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What Is a Golden Visa? Eligibility Criteria & Application Process Explained

Golden visas are quite popular among wealthy Indians. It offers a long term residency to a certain group of people who want to settle in a foreign country.

Are you wondering 'what is a golden visa?' If yes, keep reading this blog to learn more about it and other related details.

What Is a Golden Visa?

A golden visa is an immigration programme that enables wealthy individuals to acquire a residence permit or citizenship status in a foreign country in exchange for a large investment or purchasing a house over there.

This immigration programme allows high-net-worth individuals to relocate to a suitable country presently or after retirement or become residents of that country. After being a resident of a host country, individuals can enjoy the legal right to live, work, study and access healthcare facilities of that country.

What Are the Eligibility Criteria to Qualify for a Golden Visa Programme?

If you are keen to apply for a golden visa, you must fulfil the following eligibility parameters:

You should personally have the money that you want to invest in a foreign country that offers a golden visa.
You need to prove that you have earned this money through legal means.
If you have any criminal background, you will not qualify to apply for a golden visa.
You need to maintain the investment for a minimum period as set by the Government of the host country.
You need to furnish evidence to show that you are financially stable to take care of your family members, even if you do not wish to stay in the host country for a long time.

Note that this list is indicative, and eligibility parameters may change with each country.

What Are the Ways to Apply for a Golden Visa?

golden visa application — (source: expatnetwork)

Listed below are the following ways through which you can apply for a golden visa:

You must buy a property in a foreign country where you wish to get citizenship status through a golden visa. The price of real estate may range from ₹ 15,664,767 to ₹ 156,634,990. This is the most common process provided by most countries to apply for a golden visa.
Invest in a company's stocks or shares.
Invest in government bonds or public debt instruments of that foreign country.
Generate employment opportunities in that foreign country.
Invest in innovative scientific or technological projects of the foreign country.

After investing in either of the ways mentioned above, apply for a golden visa at an embassy in your country or a governmental authority located in the foreign country where you want to get the citizenship status.

Which Countries Offer Golden Visas?

Listed below are the countries that provide golden visas:

Antigua and Barbuda
Canada
Austria
Anguilla
Germany
Grenada
Greece
Malta
Ireland
Portugal
New Zealand
Singapore
St. Kitts and Nevis
Spain
St. Lucia
The Cayman Islands
Switzerland
Turkey
The United Kingdom
United Arab Emirates
Vanuatu
United States of America

Does a Golden Visa Help You Get Citizenship Status?

Yes. A golden visa allows you to get a citizenship status in the foreign country for which you have applied for the same, provided you must live in that country for some years in advance. If you take the example of Spain, you are required to spend a minimum of 10 years in this country consistently and should have proficiency in the Spanish language to get a permanent citizenship status in Spain. However, the criteria may differ with each country offering a golden visa.

Can You Include Family Members in the Application for a Golden Visa?

Yes, your dependent family members can apply for a golden visa along with you. Family members include your dependent children, spouse and dependent parents. Every family member that applies for a golden visa can enjoy similar legal rights as you in the host country.

Is It Necessary to Live in Property Bought for a Golden Visa?

No, there is no requirement to live in a property you bought in a foreign country for a golden visa. You can renew your golden visa for indefinite times as long as you maintain your investment, that is, not selling your housing property. Some countries like Cyprus and Greece can also allow you to rent your property while you are not residing there.

With this, this piece about 'what is a golden visa' comes to an end. To conclude, a golden visa allows you to access a favourable lifestyle and other high-quality facilities in a foreign country that issues this permit. So, if you are interested in applying for the same, go through all the pointers mentioned above to avoid hassles during your application.

Frequently Asked Questions

✓ What is the validity of a golden visa?

The validity of a golden visa varies with each country that issues it. The validity may range between 1 to 2 years, depending on the country which issued a golden visa.

✓ How long does it take to acquire a golden visa?

The processing time differs with each country offering a golden visa. However, a relevant authority may take 2 to 5 months to process your application request for a golden visa.

Normal Visa	Urgent Visa	Super Urgent Visa
₹ 5,500 approximately (1 applicant)	Additional ₹ 6,300 approximately	Additional ₹ 7,900 approximately
₹ 5,300 approximately (2 applicants)
₹ 5,200 approximately (3-5 applicants)
₹ 4,500 approximately (6-9 applicants)
₹ 4,400 approximately (10+ applicants)

What Is the Government Fee for an Indian Visa?

Apart from the service fees, applicants also need to pay e-visa government fees. However, the Indian visa charges of the government are different from one country to another. For example, while for some it is exempted, some has to pay ₹ 2,000, ₹ 4,000 or ₹ 6,000 approximately. Know about which category you fall into under the following subheadings.

What Are the Different Government Fee Categories for Different Countries?

Fee Exemption

While paying the Indian visa fees, applicants from the following nationalities are not required to pay any government fees. Instead, they can only pay the processing and service fees.

Cook Islands	Mauritius	South Africa
Argentina	Marshall Islands	Tuvalu
Palau	Fiji	Papua New Guinea
Nauru	Samoa	Vanuatu
Micronesia	Seychelles	Kiribati
Niue Island	Jamaica	Uruguay
Solomon Islands

Government Fee of ₹ 2,000

The government of India charges government e-visa fees of $25 from people of the following nationalities.

Singapore	Sri Lanka
Japan

Government Fee of ₹ 4,000

The government might charge Indian e-visa fees of $50 from people applying from the following countries.

Albania	Cape Verde	Gabon
Latvia	Lesotho	Liberia
Norway	Oman	Swaziland
Palestine	Switzerland	Sweden
Liechtenstein	Panama	Taiwan
Cayman Island	Chile	Gambia
Angola	Andorra	Georgia
Anguilla	China	Germany
Antigua & Barbuda	Colombia	Ghana
Lithuania	China-Macau	Tajikistan
Paraguay	Peru	Tanzania
Armenia	Luxembourg	Greece
Austria	Poland	Guatemala
Costa Rica	Guinea	Croatia
Malawi	Turks And Caicos	Trinidad And Tobago
Azerbaijan	Malaysia	Portugal
Romania	Cuba	Macedonia
Malta	Uganda	United Arab Emirates
Bahamas	Guyana	Mali
Bolivia	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Iceland
Djibouti	Vietnam	Czech Republic
Monaco	Honduras	Belgium
Mexico	Denmark	Uzbekistan
Rwanda	Hungary	Moldova
Belize	Saint Lucia	Dominican Republic
Venezuela	Ireland	Senegal
Botswana	Zimbabwe	Dominica
Montenegro	Indonesia	San Marino
Bosnia & Herzegovina	Mongolia	Israel
Zambia	Brazil	Ecuador
East Timor	Italy	El Salvador
Brunei	Cote D'Ivoire	Eritrea
Bulgaria	Jordan	Estonia
Burundi	Kenya	Cambodia
Finland	Republic of Korea	Canada
Cameroon	Myanmar	Serbia
Montserrat	France	Netherlands
Namibia	Sierra Leone	Slovakia
New Zealand	Slovenia	Nicaragua
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Spain	New Zealand
Niger Republic	Nicaragua	Suriname

Government Fee of ₹ 6,000

The government of India charges an Indian visa application fee of $75 from the applicants of the following nationalities.

Russian	UK
Ukraine	Mozambique
USA

Individuals must have proper knowledge of fee payment for an Indian visa since they must pay this amount while applying for an Indian visa. The fees they pay with the application form include both the visa service fee and the Indian Government fee. The service fee that you pay is for processing your application. On the other hand, the e-visa government fee is for the Indian Immigration Department.

Thus, as this article observed, there are different fees for an Indian visa. If you are an applicant trying to obtain an Indian visa for work or other purposes, you need to know these different fees ranges. The government can reject your visa application if you fail to submit the applicable fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

✓ How long does it take for the Indian government to process regular visas?

Unlike e-visas, a regular visa takes a longer processing time. Usually, it takes about 2-3 weeks. However, the government can process a regular tourist visa faster in about a week.

✓ How long can I stay in India on a visa?

Indian business and tourist e-visas are usually valid for about a year. After that, however, the owners of the visas can apply for an extension. The immigration experts approve the extension request only if they can show proper evidence proving their reasons to stay.

✓ Can a traveller check their status of ESTA?

Yes, a citizen can check their status of ESTA on the official portal of CBP or U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Important Articles about Visa Processes

Important Reasons for Visa Rejection and Refusal

F1 Visa Interview Questions & Answers

H4 Visa Interview Questions and Answers

H1B Visa Interview Questions & Answers

How to Check UAE Visa Application Status

Schengen Visa Interview Questions & Answers

How to Check UK Visa Application Status

Difference Between PIO and OCI Explained

L2 Visa Interview Questions and Answers

US B1/B2 Visa Interview Questions

L1 Visa Interview Questions and Answers

J1 Visa: Eligibility Criteria, Types & Application Process

How to Apply for an H-1B Visa?

How to Get Visa for Saudi Arabia from India?

What is Diplomatic Visa?

Difference between Immigrant and non Immigrant Visa

Student Visa detailed guide

What are the Types of US Visas?

Detailed Guide about L2 visa

What is L1 visa? and it's types

Types of Schengen Visa?

What are the types of UK Visa?

How to Verify a Visa Online? (VEVO)

What is UAE Golden Visa?

Visa Requirements for Indian Citizens

All about Qatar Visa

Visa Waiver Program

Indian Visa Fees and Charges

How to apply for Spain Golden Visa?

Golden Visa Application Process

How to get the German Golden Visa?

Everything about European Golden Visa

Portugal Golden Visa & It's Benifits

Greece Golden Visa program

How to apply for Malta Golden Visa?

Disclaimer -

Your policy is subjected to terms and conditions mentioned in your policy schedule and policy wording. Please go through the documents carefully.

The information mentioned here about the countries, visa fees and others is taken from different sources. Digit Insurance is not promoting or recommending anything here. Please verify the same before you book your tickets, apply for a visa, buy a travel policy or make any other decision.

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