The five

One of these fits you. Four of them don’t.

Each of these programmes is marketed as the obvious answer, usually by someone paid a commission to say so. Below is what each actually asks of you — including the part that goes wrong, which is the part you are really paying us for.

Indicative Verified JUL 2026

Every figure on this page is indicative. Programmes, stay requirements, processing times and government fees change without notice. We confirm every figure in writing before you commit. There are no tax figures here, and there will not be — here is why.

Iberian Atlantic · EU · Schengen

Portugal

Our fee: From $9,000 Indicative

The route we file: D7 (passive income) or D8 (remote work) residence permit. The investment route still exists, but no longer through residential property.
Minimum stay: Real residence. Roughly 183 days a year on D7 or D8 — this is a move, not a mailbox. The investment route asks far less: about 7 days in year one, 14 days per two-year block after.
Timeline to a decision: 4–10 months, consulate to card. The scheduling, not the decision, is what takes the time.
What you actually get: An EU residence permit with Schengen mobility for the whole family, and a clock that starts running toward permanent residence at year five.
Indicative third-party cost: Government and legal fees run to the low four figures for D7/D8. The investment route commits six figures of capital, plus fees.
Suits: Someone genuinely relocating a household to Europe, who wants the five-year clock running and can live there.
Does not suit: Anyone who wants an EU permit without spending time in the EU. On D7 and D8, the residence requirement is the point, and it is enforced at renewal.
The friction: Appointment scheduling with the immigration authority is the bottleneck, and it has been for years. Budget a document that takes twelve weeks to legalise and a booking window you do not control. Everyone underestimates this; it is the single most common reason a Portugal timeline slips.

Arabian Gulf · Non-EU

United Arab Emirates

Our fee: From $7,500 Indicative

The route we file: Free-zone company plus an employment residence visa, or the ten-year route for qualifying investors and specialists.
Minimum stay: One entry every 180 days keeps a standard residence visa alive. The ten-year route relaxes that considerably.
Timeline to a decision: 2–8 weeks. This is the fast one, and the reason people who need a base this quarter end up here.
What you actually get: Residence tied to a company or a qualifying investment, an Emirates ID, and a banking system that will actually open an account for someone who has just arrived.
Indicative third-party cost: A free-zone company with a visa runs to the mid four figures a year. The ten-year route requires a qualifying investment, typically from AED 2 million.
Suits: Someone who needs a functioning base in weeks rather than seasons, travels constantly, and wants the paperwork to be somebody else’s problem.
Does not suit: Anyone who wants a European permit, or who cannot make an entry every six months.
The friction: The medical, the biometrics and the Emirates ID are sequential and each has a queue. Bank onboarding is the real gate: it is thorough, it asks for source-of-funds documentation, and no one can make it faster. We prepare the file so it clears first time.

Eastern Mediterranean · EU · Not Schengen

Cyprus

Our fee: From $10,000 Indicative

The route we file: Permanent residence by investment, or a temporary residence permit for those with income from outside the island.
Minimum stay: One visit every two years keeps the permanent permit alive. Among the lightest obligations in the EU.
Timeline to a decision: 2–6 months to a decision on the permanent route.
What you actually get: EU permanent residence for you, your spouse and your children, a common-law legal system, and English spoken in every office you will need to walk into.
Indicative third-party cost: The permanent route commits from €300,000 into qualifying property or a Cypriot company, plus fees.
Suits: A family that wants an EU permit and a common-law system, without a residence requirement that pins them to one country.
Does not suit: Anyone assuming EU means Schengen. Cyprus is in the European Union and outside the Schengen area — your permit does not, by itself, move you freely through it.
The friction: You are acquiring a permit, not a passport. Naturalisation from here is a long and discretionary road, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. The investment is committed capital, not a fee — it is exposed to a property market you should look at with your own eyes before you wire.

Central America · Non-EU

Panama

Our fee: From $8,000 Indicative

The route we file: The Friendly Nations route, which now requires a genuine economic tie — qualifying property, a fixed deposit, or Panamanian employment.
Minimum stay: One visit every two years. Effectively, a base you are not obliged to live in.
Timeline to a decision: 3–8 months, and it will cost you two trips to Panama City. Both are non-negotiable.
What you actually get: Permanent residence in the Americas, a straightforward second base in a dollarised economy, and no European stay obligation hanging over it.
Indicative third-party cost: The property or fixed-deposit route commits from roughly $200,000 under current rules. The employment route commits no capital but requires a real Panamanian job.
Suits: Someone who wants a hemispheric base with almost no stay requirement, and is comfortable that it is not a European one.
Does not suit: Anyone who needs European access, or who cannot travel to Panama twice.
The friction: The Friendly Nations route is not what it was before 2021 — the economic-tie requirement is real and is where most self-filed applications fail. You will also need documents apostilled at home before you fly; getting that sequence wrong costs you an entire trip.

Caucasus · Non-EU

Georgia

Our fee: From $5,000 Indicative

The route we file: Residence permit through property, business, or work. For many passports, a year of visa-free stay before you need a permit at all.
Minimum stay: Many nationalities can simply stay for 365 days visa-free. Where a permit is needed, presence requirements are light.
Timeline to a decision: 30–60 days to a decision on a residence permit.
What you actually get: The cheapest and fastest legal base on this list, a functioning banking system, and a one-hour flight to Istanbul. It is not the EU, and it does not pretend to be.
Indicative third-party cost: The property route commits from roughly $100,000. The business and work routes commit no capital threshold at all.
Suits: Someone testing a base before committing capital elsewhere, or who wants somewhere to land legally this quarter without a six-figure decision.
Does not suit: Anyone who needs an EU permit, or who wants the permit itself to signal something. This is a practical base, not a status purchase.
The friction: Property valuations for the investment route must be certified by an approved local valuer, and a valuation that comes in under the threshold sinks the application. Banking is straightforward but conservative — an account is not automatic on arrival, and we prepare that file too.

Still not sure which of the five you are?

That is the normal state of affairs, and it is precisely what the first call is for. We ask four questions and the list usually halves before the end of the hour.

Book a jurisdiction call