Golden visa processing times by country in 2026 range from an official 10.5-week approval-in-principle benchmark in New Zealand to multi-year practical timelines for Portugal. The fastest comparable MovingTo-data route is Italy, the fastest official published milestone is New Zealand Active Investor Plus approval in principle, and the slowest/riskiest major route in this comparison is Portugal because of AIMA backlog and appointment delays.
Read this before comparing rows:
the ranked table includes only comparable residence-by-investment timelines with a clear measured milestone. Other programs are moved into benchmark or coverage tables when the official source confirms a route but not a comparable end-to-end processing time. Closed programs and citizenship-by-investment programs are not ranked.
Last updated: June 18, 2026. Client-data window: January 2023 to February 2026. This page uses official sources beside the specific claims they support.
Executive Summary
- Fastest comparable MovingTo-data route: Italy Investor Visa, with a 30-day official Nulla Osta target and practical end-to-end timing around 3-4 months.
- Fastest official published milestone: New Zealand Active Investor Plus approval in principle, with Immigration New Zealand reporting 80% of applications within 10.5 weeks.
- Slowest/riskiest major route: Portugal ARI / Golden Visa, where many applicants should plan around 2-3+ years because the practical AIMA queue is much slower than the legal decision framework.
- Not ranked: Malta, Hungary, Latvia, UAE, US EB-5, New Zealand, and several global routes are useful for planning but do not publish the same end-to-end residence milestone.
- Closed or non-comparable: Spain, Ireland IIP, UK Tier 1 Investor, Australia SIV/BIIP, Turkey CBI, and Caribbean CBI programs should not be treated as current comparable golden visa processing-time peers.
Evidence Grades
| Grade | Meaning | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| A | Official target plus recent MovingTo or completed-case data | Strong enough for a promised-versus-actual comparison. |
| B | Official source plus credible recent estimate or official wait-time tool | Useful for planning, but not a hard end-to-end promise. |
| C | Official status only, with no comparable published processing target | Include for coverage, not as a speed ranking. |
| Closed | Historical only | Do not treat as a current investor-residence option. |
| Source-needed | No investor-specific official source verified during implementation | No processing claim is made until the source is verified. |
Methodology
This hub uses five evidence types, in this order of preference:
- Official statutory targets: laws, regulations, or official program pages that publish a decision period.
- Official published wait-time tools: government tools that report current processing performance, such as Immigration New Zealand's processing-time tool.
- MovingTo client data: completed or substantially progressed applications handled by MovingTo. This supports Portugal, Greece, Italy, and Spain historical rows only.
- Public or industry estimates: used only when official sources confirm the program but do not publish a comparable end-to-end target. These are labelled as estimates.
- Not published or not verified: if no investor-specific official source can be verified, the country remains source-needed and is not given a processing claim.
That is why the page has three tables. The first table ranks comparable residence timelines only. The second table captures official milestones that are useful but not directly comparable. The third table is a global coverage matrix for routes that readers expect to see, including rows where no processing claim is made.
Comparable Processing-Time Ranking
Only end-to-end or close-to-end-to-end residence-by-investment rows with clear measured milestones are ranked here. A C-grade row cannot enter this ranking.
| Rank | Country / program | Measured milestone | Official target | Practical 2026 timing | Evidence | Source / guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy Investor Visa | Online IV4I / Nulla Osta to residence-permit journey | 30 days for the Investor Visa Committee to assess a complete Nulla Osta application | About 3-4 months in practical MovingTo cases once consular visa, investment execution, and residence-permit steps are included. | A | Official IV4I process / Italy Golden Visa guide |
| 2 | Greece Golden Visa | Application path to residence-permit issuance | No final end-to-end investor-residence target found on the official public program page | About 10-14 months as a current MovingTo-supported planning estimate, with timing varying by filing office and document completeness. | B | Greek Ministry Golden Visa page / Greece Golden Visa guide |
| 3 | Portugal ARI / Golden Visa | ARI application to first residence-card journey | Portuguese immigration law sets a shorter decision framework than current real-world timing | About 2-3+ years for many applicants because of AIMA backlog, appointment availability, and staged processing. | A | AIMA ARI page / Portuguese immigration law / Portugal Golden Visa guide |
Official Milestone Benchmarks
These rows answer "what does the government publish?" but they are not ranked against Italy, Greece, and Portugal because the measured milestone is different or incomplete.
| Program | Milestone measured | Official timing/status | Why not directly comparable | Evidence grade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand Active Investor Plus | Approval in principle | 80% of applications within 10.5 weeks | This is an official processing milestone, not the full investment completion and residence journey. | B | Active Investor Plus / INZ processing times |
| Latvia investor temporary residence permit | Generic temporary residence permit document review | 30 days standard, with 10 or 5 working day expedited review where available | The timing is a generic residence-permit document review period, not a verified investor-route end-to-end timeline. | C | Latvia Immigration Law / PMLP state fees |
| UAE Golden Visa | Dubai property-investor Golden Visa service timing | Dubai Land Department lists 7-10 business days for its property-investor service | This is a Dubai real-estate service milestone, not a UAE-wide end-to-end target across all Golden Visa categories. | C | UAE Government Golden Visa / Dubai Land Department investor service / UAE Golden Visa guide |
| Malta Permanent Residence Programme | MPRP application decision | The official public page describes the route but does not publish a hard end-to-end target | Useful current route, but public timing claims need case data or updated agency guidance. | C | Residency Malta Agency MPRP |
| Hungary Guest Investor Residence Permit | Legal route status | Act XC of 2023 created the guest investor framework | The cited legal source confirms the route but does not provide a clean public processing target. | C | Hungary Act XC of 2023 |
| US EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program | USCIS form and stage processing | USCIS processing varies by form, stage, case type, and country of chargeability | EB-5 is an immigrant investor pathway with multiple filings, not a single one-step golden visa. | C | USCIS EB-5 / USCIS processing times |
MovingTo Client-Data Boundary
MovingTo client data supports the Portugal, Greece, Italy, and Spain historical rows. It does not support every global row on this page. We are not publishing per-country sample sizes, medians, fastest cases, or slowest cases unless a verified export is available for that exact breakdown.
| Country / program | Covered by MovingTo data | Date window | Measured milestone | Public timing range | Source limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal ARI / Golden Visa | Yes | January 2023 to February 2026 | Application journey toward first residence card | 2-3+ years for many applicants | Client data supports the practical range, but no per-country sample size or median is published here. |
| Greece Golden Visa | Yes | January 2023 to February 2026 | Application path to residence-permit issuance | 10-14 months | Estimate is practical/client-informed, not an official final approval target. |
| Italy Investor Visa | Yes | January 2023 to February 2026 | Nulla Osta through consular and residence-permit journey | 3-4 months | Official 30-day target applies to the Nulla Osta stage, not every later step. |
| Spain Golden Visa historical | Historical only | January 2023 to April 3, 2025 intake closure | Investor-residence processing before closure | Historical only, not a current option | Spain is closed to new investor-residence applications and is not ranked as a live route. |
Global Investor-Residence Coverage Matrix
This matrix is intentionally broader than the ranked table. Rows marked source-needed are included because readers expect them in a global hub, but no processing claim is made until an investor-specific official source is verified.
| Country / program | Category | Status for this hub | Processing claim | Source / next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal ARI / Golden Visa | Residence by investment | Ranked comparable row | 2-3+ year practical planning range | AIMA / full guide |
| Greece Golden Visa | Residence by investment | Ranked comparable row | 10-14 month practical estimate | Ministry source / full guide |
| Italy Investor Visa | Investor visa / residence | Ranked comparable row | 3-4 month practical estimate; 30-day Nulla Osta official target | program source / full guide |
| Malta MPRP | Permanent residence by investment | Official benchmark only | No official end-to-end target verified on public page | MPRP source |
| Hungary Guest Investor | Residence by investment | Official benchmark only | No official end-to-end target verified in cited law | Act XC of 2023 |
| Latvia investor temporary residence permit | Residence by investment | Official benchmark only | Generic residence-permit review period only, not ranked | law / review-period source |
| UAE Golden Visa | Long-term residence | Official benchmark only | Dubai property-investor service milestone only, not a UAE-wide benchmark | UAE source / full guide |
| US EB-5 | Immigrant investor pathway | Official benchmark only | Use USCIS tool by form and stage | EB-5 source |
| New Zealand Active Investor Plus | Investor residence | Official benchmark only | 10.5-week approval-in-principle benchmark for 80% of applications | AIP source |
| Spain Golden Visa | Closed investor residence | Closed | No new applications from April 3, 2025 | BOE Organic Law 1/2025 |
| Ireland IIP | Closed investor residence | Closed / historical | No current processing claim | Irish Immigration source |
| UK Tier 1 Investor | Closed investor visa | Closed | No current processing claim | GOV.UK source |
| Australia SIV / BIIP | Business and investment visa framework | Non-ranked | No comparable golden visa timing claim | Home Affairs source |
| Cyprus permanent residence by investment | Residence by investment | Source-needed | No processing claim | Official investor-specific source required before ranking. |
| Panama investor residence | Residence by investment | Source-needed | No processing claim | Official investor-specific source required before adding timing. |
| Singapore GIP | Investor permanent residence pathway | Coverage row | No processing claim | Singapore EDB GIP source |
| Hong Kong CIES | Capital investment entrant scheme | Coverage row | No processing claim | New CIES source |
| Saudi Premium Residency | Premium residence | Coverage row | No processing claim | Premium Residency source |
| Mauritius investor residence | Residence / occupation permit | Source-needed | No processing claim | Official investor-specific source required before adding timing. |
| Monaco residence for investors | Residence planning | Source-needed | No processing claim | Official residence-process source required before adding timing. |
| Switzerland lump-sum / investor residence planning | Residence planning | Source-needed | No processing claim | Official canton-specific source required before adding timing. |
| Luxembourg investor residence | Residence by investment | Source-needed | No processing claim | Official investor-specific source required before adding timing. |
| Serbia investor residence | Residence planning | Source-needed | No processing claim | Official investor-specific source required before adding timing. |
| Cayman residence by investment | Residence by investment | Source-needed | No processing claim | Official investor-specific source required before adding timing. |
| Bahamas investor residence | Residence by investment | Source-needed | No processing claim | Official investor-specific source required before adding timing. |
| Uruguay investor residence | Residence planning | Source-needed | No processing claim | Official investor-specific source required before adding timing. |
| Turkey citizenship by investment | Citizenship by investment | Non-comparable citizenship-by-investment | No residence processing claim | Program-source verification required before adding CBI processing claims. |
| Caribbean CBI programs | Citizenship by investment | Non-comparable citizenship-by-investment | No residence processing claim | Program-by-program official verification required before adding CBI processing claims. |
Country Notes
Italy
Italy is the strongest comparable answer for speed because the official Investor Visa for Italy portal publishes a 30-day Committee assessment period for the Nulla Osta stage, and MovingTo client experience supports a practical 3-4 month planning range for the broader residence process. See the Italy Golden Visa guide.
Greece
Greece remains a major EU golden visa route, but the official public page is stronger on eligibility than timing. Use 10-14 months as a planning estimate rather than a government promise. See the Greece Golden Visa guide.
Portugal
Portugal remains important for low-stay EU residence planning, but it should not be sold as fast. The practical issue is the gap between the legal decision framework and AIMA backlog reality. See the Portugal Golden Visa guide.
UAE
The UAE Golden Visa is broad, with several categories beyond classic residence by investment. Dubai's property-investor service timing is useful for that service, but it is not a UAE-wide benchmark. See the UAE Golden Visa guide.
Choosing a country list
For a wider program scan, use our Golden Visa Countries guide and Residency by Investment Programs guide. This processing-time page is narrower: it ranks only routes where the timing evidence is comparable enough to avoid misleading readers.
Closed, Source-Needed, And Non-Comparable Programs
Spain is kept as a historical row because Spain closed new investor-residence applications on April 3, 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025. The transitional rule means visas and permits already granted remain valid for their original term, and applications submitted before April 3, 2025 are handled under the prior rules. New investor-route applications are no longer accepted.
Turkey and Caribbean citizenship-by-investment programs are included only to prevent category confusion. They can be relevant to passport planning, but they are not residence-by-investment programs and are not ranked here.
Sources
- Portugal AIMA ARI page and Portuguese immigration law: AIMA ARI and Portuguese immigration law
- Greece Ministry of Migration and Asylum Golden Visa page: migration.gov.gr
- Investor Visa for Italy, Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy: program overview and application phases / 30-day Committee assessment
- Residency Malta Agency MPRP legal framework: residencymalta.gov.mt
- Hungary Act XC of 2023: Nemzeti Jogszabalytar
- UAE Government Golden Visa page and Dubai Land Department property-investor service: u.ae and dubailand.gov.ae
- USCIS EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and USCIS processing-time tool: USCIS EB-5 and USCIS processing times
- Immigration New Zealand Active Investor Plus Visa and processing-time tool: Active Investor Plus and INZ processing times
- Spain BOE Organic Law 1/2025: BOE-A-2025-76
- GOV.UK Tier 1 Investor page: gov.uk/tier-1-investor
- Ireland investor immigration page: Irish Immigration
- Australian Home Affairs Business Innovation and Investment page: Home Affairs
- Latvia Immigration Law and PMLP temporary residence permit review periods: likumi.lv and pmlp.gov.lv
- Singapore Global Investor Programme, Hong Kong New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, and Saudi Premium Residency: Singapore EDB, Hong Kong New CIES, and Saudi Premium Residency
Planning Your Route
Processing time is only one filter. Investors should also compare eligibility, source-of-funds burden, family coverage, tax exposure, renewal rules, stay requirements, and long-term citizenship or permanent-residence goals. Use Italy when speed and comparability matter. Use New Zealand's official benchmark carefully because approval in principle is not the whole journey. Treat Portugal as strategically useful but slow. Treat source-needed rows as research candidates, not timing recommendations.