section, I will attempt to list some distinctive passive income visa programs to see if any might meet your requirements:
Europe:
If your goal is immigration: obtaining a green card, or citizenship, the best passive income visa programs are in Europe: Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, and France.
These countries are economically developed, have comprehensive welfare, and ensure a diverse society and secured investments.
The only problem is: the application is challenging, requiring all income to be passive.
Compared to others, the Greek FIP visa program is easier to apply for. Although it theoretically requires a passive income of 2000 euros per month, if your passive income is insufficient, you can obtain the FIP visa by providing more deposit proofs along with a small portion of passive income.
If your bank deposits are substantial, exceeding the income requirement of 48,000 euros for 24 months, you can also apply for the Greek FIP visa solely with bank deposits.
One issue with the Greek program is that if you want to apply for permanent residency after living in Greece for five years, you will need to face a disorganized, bureaucratic, and cumbersome administrative process.
Asia:
Thailand, UAE (mainly Dubai), Malaysia, Philippines, and Indonesia (mainly Bali) are the hottest international relocation destinations in Asia.
The Philippine Retirement Visa SRRV (Special Resident Retiree’s Visa) is perhaps the easiest passive income visa you can obtain, with the lowest threshold and most lenient restrictions on participants.
The SRRV can be divided into five categories based on the applicant’s age and background, with the most common being the Smile and Classic cards.
The Smile card requires a local bank deposit of 20,000 USD once you are over 35 years old, and maintaining the deposit keeps the visa.
If you are over 50 and have a monthly retirement income of over 800 USD, you can apply for the Classic card, which requires only a 10,000 USD deposit to obtain the visa.
The SRRV is an excellent way to obtain a second identity. Its application process is simple and does not require residence in the locality.
Malaysia My Second Home program is one of the favorite overseas residence plans among Chinese and Japanese nationals. It is a deposit residence program requiring a minimum local deposit of 500,000 Malaysian Ringgit, about 107,400 USD, half of which can be withdrawn in the second year for local living or housing purchases.
Participating in the My Second Home program, you can choose not to live locally but maintain an identity. You can also choose to settle in Malaysia, where society is diverse, and the cost of living is not expensive.
The Thai Retirement Visa is one of the largest retirement visa programs in the world, but it requires the main applicant to be at least 50 years old, and the application process is much more cumbersome compared to another popular program in the country: the Elite Visa.
Latin America:
The advantage of the Latin American region is lower visa thresholds, living costs, and faster acquisition of immigrant status.
This region has four countries: Uruguay, Mexico, Panama, and Peru, where the passive income visa programs allow you to obtain local permanent residency on the first application. Even in other countries, holders of passive income visas can generally obtain the qualifications to apply for local permanent residency or citizenship within three years.
Uruguay’s income residency program is one of the best passive income permanent residency programs in the world. If you are willing to live in Uruguay and can prove a stable income of 1500 USD per month, whether this income is passive income, remote work income, or salary from employment in Uruguay, you qualify to apply directly for Uruguayan permanent residency.
This is a permanent residency program that does not require investment. Uruguay is also one of the most politically stable, safe, and economically developed countries in South America.
Its drawback is: you need to actually live in Uruguay. This permanent residency program generally takes four months to a year and a half, and whether it is Uruguayan permanent residency review, card replacement, or nationality application, it will consider whether you have made this country the focus of your work and life.
If you just want to obtain permanent residency without actually residing, Mexican income residency could be a consideration, but its economic requirements and application difficulty are somewhat higher.
For other countries, the Costa Rican retirement and rentista visas, Panamanian retirement visa, and Belize QRP are relatively more popular passive income visa programs in Central and North America.
Africa:
The main countries in the African region are South Africa and Mauritius.
South Africa’s 27f financially independent visa is issued to foreigners who can prove assets of 12 million rand, about 660,000 USD, and pay a one-time government fee of 120,000 rand after obtaining permanent residency.
This program’s competitiveness lies in two aspects:
First, it does not require investment, nor does it require proof of income;
Second, it provides permanent residency, and does not require you to live locally; you only need to enter South Africa once every three years to renew your permanent residency card.
Mauritius‘s competitiveness lies in this country: it is the best and most diversified economy in Africa: Indians are the mainstream of the country, and Chinese are the largest minority group after Indians and natives.
Holders of Mauritius’s retirement visa can apply for local permanent residency after residing for three years; the Elite visa has a lower threshold for application and can be applied for with a deposit, but visa holders cannot apply for local permanent residency.