Starting June 1, 2026, New Zealand is expanding the terms of the Active Investor Plus Visa program, often referred to as the New Zealand “golden visa.” Now, a portion of the required investment can be allocated to charitable donations, which should make the program more flexible and attractive to wealthy foreigners.
According to Reuters, investors in the Growth category will be able to allocate up to 20% of the minimum investment—that is, up to NZD1 million of the required NZD5 million—to charitable causes. The remainder must be invested in assets with higher growth potential. The changes take effect on June 1.
Officially, the Active Investor Plus Visa program grants foreign investors the right to live, work, and study in New Zealand indefinitely. To participate, applicants must invest a minimum of NZD5 million in the Growth category or NZD10 million in the Balanced category. According to Immigration New Zealand, 80% of applications for preliminary approval are processed in approximately 3.5 months.
The new charitable option is expected to expand the pool of potential program participants. New Zealand authorities hope that investors will not only inject capital into the economy but also support social, educational, medical, environmental, and community projects.
The rule update comes after a sharp surge in interest in the New Zealand investor visa. The Guardian reported that following the program’s reform in April 2025, the number of applications rose significantly: 308 applications were submitted over a few months, representing about 1,000 people, whereas before the changes, the program had attracted only 116 applications over two and a half years.
Investors from the U.S., China, and Hong Kong led the way in terms of the number of applicants. According to The Guardian, among the first 308 applications after the reform, there were 129 from the U.S., 45 from China, and 38 from Hong Kong. Investors from Germany, Singapore, and the U.K. also showed interest in the program.
Later, interest from American investors continued to grow. According to data from Immigration New Zealand cited by The Guardian, the new scheme has already attracted 573 applications representing 1,833 individuals. This confirms that the US has become the main source of demand for the New Zealand “golden visa.”
According to estimates by specialized consultants, demand also remains high from China and Hong Kong. GoldenVisas.com reported that investors from the U.S. lead the pack among applicants for the Active Investor Plus Visa, followed by China and Hong Kong, with the program attracting applicants from more than 30 countries in total.
For New Zealand, the program serves as a tool to attract long-term capital into the economy. Unlike some European “golden visas,” which were closely tied to real estate purchases, the New Zealand model emphasizes active investments, business, funds, securities, and now—to some extent—charity.
For investors, New Zealand is attractive due to its combination of political stability, quality of life, an English-speaking environment, a strong legal system, and the possibility of long-term residency for the family. At the same time, the high entry threshold means that the program is primarily aimed at high-net-worth applicants, entrepreneurs, and globally mobile families.
Key takeaway: New Zealand is not simply relaxing the “golden visa” rules but is attempting to modernize the program—with an emphasis on active investment and public benefit. Investors from the U.S., China, and Hong Kong remain the main drivers of demand, and the addition of charitable donations may attract even more applicants who wish to combine relocation, investment, and social contribution.
From 2021 through the first quarter of 2026, Dubai has issued over 167,000 long-term Golden Visas to family members of skilled professionals, according to data from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA Dubai).
According to GDRFA Dubai, a total of 167,124 residence permits were issued to families of specialized talent during this period. Another 100,286 residency permits were issued to families of real estate investors, 70,247 to family members of scientists and specialized experts, 37,022 to relatives of major investors, and 3,259 to families of foreign retirees. In addition, thousands of additional visas were issued to relatives of entrepreneurs, outstanding students, and figures in the humanities.
Statistics show that family relocation is becoming one of the key areas of Dubai’s migration policy. The emirate is focusing not only on attracting individual specialists, investors, and entrepreneurs, but also on securing their families’ long-term presence in the country. According to local authorities, the increase in the number of family residence permits reflects foreigners’ confidence in Dubai’s social infrastructure, education, healthcare, and digital government services.
Based on the structure of issued permits, the most active groups of foreigners in this segment remain skilled professionals and their families, real estate investors, scientists and experts, as well as major investors. A separate large category is specifically linked to the real estate market: over 100,000 residence permits for families of real estate investors indicate that home purchases remain one of the key channels for long-term relocation to Dubai.
By nationality, the official statistics from the GDRFA Dubai do not disclose the distribution of family Golden Visas in the published data. However, the demographic structure of the UAE as a whole remains predominantly expat-driven: foreigners account for about 88.5% of the country’s population, and the largest communities are traditionally represented by people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Iran, Egypt, and other countries in the region and Asia.
The UAE Golden Visa is a long-term residency visa that allows foreign talent, investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, professionals, students, and other categories to live, work, or study in the country.
For Dubai, the program has become a tool for competing for capital and human resources, as well as a way to retain wealthy and highly sought-after foreign nationals along with their families.
More than 500 foreign investors who have obtained Portuguese Golden Visas are preparing a class-action lawsuit against the government over a new citizenship law that extends the waiting period for applying for a Portuguese passport.
This concerns holders of ARI investment residence permits, known as “Golden Visas.” According to The Portugal News, investors believe the rule change violates their legitimate expectations, as many joined the program expecting to be able to apply for citizenship after five years of residency. Now, for some applicants, that timeframe could extend to eight or ten years.
The initiative brings together investors of various nationalities, with U.S. citizens being particularly prominent. The group’s members intend to first explore legal avenues within Portugal and then, if necessary, consider options for appealing at the European level.
The investors’ main complaint concerns the retroactive effect of the reform. Many Golden Visa holders had already been living in Portugal for several years, investing in funds, businesses, or real estate, and had planned to apply for citizenship under the old terms. In one example cited in the Portuguese press, an investor was less than two months away from completing the five-year period when the rules were changed.
The Portuguese Golden Visa has long been one of the most popular investment-based residency programs in the EU. It allowed foreigners to obtain a residence permit by meeting investment requirements and with minimal physical presence in the country, and then apply for citizenship after a set period of residence. However, in recent years, Portuguese authorities have consistently tightened their migration and investment policies.
This dispute is of significant importance for the real estate market and investment migration. If the courts rule that the new deadlines should not apply to existing investors, this will preserve some of the program’s credibility. If the state prevails, Portugal could face reputational damage among investors who viewed its rules as stable and predictable.
The changes could also affect other EU countries, where residence and citizenship programs are increasingly becoming the subject of political debate. Amid rising housing prices, migration pressure, and criticism of “golden visas,” governments are seeking to tighten conditions, but investors are demanding protection of previously acquired rights.
In Latvia, the so-called “golden visa” program has once again found itself at the center of a scandal after the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit identified more than 20 companies that, according to its assessment, were used for fictitious investments with the aim of obtaining residence permits. This was reported by the Latvian public media outlet LSM, citing the investigative program De Facto.
According to the investigation, approximately 200 foreigners invested more than 10 million euros in the authorized capital of such companies. At the same time, it is noted that the funds were often not used for actual economic activity but were redirected to the scheme’s organizers or circulated among related parties, providing no tangible benefit to Latvia’s economy but formally justifying applications for residence permits.
The program provides for the possibility of obtaining a temporary residence permit in Latvia upon investing 50,000 or 100,000 euros in a company’s capital. In 2025, this procedure brought the country nearly 6 million euros, and a total of 341 people received residence permits through it, including investors and their family members. At the same time, as LSM emphasizes, the state does not systematically assess how significant the actual contribution of these companies is—in terms of turnover, number of employees, or actual activities.
Interest in the program has grown in recent years. According to the Latvian Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, 109 applications were submitted last year—more than five times as many as in 2021, when there were 20. However, only about one-third of the applications received a positive decision, as applicants undergo security and reliability checks.
The investigation also cites the example of L Hotels, a company established about a year and a half ago. Nine of its investors applied for residence permits last year, and the company’s list of shareholders includes 30 people from India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Chile, Malawi, Syria, Vanuatu, and other countries. Most of them invested 100,000 euros each but received Class B shares, which, according to the articles of association, do not carry voting rights.
Toms Platacis, head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, stated that in some cases, the 50,000 euros required by law were in fact the same funds, recycled multiple times in a loop. LSM emphasizes that the story has once again intensified criticism of the program, which was originally intended to stimulate investment and attract wealthy foreigners but has been plagued by allegations of abuse from the very beginning.
Greek authorities are tightening controls on fraudulent schemes in the Golden Visa program following the issuance of a new circular, No. 1/2026, by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. According to explanations regarding the circular and reports in industry publications, Greek authorities will now forward information about misleading advertising and fictitious investment deals to the AADE tax authority and the Greek anti-money laundering agency, and confirmed violations may result in sanctions up to and including the revocation of the investor’s residence permit.
The reason for tightening controls was schemes in which investors were formally shown a property that met the program’s minimum threshold, but part of the funds was then effectively returned through hidden discounts, prepaid lease agreements, compensation for furniture, or cash payments. Industry experts note that following the increase in program entry thresholds in September 2024, the market saw a rise in advertising offers for properties priced below the legally established minimum, which drew additional attention from the authorities.
The new circular is broader in scope than mere anti-fraud measures. According to explanations from lawyers and the industry press, the document also resolves discrepancies in the application of rules among regional offices, clarifies the application submission process, and establishes stricter oversight of whether properties and applicants meet program requirements. This is intended to simultaneously increase the predictability of administration and intensify pressure on questionable schemes.
This tightening comes amid continued high demand for the Greek Golden Visa. According to data cited in industry publications, the number of approvals reached 8,879 in 2025, nearly doubling from 4,535 the previous year. This makes the program one of the most sought-after in Europe, thereby increasing incentives for abuse in the real estate market.
The UAE has simplified the process of obtaining a “golden visa” for real estate investors: the key criterion remains the cost of the property from 2 million dirhams, while in Dubai it is possible to apply on the basis of a mortgage purchase if there is a letter from the bank and confirmation of payments, according to the description of the Dubai Land Department (DLD) service for applying for a 10-year investor residence visa.
According to the DLD’s terms and conditions, the applicant must own a property (or several properties) with a total value of at least AED 2 million, and the property may be mortgaged – a letter from the bank stating that there are no objections is required, as well as an indication of the amount paid and the outstanding balance.
The changes came into effect on February 20, 2026, and expand the pool of applicants to include buyers using mortgages and installment plans, as well as buyers of off-plan properties.
